Between January and April 2015, winter crops in thisMPZ were mostly at the vegetative stage (see figure 2.6). The agroclimaticindicators show predominantly normal conditions. RAIN was slightly aboveaverage (+4%), while RADPAR was below by 3%. The TEMP anomaly, however, wassignificant and reached +1.3°C; the resulting BIOMSS increase compared to thefive-year average was 12%. Across the MPZ, the crop condition degrades fromwest to east, with favorable condition in Poland and relatively poor conditionin western Russia.

Temperature profiles show correlated variationsamong most countries of the MPZ, with above average temperature frommid-January to late March in Poland, Romania, Belarus, the western Ukraine, andin the northern part of western Russia. Low temperatures occurred in severalwaves, affecting the whole region (as in December) or only part of it. Theregion of Russia adjacent to Kazakhstan, including the oblasts of Orenburg,Samar, Saratov, and Chelyabinsk, as well as the Republic of Bashkortostan, wereparticularly affected (-8⁰C compared with average in December; -4⁰C in late January),leading to poor crop condition (maximum VCI below 0.5). As indicated by therainfall profiles, almost all areas of the MPZ suffered a significant rainfalldeficit in February, especially in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Krays and theoblast of Rostov, with a more than 20% decrease in rainfall compared withaverage. Starting in March, rainfall recovered to above average in most areas,which was beneficial to the key growing season of winter crops. According tothe map showing BIOMSS, a large positive biomass departure (more than 20%) islikely for Tulcea, Braila, and Calarasi in Romania; Grodno and Vitebsk inBelarus; the Kalmyk and Dagestan Republics; and the oblast of Astrakhan.

Only 65% of the arable lands were cropped in the Januaryto April period, which represents a decrease of 5% compared to the recentfive-year average. Most uncropped arable land was scattered in Russia (theeasternmost part of the MPZ). The maximum VCI (VCIx=0.64) is fair but lowcompared with other MPZs.

Figure 2.6. Central Europe-WesternRussia MPZ: Agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, January-April 2015