2.7 Central Europe to Western Russia

This monitoring period covers the harvesting period of summer crops and the sowing as well as the growing period of winter crops. In general, the agroclimatic indicators in this MPZ were close to average, including near-average precipitation, 0.6℃ higher temperature, and 3% higher photosynthetic active radiation.

According to the spatial distribution map of rainfall departure, the rainfall in most areas was above the average from October 2021 to January 2022. The specific spatial and temporal distribution characteristics were as follows:

(1) In October, 79.7% of the regions received below-average precipitation, which may have delayed germination of winter wheat in those regions. However, in early October the precipitation in the regions accounting for 1.9% of the MPZ was above average and reached the highest positive departure level. That region was mainly located in southern Russia. (2) From late November to mid-December, 98.1% of the regions received above-average precipitation, which was distributed in other regions except for parts of southern Russia. High precipitation during this period helped mitigate the negative impact due to the reduced precipitation in October. (3) In January 2022, 21.6% of the region received below-average precipitation, mainly in southern Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and northwestern Poland.

The temperature departure distribution map shows that the temperature change trend was the same for the entire MPZ. The specific spatial and temporal distribution characteristics were as follows:

(1) In October, temperatures were below average in 30.8% of the MPZ. (2) In mid-November, temperatures were below average for 17.6% of the MPZ, mainly in the southwestern Belarus and Poland. (3) From late November to mid-December, the temperature in the whole MPZ was above average, and in late December, the temperature in the whole MPZ was below average.

The biomass accumulation potential (BIOMSS ) was 10% below average in south-eastern Russia, southwestern Poland, parts of Slovakia and Hungary and a small part of Romania, whereas the potential cumulative biomass in the remaining regions was essentially on par with the average.

During this monitoring period, most of the arable land in MPZ was cultivated, with a CALF value of 77% (+4%), and the uncultivated arable land was mainly distributed in southwest of the Ural and eastern regions of Ukraine. The VCIx showed a significant spatial variation, with an average value of 0.83. The regions below 0.8 were mainly in southeastern Russia, eastern Ukraine, Moldova, and eastern Hungary. The minimum health vegetation index is similar to the distribution of the best vegetation condition, with severe drought areas mainly in the southeast of Ukraine and southwest of the Ural. Overall, CropWatch agroclimatic and agronomic indicators show that crop growth was expected to be above average during this monitoring period.

a. Spatial distribution of rainfall profiles               b. Profiles of rainfall departure from average (mm)

c. Spatial distribution of temperature profiles            d. Profiles of temperature departure from average(°C)

e. Biomass accumulation potential departure 

f. Cropped arable land

g. Maximum VCI 

h. VHI Minimum