Desert greening.
Ideas and experience on afforestation.
Landscaping and afforestation of the desert is becoming an important part of the activities of progressive people. This article describes the experience of landscaping and creating forests in deserts and semi-deserts.
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Desertification has become a major environmental problem for humanity. Deserts are located on more than 16.5 million km2, which makes up about 14% of the land surface. With the polar deserts of Antarctica and the Arctic, deserts occupy more than 20% of the land surface. Why do deserts arise and grow in size? Why do blooming fields and forests turn into a kingdom of heat and sand? There are not only natural causes for the occurrence of causes, but also anthropogenic ones.
Natural causes:
• geographic zoning,
• uneven distribution of heat and moisture,
• lowering the level of groundwater,
• soil salinization,
• wind and water erosion.
Anthropogenic causes:
• uncontrolled deforestation,
• irrational use of arable land,
• wrong reclamation,
• drainage of swamps and lakes,
• overgrazing, leading to the destruction of all vegetation.
The increase in the area of deserts contributes to the formation of dry climates. Which leads to an increase in the average annual temperature and, as a consequence, to climate change on the planet. Extreme weather conditions are increasingly occurring, causing tremendous damage to humanity. Glaciers are rapidly melting and ocean levels are rising. Many species of flora and fauna die. Fresh water supplies are dwindling. A food problem arises. This problem is especially acute for the developing countries of Africa. The increase in the area of the Sahara Desert leads to a reduction in agricultural land. Famine will cause conflicts between countries and global population migration. The population of the planet is well aware of the disaster that awaits us in connection with desertification. Therefore, planting forests in deserts is one of the priority tasks of mankind.
Great Green Wall.
The Sahara is the largest desert on Earth. Its area is 9 million km². Occupying almost the entire northern part of Africa, it is intensively advancing on the fertile lands in the south. The African Union and the Sahel-Sahara community have created the Great Green Wall project. The goal of the project is to separate the fertile land from the sands of the Sahara. The wall will cross the entire continent from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and pass through 11 countries.
The width of the forest plantations is at least 16 km, the length is 7775 km, the total area is 11.6 million hectares. There is data for 2019, 15% of the green belt was planted. The ecological situation where the forests were planted has improved significantly. The amount of precipitation has increased, degraded land is rapidly recovering.
Scientific communities in other countries are also working on the creation of projects for the greening of the Sahara. After conducting special studies that can happen with the climate, in connection with the planting of forests in most of the Sahara, experts have come to the conclusion that the average annual temperature may drop by 5-8 degrees. The planted forests will stimulate an increase in precipitation. The rains will lead to the formation of clouds, which will reflect some of the sun's rays. This will have a beneficial effect on climate change for the better.
Using the salt water of the ocean.
American biologist Leonard Ornstein and his fellow climatologists David Rind and Igor Aleinov proposed their project to modernize the Sahara. The essence of the project is to desalinate ocean water. To deliver it to the desert, they suggest, using plastic pipes equipped with powerful pumps, carrying out drip irrigation. But this project has a huge cost.
British: Charlie Paton, head of Seawater Greenhouse, architect Michael Paulin and engineer Bill Watts. They propose to build greenhouses, also using sea water. The system works on the principle of the water cycle in nature. Seawater is heated by concentrated sunlight and evaporates, forming a kind of clouds. It falls in the form of dew on the soil, moistening it.
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They calculated that the greenhouses could produce five times more fresh water. The surplus can be used outside the greenhouses. This makes it possible to plant belts of vegetation, and then full-fledged forests. This technology is already being used in Spain and Saudi Arabia.
Greening of deserts in China.
Now I want to talk about the countries that are successfully fighting the desertification of their territories and their methods. First of all, this is China.
There are more than 10 deserts in this country. Sandy lands cover 27% of the country's territory, and only about 12% of the area is arable land. Moreover, China has the largest agricultural production in the world. The government is investing heavily in creating fertile land. According to experts, the fight against desertification costs China billions of dollars a year. And they have achieved good results.
The Chinese have greened the Mu-Us desert by 93%. For 60 years, through the efforts of local authorities and the population, 70 thousand hectares of forest plantations have been planted. We planted forest belts from the Mongolian pine, it is adapted to the arid climate, sun-loving, has a powerful root system that restrains the movement of dunes, is a good forest forming agent.
Another interesting method was used. The plow was used to make deep furrows, creating a huge checkered surface. Grass was laid there, during the night condensation accumulated in the hay.
