With the exception of rainfall, the CropWatch agroclimatic indicators were generally close to average over the first quarter of 2016. RAIN was 55% above average, while RADPAR was -5% below and TEMP was close to average level. The biomass production potential increased by 39% mainly resulting from abundant rainfall. Table 4.1 and Table A.11 provide an overview of the agroclimatic and agronomic indicators for selected provinces. Temperature fluctuated widely but RAIN was consistently above average in all regions and provinces, especially in Inner Mongolia (163%), Southern China (99%), Northeast China (84%), and the Loess region (61%). In all the provinces except for Jiangsu, rainfall was above average. Rainfall was more than 80%above average in Inner Mongolia, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jilin, Liaoningand Shanxi provinces. TEMP was below average in the Southern China (-1.1°C) and Southwest China (-0.3°C), but particularly so in the southern islands of Taiwan (-1.5°C) and Gansu province (-1.2°C). PAR (RADPAR) was below the average,except for Inner Mongolia (1%), Huanghuaihai (1%) and Northeast China (0%); it was about average in almost all the provinces except Guangdong, Gansu and Guangxi,where the departure exceeded 10%. The abundant rainfall resulted in BIOMSS values exceeding the recent 5-year average by more than 50% above in Inner Mongolia and Southern China.

Figures 4.1 to 4.5 illustrate the spatial distribution of rainfall (figure 4.1) and temperature profiles (figure 4.2), the maps of cropped and uncropped arable land (figure 4.3), maximum VCI (figure 4.4.), and VHI minimum (figure 4.5). Both high and low maximum VCI values are scattered in almost all provinces, with high values mainly located in the Southwest China, and low values (below 0.5) in the east of Sichuan, Yunnan and Henan province, indicating unfavorable crop condition in these areas. The cluster and corresponding profiles of rainfall and temperature indicate that the two agroclimatic indicators markedly fluctuated during the monitoring period; temperature was below average across China in Mid-February. Normal rainfall in the Northeast region resulted in average soil moisture, which is conducive to the sowing and emergence of spring wheat, soybean, and maize. During the growing season of winter wheat, suitable temperature and adequate rainfall in the major production provinces is likely to result in higher production than during the previous year.

Overall, the cropped arable land fraction (CALF) was 3% above the five-year average for China. Because of relatively low temperatures, most of the uncropped land is found in the Northeast and Northwest China regions, as well as in Inner Mongolia. The sowing of spring crops has been under way since late April. The CALF of the Loess region, Southern China, Southwest China and Huanghuaihai regions was above average (increases of 3%, 2%,4% and 1%, respectively), while it was below average in Lower Yangtze region (-5%), indicating a decrease in the cropped area for this period. Minimum VHI indicates that east of Sichuan, the Southwest of Shandong, and central Jiangsu province all experienced mild water stress, while in other regions water was adequate for crop growth and planting, especially in the north of Guizhou and almost the entire Fujian and Guangxi provinces.