In July, grassland vegetation grew better than in normal years, with drought occurring in some areas
Website news Based on a comprehensive analysis of ground observations, satellite remote sensing and meteorological data, the Ministry of Agriculture said that in July this year the national grassland vegetation growth condition was generally better than the same period in normal years, but worse than the previous year, and drought continued to develop in some grasslands.
By region, 24% of the grassland vegetation growth condition in China was better year on year, 46% was unchanged, and 30% was worse; compared with the same period in the past five years, 36% of the grassland vegetation growth condition in China was better, 45% was unchanged, and 19% was worse. Areas with better vegetation growth were mainly distributed in northeastern Inner Mongolia, eastern Gansu, southeastern Qinghai and western Tibet; areas with worse vegetation growth were mainly distributed in central and western Inner Mongolia, northern Xinjiang and central Tibet.
From the perspective of major pastoral areas, Inner Mongolia grasslands showed a pattern of better vegetation growth in the east and worse growth in the central and western areas. Drought was severe in most of Alxa League, western Ordos City and western Xilin Gol League, and forage yield, coverage and height all declined. In Xinjiang grasslands, apart from better vegetation in parts of Bayingolin Prefecture and Hami Prefecture, the overall vegetation growth condition was worse than the previous year; drought continued to develop in most of Ili and the Altay plains, and forage yield dropped sharply. Forage growth was better in southeastern Qinghai grasslands, while vegetation growth condition was slightly worse in some grasslands of eastern Haixi Prefecture and Hainan Prefecture. In Tibet grasslands, apart from parts of western Nagqu and eastern Ngari where conditions were slightly worse than the same period last year, the overall vegetation growth condition was mainly unchanged to better. The vegetation growth condition in Sichuan grasslands was slightly worse than the previous year. Forage yield in most grasslands of Gansu was roughly unchanged from the previous year.
According to climate trend forecasts, in August temperatures in most grassland areas of China will be close to normal, precipitation will be unevenly distributed, and drought in some areas may continue to develop. The Ministry of Agriculture has issued a notice on doing a good job in drought prevention and control in grassland pastoral areas, requiring grassland and animal husbandry departments at all levels to make the prevention and control of high temperatures and drought an important task in current grassland ecological protection and grassland animal husbandry production, to fully organize the cutting, harvesting and storage of forage and feed and interregional transportation, to strengthen the processing and utilization of crop straw, to guide and accelerate the slaughter of livestock, to effectively ease the pressure on forage and feed supply in the cold season, to ensure that livestock, especially young and weak animals, safely overwinter and pass through spring, and to protect the basic production capacity of grassland animal husbandry. The Ministry of Agriculture has dispatched working groups to severely affected areas to carry out technical guidance and services.