RG:OK. 00:56:14 CST Thursday, 15 February 2018

All Agroclimatic indicators show close to average conditions for the MPZ as a whole.  Rainfall, for instance was slightly above average with 727 mm, a 0.5% positive departure. According to the map of rainfall patterns, the largest excess of rainfall occurred in October over  Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul states in Brazil. Temperature (23.5°C) was mostly colder than average (-0.8°C) especially over Rio Grande do Sul and the northern part of Argentina. MPZ-wide radiation was slightly below average (RADPAR, -2 %). The listed conditions led to a small decrease  of the accumulated biomass potential (-3 %) below average.

BIOMSS departure from average was largest (-20% and more) around (1) Rio Grande do Sul, Buenos Aires, and Santa Fe in Argentina. The same southwestern part of the MPZ also shows low VCIx values. A second deficit area, less intense than the one just mentioned affects parts of (2) Goiás and Mato Grosso States of Brazil, where the reduction in biomass was about 10% and where VCIx was high. The map of cropped and uncropped arable land shows that the decline in BIOMSS is not attributed to the decrease in the cultivated area since the MPZ was almost fully cultivated (CALF ≃100%,+3% above average).  Including low minimum VHI in area (2) in the analysis provides the explanation: the weak drought that affected the northern part of the MPZ, was ended by rainfall later in the monitoring period; the high VCIx values in northern part confirm that the development of the crops there is favorable.

Crop condition is generally average compared to 5YA in the South American MPZ.

Figure 2.3: South America MPZ: Agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, October-January 2018.

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 (mm)

e. Maximum VCI                                                                  f. Cropped arable land

g. Biomass accumulation potential departure                              h. VHI minimum