China Hopes 'Straw Checkerboards' Will Keep Desert at Bay
Large-scale tree planting and new straw checkerboard techniques are being deployed in China to combat desertification.
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The brief
Since 1978, the country has planted 66 billion trees to stabilize land, with recent data showing these planted forests gaining leaf cover at a faster rate than natural woodlands. Coverage from MassLive, AOL.com, Space Daily, ZME Science, and Newser highlights both the scale of the "Great Green Wall" and the introduction of straw checkerboards.
Reports emphasize that while these forestation efforts show growth, scientific warnings regarding the status of desertification persist. Future reports will track the efficacy of the straw checkerboard method in containing desert expansion.
Coverage does not yet specify how these new techniques will integrate with existing long-term reforestation projects.
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Quick answers
What is the 'Great Green Wall'?
It is a large-scale project initiated in 1978 involving the planting of 66 billion trees to hold back deserts.
Are the planted forests effective?
Coverage indicates the planted forests are gaining leaf cover faster than natural woodland, though scientists continue to issue warnings regarding desertification.
What are straw checkerboards?
They are a method being implemented to help keep desert expansion at bay.
Coverage (5)
- The Great Green Wall: Billions of trees seem to be growing faster than average MassLive · 1d ago
- Scientists issue desert warning in China despite success of the ‘Green Great Wall’ AOL.com · 1d ago
- Since 1978, China has planted 66 billion trees to hold back two deserts, and the planted forest is now gaining leaf cover faster than the country's natural woodland Space Daily · 1d ago
- China Planted Billions of Trees and Scientists Just Found an Unexpected Advantage of These New Forests ZME Science · 1d ago
- China Hopes 'Straw Checkerboards' Will Keep Desert at Bay Newser · 1d ago
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