The Loess region hastwo main crops: winter wheat and maize. When compared to the thirteen-yearsaverage, temperature increased by 0.4°C, while precipitation and PARaccumulation decreased by 7% and 0.7%, respectively. Over the monitoring period,winter wheat in the region was harvested (by late June) and maize has beensowed. By the end of July, the condition of crops is below both the recent five-yearaverage and last year’s values, with a VCIx of 0.81. The analysis of spatialNDVI clusters and profiles indicates that crop condition is favorable in centralGansu, north of Shaanxi, and in most parts of Shanxi, due to the abundantrainfall and suitable temperature and sunlight. On the contrary—and mostlybecause of severe drought (as confirmed by the maps of potential biomass andVCIx), crops are in poor condition (compared to the five-year average) in the northof Henan and the center of Shaanxi. The fraction of arable land actuallycropped increased 4% due to suitable temperature and PAR, while uncroppedarable land is mainly located in Gansu, centralShaanxi, and scattered areas of Henan province.

Figure4.9. Crop condition China Loess region, April-July 2014