The reporting period covers the harvest of summer crops andthe early vegetative stages of winter crops for the MPZ. The region experiencedslightly below normal thermal conditions; rainfall and radiation were approximatelyaverage as well. Temperature profiles show similar variations inRomania, Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. Between October and December, almost allareas of central Europe to western Russia suffered a significant rainfalldeficit, especially in Krasnodarskiy Kray in the south of westernRussia, where rainfall was more than 25mm below average in mid-December. Thenegative impact is confirmed by low VHIn values in the MPZ. From the end ofDecember to January, rainfall recovered to above average: abundant rainfall wasrecorded in the southern part of Romania, Ukraine, and western Russia. In thesecond and third dekad of January, above average temperature prevailed overcentral Europe, which benefited the development of hardened winter crops.However, as a result of decreased precipitation and low temperature fromOctober to December, BIOMSS is down 4% compared to its five-year average. The biomass accumulation potential deteriorates from west to east, withabout a 20% decrease in the eastern Ukraine and southeastern Belarus.

Overall, 79% of the arable lands were cropped in October toJanuary in 2015, which is 5% above the recent five-year average. Most uncroppedarable land was scattered in the south of western Russia (includingthe Oblasts of Volgogradskaya, Saratovskaya and Samarskaya).Themaximum VCI (0.63) is lower compared with other regions; below averageproduction is to be expected due to poor agrometeorological conditions forwinter.

Figure 2.6 illustrates the CropWatch agroclimaticand agronomic indicators for the MPZ.

Figure2.6. Central Europe-Western Russia MPZ: Agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, October2014-January 2015