The sprouts were protected from direct sunlight and received moisture. Now on the southwestern edge of the Mu-Us desert there is the state national nature reserve "Baijitan" with an area of over 220 hectares. It is an evergreen oasis with groves, small lakes and flowering lavender fields.For twenty years the Kuzupchi desert has been successfully landscaped. It used to be the poorest region in China. With the help of the adopted reforms, state support, investments of industrialists, local residents are engaged in landscaping. The peasants' incomes have increased significantly. Since 2004 Ili Corporation has been mobilizing peasants to fight desertification. 232 groups were organized, thanks to which 102 thousand people were able to get rid of poverty.
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This Chinese model attracted a lot of attention from many participants from different countries at the 6th International Forum on Combating Desertification, which took place in 2017. According to experts, this approach will play a crucial role in combating desertification in the countries covered by the Belt and Road Initiative.
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The Kuzupchi model was noted as an “econavator” in the UN Declaration as an example for preventing desertification. The main success of the model lies in increasing the level of income of the population while simultaneously greening territories by combining ecology and industry; industrial enterprises and environmental management are developing.
The largest desert in Asia, the Gobi, covers the northern and northeastern parts of the country and the southern part of Mongolia. Dust storms coming from Mongolia annually take away from the country up to 1300 km2 of fertile land. In order to separate its territory from the Mongolian part, China has created the largest tree-planting project on the planet - "China Green Wall". The project, which began in the 70s of the last century, is planned to be completed in 2050. It is planned to create a green belt with a length of 4,500 km to stop the expansion of the desert.
The entire Chinese people are involved in the project. Thus, according to the law, every Chinese citizen from 11 to 60 years old is obliged to plant three to five trees within a year or pay the corresponding tax. Upon successful completion of the project, the area of China's forests will increase by 350,000 thousand km2. Accordingly, the area of arable land will increase significantly.
Creation of forests in Israel.
In Israel, the issue of greening the deserts, which occupy two-thirds of the land, is also very acute. There are three deserts on the territory of this country: Negev, Judean and Arava. Back in 1964, with the support of the Jewish National Foundation Keren Kaemet le Israeli under the leadership of Yosef Weitz, the Israelis began to plant the first tree sprouts in the Negev Desert. Now there is a huge forest growing there - Yatir, more than 4 million trees, on an area of 4 thousand hectares. The forest surprises with its diversity, Jerusalem pine prevails, oaks, eucalyptus, cedars and other conifers also grow.
The strips of trees alternate with orchards and vineyards. The man-made forest is a landmark and pride of Israel. Roads, recreation areas, camping sites, artificial lakes have been created there. Local residents and guests of the country come to rest. Ecotourism is actively developing.
Constantly greening their lands, Israeli specialists have created a new productive and low-cost method of growing forests in the desert. Trees grow without watering. Moreover, the survival rate is more than 80%. Saplings are planted in plastic boxes, outside they are light, inside dark. Under the influence of sunlight, moisture condenses, flows down, moistening the soil. This is enough for the development of a small plant. Within 5-7 years, the roots reach the aquifer. The method is very simple and requires minimal labor. South America and Kazakhstan are adopting this experience to combat desertification in their countries. Today, the area of forests in Israel is growing every year, unlike many other countries.
Rehabilitation of degraded land in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, in 2019, a state-supported project was launched - Tsunami of 10 Billion Trees. The goal of the project is to plant 10 billion trees within 5 years. This will help restore degraded lands, increase the area of forests, and improve climatic conditions. In one year they achieved phenomenal success, planting trees on an area of 3500 km². The program is designed not only to protect land from degradation, but along the way, thousands of jobs were created for its implementation. In a country where the population is looking for work abroad, this is very important. WWF Pakistan spokesman said: “The government's decision is a very good idea for creating green jobs and hiring people.
This has taught us a valuable lesson: when you invest in nature, it not only pays off, but also saves you in a tense economic situation. " The project was recognized by the World Economic Fund and other international organizations.
Effective creation of a fertile layer.
For the landscaping of deserts in Russia, specialists managed to create an environmentally friendly soil-forming fertilizer based on sapropel and agroperlite. Sapropel is a natural, colloidal and moisture-consuming product. Its formation occurs from natural raw materials of productive bottom silts, freshwater reservoirs. Agroperlite is pure wood-based carbon black. These two components, prepared in certain proportions, give an effective result in the formation of fertile soils. Tests in Jordan, on the desert lands of Wadi Rum, have shown that from the depleted structure of the desert soil within 2-3 years, it is possible to obtain a hum-containing layer suitable for planting grass, shrubs, trees. This makes it possible to turn depleted waste lands into forests, deserts into oases. Countries of Central Asia. Africa and the Middle East are already using Russian fertilizer.
Conclusion.
So we see that there are many ways how to create a forest in the desert. It can be assumed that the development of all kinds of nanotechnology will give us a huge number of opportunities. It is very important to share our successful experience with each other, use effective technologies, sound business management, and support new projects. All this will help us solve the global problem of desertification. Where there is a will there is a way.