[Explanation] One-third of the earth's land is desert. How to manage deserts, realize "people entering and retreating into sand", and make deserts generate economic benefits is a common problem facing the world today.
[Explanation] The Taklimakan Desert is the largest desert in China and the second largest mobile desert in the world.
Alar City, the First Division of the China-Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, located on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, has successfully stopped the desert erosion through the efforts of several generations of sand control workers.
They built a 170-kilometer green forest belt along the edge of the desert, which literally extended the oasis to the depths of the desert for more than 20 kilometers.
Xie Xiaoyun is one of the members of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps who have contributed to the realization of "people entering the sand and retreating".
[Explanation] Over the years, Xie Xiaoyun has promoted the cultivation of plants that are resistant to drought and salinity and can be used as a source of animal feed on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert. Difficulty in planting technology.
[Same period] Xie Xiaoyun, a professional technician from the Agricultural Development Service Center of Huaqiao Town, Aral City, the First Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
Considering that our place is on the edge of the desert, the soil salinity is relatively high, and the soil is dry and water-deficient. I hope to choose a tree species that is resistant to both drought and salinity, and can be used as a tree species for economical industry planting. .
Tribulus terrestris is resistant to drought and salinity, with a crude protein content of more than 12%, which can be used as a supplementary feed for forage grass.
[Explanation] In 1994, Xie Xiaoyun, who studied horticulture, became a forestry technician in Aral City, the first division, and he has been doing this for 27 years.
Xie Xiaoyun felt unfamiliar with everything when she first arrived in Aral. The Gobi desert was around and the living environment was very difficult. She still remembered the dusty weather known as the "black storm".
[Same period] Xie Xiaoyun, a professional technician from the Agricultural Development Service Center of Huaqiao Town, Aral City, the First Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
When I first came here, it was a kind of black storm when there was a wind and sand. I couldn't open my eyes, and my eyes, nose, and mouth were all covered with sand.
There are several times a year that the weather is dark.
[Explanation] Most of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps' farms are built in areas with harsh natural environments such as the edge of the desert, which are important barriers to resist wind and sand attacks and protect Xinjiang's oasis.
According to statistics, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has a total area of nearly 15 million mu of desertified land, accounting for 14.1% of the area under its jurisdiction. The land with obvious desertification trend is about 10 million mu, and 88 of the 123 desert farms are located in the hinterland of the desert.
In the past, sandstorms were the norm. In some places, the sandstorms even exceeded 200 days a year.
[Explanation] The "black storm" not only seriously affected people's production and life, but also hit the agricultural production of the First Division Alar City.
In places where sandstorms are raging, the soil and seedlings on the surface of farmland are blown away by the wind. The sandstorms accumulate sand in the soil, greatly reducing the fertility of the soil. Village houses, farmland, and pastures are buried by a large amount of quicksand.
[Explanation] In the "Desert Gate" scenic spot in the city of Aral, the first division, there are almost no grass on the sand dunes that stretch for hundreds of kilometers.
In recent years, in order to effectively prevent and control desertification, the First Division, Aral City, where Xie Xiaoyun is located, has invested tens of millions of yuan to plant 26,000 mu of quinoa.
After the completion of this ecological forest, which is suitable for the desert climate in southern Xinjiang and takes into account both ecology and economic benefits, it will not only realize "people entering the sand and retreating", but also provide a source of forage for the local development of large-scale breeding, and become another important channel for people to increase their income and become rich. .
Today, as far as the eye can see, the green vegetation is full of vitality in the desert.
[Explanation] Over the years, the first division of Aral City has repeatedly explored and continued to do a good job in the construction of sand prevention and control. A 170-kilometer green forest belt has been built along the edge of the desert. The four-level ecological protection barrier mainly consists of farmland shelter forest and residential green forest in the oasis.
Up to now, the area of the local shelter forest has reached 230,000 mu, the forest coverage rate has increased from 5% in the early stage of development and construction to 33% now, and the oasis has extended more than 20 kilometers into the desert.
[Explanation] In addition to planting green patches in the Gobi and desert, Xie Xiaoyun and his colleagues also manage and protect the national public welfare forests, artificial ecological protection forests, and ecological economic forests around Aral.
[Same period] Xia Wanlin, a forest ranger in Huaqiao Town, Aral City, the First Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
I am a forest ranger and a native of the country. My biggest feeling is that there are more and more forest belts, more and more animals and plants, and the environment has been effectively improved.
[Explanation] Over the years, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has gradually built up surrounding Taklimakan and Guer through large-scale afforestation, water conservancy construction, wind and sand fixation, salt control and alkali control, water-saving irrigation, and sealing of desert vegetation to cultivate forests and grasses. The green ecological belt of the two major deserts of Bantonggut has formed a comprehensive shelter forest system combining trees, shrubs and grasslands. An oasis ecological economic network has been built in the vast Gobi desert. More than 80% of the farmland has been effectively protected by the forest network, creating a " The miracle of people entering the sand and retreating.
[Same period] Xie Xiaoyun, a professional technician from the Agricultural Development Service Center of Huaqiao Town, Aral City, the First Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
I hope that the ecological environment will get better and better, the sky will be bluer, the mountains will be greener, and the water will be clearer. I hope this good environment will bring us a better life.
(Reported by Rong Rui, Chuxu, Li Mingfei, Zhang Kang, Shan Qiyong, Xinjiang Aral)
Responsible editor: [Lu Yan]