The impact of large-scale afforestation on ecological environment in the Gobi region

Abstract

In recent year, there has been large-scale afforestation in the gobi region of western Inner Mongolia, China. However, this area has low annual precipitation of 35–55 mm, and a high annual evaporation capacity of 3842 mm. Further, water resources in this region are scarce and cannot support the sustainable growth of shrubs. Thus, without effective irrigation, the shrubs cannot survive and ultimately, large-scale afforestation in the gobi region will destroy “black vegetation”. The surface of this area is covered by dense gravel (65.43–82.08%; average of 77.14%) as a result of long-term erosion caused by strong winds. The sediments underlying the gravel layer are rich in sand (60.34–87.51%) and silt (11.26–35.18%). Once the surface gravel layer is destroyed, the underlying sand and silt expose and increase dust supply, and result in increased intensity and frequency of dust storms. Thus, large-scale afforestation in the gobi region is an ecological disaster for these very dry lands.