According to the China National Forestry and Grassland Administration, since the Three North Protective Forest Program (often called the Green Great Wall) entered its crucial phase in 2023, the central government has invested approximately US$13.06 billion and implemented 544 key projects, completing the task of building over 16.27 million hectares. Currently, the area of desertified land in China is decreasing by an average of 667,000 hectares per year.
According to People's Daily, China's desertification areas are mainly concentrated in the northwest, north, and northeast, collectively known as the "Three North" region, covering an area of 4.486 million square kilometers, nearly half the country. Grass and forest cover in this region has increased to 40.76%, and the area of desertified land treated is 67.82%. Along the Hexi Corridor, in Gansu Province, a 1,686-kilometer-long strip of oases and valleys has seen the construction of 1,482 kilometers of sand barriers. In Xinjiang, a protective forest belt stretches 3,046 kilometers across the Taklamakan Desert. Soil erosion in these deserts and large sandy areas has decreased by approximately 40% since 2000.
According to Lei Jiaqiang, a researcher at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences , to build such a large-scale "Green Great Wall," China has constructed a system to monitor desertification from the ground, in the air, and in space, and has developed a series of biotechnological and chemical techniques to control sand. Authorities have established 18 science and technology test sites across the Three North regions, deploying robots and planting machines equipped with Beidou navigation. They are also testing the AI model "Smart Sand" to provide planners with a digital brain to assist in making decisions about sand control.
In the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia, local authorities have adopted a model that combines photovoltaic panels on top, stabilized sand underneath, and grass planted in between. Farmers raise chickens under the panels and grow tomatoes and potatoes in the shade, transforming barren sand dunes into arable land.
According to Interesting Engineering, in April, the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched several initiatives focused on sand control, preventing desertification, addressing wind erosion, and desalinating soil. Researchers tested six new environmentally friendly materials to stabilize sand at the edge of deserts. Among them is a solution based on basalt fibers made from melted volcanic rock, which helps reinforce soil and limit sand dune encroachment on agricultural land and surrounding infrastructure. In addition, the new project also utilizes fly ash, a fine dust industrial byproduct obtained from burning coal in thermal power plants. Researcher Pei Liang stated that the new materials could improve the efficiency of desertification control by 50% while reducing costs by approximately 30%.
According to SCMP, deserts are difficult to reclaim because plants cannot survive on shifting sand, but scientists at the Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Zhongwei City, Ningxia, have found a solution: releasing large quantities of blue-green algae onto arid terrain. Specially selected strains of blue-green algae can survive high temperatures and prolonged droughts. When the rains come, they revive, spread rapidly, and form a hard, biomass-rich crust on the sand. This "living crust" stabilizes the sand dunes, capable of withstanding winds up to 36 km/h, creating the perfect foundation for future plant growth.
The Ningxia authorities have adopted this technique in their sand control strategy under the Sanbei Protective Forest program and plan to expand its use to 5,333-6,667 hectares in the next five years. According to Science and Technology Daily, researchers spent more than a decade perfecting the technique. First, they selected seven strains of blue-green algae from over 300 species. Solutions containing the blue-green algae were then mixed with organic matter and fine particles to form a paste-like mixture. This mixture was poured into molds containing hexagonal mesh, ultimately creating particles similar to lumps of soil.
( According to vnexpress.net )
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