In August, grassland vegetation growth nationwide was better than usual, how did conditions fare in some grasslands?

Report from our website  According to monitoring and analysis by the Ministry of Agriculture, in August this year the overall growth condition of grassland vegetation nationwide was slightly worse than the same period last year, but better than the same period in average years, and drought conditions in some grasslands eased somewhat. Compared with the same period last year, 20% of grassland vegetation growth nationwide was better, 45% of grassland vegetation growth was unchanged, and 35% of grassland vegetation growth was worse; compared with the same period over the past five years, 79% of grassland vegetation growth nationwide was better or unchanged, and 21% of grassland vegetation growth was worse.

Regionally, areas with better vegetation growth were mainly distributed in northeastern Inner Mongolia, central Gansu, most of Ningxia, most of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and other places; areas with worse vegetation growth were mainly distributed in central Inner Mongolia, northern Xinjiang, northwestern Sichuan and other places.

In terms of major pastoral areas, in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, vegetation growth in Hulunbuir City in the east was relatively good; in the central areas of Xilin Gol League, Ulanqab City and other places, affected by drought, vegetation cover, height and grass yield were all lower than last year; drought in the western grasslands eased somewhat, and forage growth in Alxa League was basically unchanged from last year. In the grasslands of Xinjiang, apart from relatively good vegetation in Hami Prefecture and Turpan Prefecture, overall vegetation growth was worse, and although drought in Ili and other northern Xinjiang grasslands eased somewhat, forage yield fell by about 20% compared with last year. In the grasslands of Qinghai, conditions were mainly unchanged to better, especially in late August when the proportion of areas with better vegetation growth increased substantially; in southeastern Qinghai, as well as most of Haibei and eastern Haixi, grassland forage output increased by 20% to 30%. In the grasslands of Tibet, apart from parts of western Nagqu and western Ngari where conditions were unchanged or slightly worse than last year, grassland vegetation growth in most areas was relatively good. In the grasslands of Sichuan, overall vegetation growth was slightly worse than last year, among which vegetation height and grass yield in northern Garze Prefecture and in Hongyuan and Zoige in Aba Prefecture all decreased somewhat. In most grasslands of Gansu, vegetation growth was unchanged or better than last year, among which forage output increased noticeably in the eastern Hexi Corridor and southern Subei.

⟦NL> According to climate trend forecasts, in September temperatures in most grassland areas nationwide will be close to or higher than the same period in average years, precipitation will be unevenly distributed, and precipitation in central and southern Inner Mongolia and other places will be below normal, with drought conditions in some areas likely to persist. The Ministry of Agriculture has asked all localities to arrange livestock production reasonably according to current forage growth conditions, and to do a good job in forage reserve and transportation. At the same time, as forage in northern grasslands rapidly withers and yellows, the risk of grassland fires increases, and all localities must effectively strengthen grassland fire prevention work and take preventive measures.