Grasslands in northern China begin to enter the withering period, and forage grass gradually turns yellow

Industry News Jan 1, 1970By Sophie Bennett 0 views

The Grassland Supervision Center of the Ministry of Agriculture adopted methods of satellite remote sensing, ground observation and analysis combined with meteorological data to monitor and analyze the withering status of forage grass in the grasslands of northern China. The results show that as of September 20, about 60% of the grasslands in northern China had already withered. I

I. Vegetation status

According to satellite remote sensing monitoring and ground observation, since late August, as temperatures dropped and the temperature difference between day and night increased, the grasslands of China entered the forage grass withering period successively from north to south and from high-altitude to low-altitude areas. As of September 20, about 60% of the grassland vegetation in northern China had already withered, and grassland vegetation in high-altitude areas of southern China also showed a withering trend; the forage grass withering period was generally consistent with that of normal years. Among them, forage grass in the grasslands of northern Xinjiang and central and western Inner Mongolia entered the withering period 7-15 days earlier than in normal years, while forage grass in some areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau entered the withering period 7-10 days later than in normal years. It is expected that most of the northern grasslands will fully enter the withering period in mid-to-late October.

From the perspective of major pastoral areas: the grasslands of Xinjiang began to enter the withering period successively from late August. Due to the effects of summer drought and early temperature drops, the grasslands of northern Xinjiang entered the withering period 10-15 days earlier than in normal years, and the vegetation withering rate of pastures near the Tianshan Mountains reached more than 80%. The grasslands of Inner Mongolia have gradually entered the withering period from east to west since early September. Herbaceous forage grass in the central and western regions entered the yellowing and withering period about 10 days earlier due to the earlier drought, and shrub grasslands are expected to enter the withering period in mid-October. The grasslands of Sichuan began to enter the withering period from north to south and from high altitude to low altitude in early September; at present, the grassland withering rate in high-altitude areas of Aba Prefecture and northern Ganzi Prefecture is about 80%, and the withering rate in low-altitude areas is about 40%; Liangshan Prefecture began to wither successively in mid-to-late September, with a withering rate of about 25%. The grasslands of Gansu show a pattern in which withering in the west is clearly earlier than in the east, and the Gannan Plateau is earlier than the Loess Plateau. The withering rate in eastern Hexi Corridor is about 30%, and the withering rate of grasslands in the central and western regions reaches 50%-90%. The grasslands of Qinghai began to gradually enter the withering period from southwest to northeast and from high altitude to low altitude in early September, and the withering period was generally about 10 days later than in normal years. The grasslands of Tibet began to gradually enter the withering period from high altitude to low altitude in early September. At present, the withering rate in high-altitude areas is above 70%, and the withering rate in low-altitude areas is about 30%. The time when low-altitude areas in the east entered the withering period was generally 7-10 days later than in normal years.

II. Later situation analysis and recommendations

In October, as temperatures drop rapidly, the grasslands of northern China will successively wither. It is recommended that all localities, based on the current grassland forage grass conditions, reasonably arrange animal husbandry production, promptly carry out the reserve and allocation and transportation of forage and feed, reasonably arrange livestock slaughter and marketing, and ensure that livestock safely overwinter; as grassland forage grass withers and dries, the grassland fire danger level rises substantially, and all localities must effectively strengthen grassland fire prevention work.

Figure 1 Temperature anomaly from September 11 to September 20, 2014 (℃)