Soil Technology Helps Reclaim Desert in Xinjiang

A desert research team from Chongqing Jiaotong University has been conducting experiments to build arid desert ground into soil that can grow plants in Hotan prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Located on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, China's largest, Hotan has suffered from wind and sand erosion for generations.

"It is common sense that the desert is characterized by lack of water, but there is another factor. The sands cannot retain water and nutrients, so only desert plants can survive," said Yi Zhijian, the leader of the team.Since coming to Hotan in 2017, the experts have been using plant fiber adhesive to turn sand into soil. They simply scatter the adhesive on the surface using tractors and then stir it up with a little water.

Eventually, the desert sands will be able to sustain a variety of plants at a cost of only 2,000 yuan ($281) to 3,000 yuan per mu, Yi said. There are 15 mu in one hectare.The team invented the fibrous adhesives in 2013. They form an elastic bond between the grains of sand, turning them into a sort of net that can grow plants.

Armed with this technology in 2017, Yi's team turned about 133 hectares of desert into decent soil. In 2018, the team has grown more than 40 kinds of crops on the 200 hectares of amended desert soil.Now, after almost four years of experiments, the team has expanded to more 660 hectares of desert, and the crops grown there provide feed for livestock on nearby farms.

The team said the technology has been applied in many places, including Hainan and Sichuan provinces and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The experimental area encompasses more than 1,300 hectares nationwide, with Hotan being the largest single area."This year, we will see if we can enter the stage of industrializing the technology. Perhaps one day it will provide a way for controlling desertification in Hotan," Yi said.