JSCh
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2011
- Messages
- 13,235
- Reaction score
- 2
- Country
- Location
Will China's Great GREEN Wall save the country from dust storms? | Daily Mail Online
By Jonathan O'Callaghan for MailOnline
Published: 06:29 EST, 15 December 2014 | Updated: 13:24 EST, 15 December 2014
There, toxic dust clouds and high levels of pollution threaten the lives of people on almost a daily basis. But the Chinese government has an ambitious plan to improve conditions.
For several decades they have been planting a ‘great wall of trees’ to block the impacts from the Gobi Desert - and a study says the measures are working, despite previous criticism.
China is planting huge strips of trees to stop the Gobi Desert (illustration shown). For decades the desert has been advancing and causing serious dust storms to key cities such as Beijing. Since 1978 the government has been planting trees to reverse the widespread deforestation that took place in China
The Three-North Shelter Forest Programme, more commonly known as the Great Green Wall (GGW), is a series of huge forest strips designed to hold back the expansion of the Gobi Desert.
Every spring the country is subjected to devastating sand storms as winds sweep down from the North, bringing the Gobi Desert with them.
And as the desert expands - partly due to human deforestation to make room for agriculture, livestock and mining - the situation had the potential of getting worse and worse.
This project, also known as the Three-North Shelter Forest Programme, is being carried out in the North, Northeast and Northwest of China.
It is designed to halt the expansion of the Gobi Desert.
By 2050, strips of trees and vegetation 2,800 miles (4,500km) long will have been planted, covering about a tenth of the country in greenery.
Several methods have been employed to increase vegetation. In some instances, farmers have been given cash incentives to plant trees and shrubs.
In the last decade, aerial seeding has been used to cover wide areas of land.
There have been criticisms of the project, though. Some say the trees may soak up large amounts of valuable groundwater, weakening the soil and preventing people from getting suitable access to water.
In 1978, though, China made a bold decision to begin the GGW project - and it seems they are now beginning to reap the benefits of that decision.
By 2006, 25 million hectares of forest were growing. By 2050, more than 100 billion trees will occupy a 2,800-mile (4,500km) belt, 1.6 million squre miles (4.1 million square km), more than a tenth of the country.
Critics have suggested the plans are ultimately doomed to fail; Hong Jiang of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, told New Scientist: ‘Instead of controlling nature, we need to follow nature.’
And some think that planting trees in the sandy ground of the Gobi Desert will not work, with the mortality rate of the trees being unknown.
This means the longevity of the project has been called into question, with continual replanting of trees required long into the future to maintain their effectiveness.
But the latest study, led by Dr Minghong Tan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, says the measures are working - and they will continue to do so.
Of most importance, though, is how this vegetation has affected dust storm intensity (DSI) and dust storm frequency (DSF). According to the study, things are looking good.
Since 1985 DSI has decreased dramatically, while DSF has also been decreasing continuously.
‘From this result, we infer that the implementation of the GGW programme has effectively decreased DSI by improving the vegetation conditions,’ they write.
More.. Will China's Great GREEN Wall save the country from dust storms? | Daily Mail Online
By Jonathan O'Callaghan for MailOnline
Published: 06:29 EST, 15 December 2014 | Updated: 13:24 EST, 15 December 2014
- China is planting huge strips of trees to stop the Gobi Desert
- For decades the desert has been advancing and causing serious dust storms in key cities such as Beijing
- Since 1978 the government has been planting trees to reverse the widespread deforestation that took place in China
- Now a recent study suggests the project has been a success
- They found increased vegetation and lower levels of dust storm intensity
- By 2050 100 billion trees will be planted across a tenth of the country
There, toxic dust clouds and high levels of pollution threaten the lives of people on almost a daily basis. But the Chinese government has an ambitious plan to improve conditions.
For several decades they have been planting a ‘great wall of trees’ to block the impacts from the Gobi Desert - and a study says the measures are working, despite previous criticism.
China is planting huge strips of trees to stop the Gobi Desert (illustration shown). For decades the desert has been advancing and causing serious dust storms to key cities such as Beijing. Since 1978 the government has been planting trees to reverse the widespread deforestation that took place in China
The Three-North Shelter Forest Programme, more commonly known as the Great Green Wall (GGW), is a series of huge forest strips designed to hold back the expansion of the Gobi Desert.
Every spring the country is subjected to devastating sand storms as winds sweep down from the North, bringing the Gobi Desert with them.
And as the desert expands - partly due to human deforestation to make room for agriculture, livestock and mining - the situation had the potential of getting worse and worse.
This project, also known as the Three-North Shelter Forest Programme, is being carried out in the North, Northeast and Northwest of China.
It is designed to halt the expansion of the Gobi Desert.
By 2050, strips of trees and vegetation 2,800 miles (4,500km) long will have been planted, covering about a tenth of the country in greenery.
Several methods have been employed to increase vegetation. In some instances, farmers have been given cash incentives to plant trees and shrubs.
In the last decade, aerial seeding has been used to cover wide areas of land.
There have been criticisms of the project, though. Some say the trees may soak up large amounts of valuable groundwater, weakening the soil and preventing people from getting suitable access to water.
In 1978, though, China made a bold decision to begin the GGW project - and it seems they are now beginning to reap the benefits of that decision.
By 2006, 25 million hectares of forest were growing. By 2050, more than 100 billion trees will occupy a 2,800-mile (4,500km) belt, 1.6 million squre miles (4.1 million square km), more than a tenth of the country.
Critics have suggested the plans are ultimately doomed to fail; Hong Jiang of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, told New Scientist: ‘Instead of controlling nature, we need to follow nature.’
And some think that planting trees in the sandy ground of the Gobi Desert will not work, with the mortality rate of the trees being unknown.
This means the longevity of the project has been called into question, with continual replanting of trees required long into the future to maintain their effectiveness.
But the latest study, led by Dr Minghong Tan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, says the measures are working - and they will continue to do so.
Of most importance, though, is how this vegetation has affected dust storm intensity (DSI) and dust storm frequency (DSF). According to the study, things are looking good.
Since 1985 DSI has decreased dramatically, while DSF has also been decreasing continuously.
‘From this result, we infer that the implementation of the GGW programme has effectively decreased DSI by improving the vegetation conditions,’ they write.
More.. Will China's Great GREEN Wall save the country from dust storms? | Daily Mail Online
