"I hadn't seen a tree before I came here." XiHuan, a 52-year-old villager in Gaqing Village, Seni District, Nagqu City, Tibet, who has lived on the grassland for half a lifetime, could not have imagined that one day his hometown would be able to plant trees in the cold and oxygen-deficient hometown.
In 2018, Xihuan went to nagqu alpine high-altitude science and technology tree planting test demonstration base to work, responsible for seedling management and protection. "Tree, yagu (Tibetan: good)!" Xi Huan gave a thumbs up and a smile on his face blossomed.
Nishio takes care of these green beings with all his heart and soul. People's Daily Photo by Li Haixia
Is it difficult to plant a living tree? Maybe many people will say: it is not difficult. But in that song, the answer is: it's hard.
Why? "The average altitude of Nagqu is more than 4500 meters, the frozen soil layer is thick, the wind is cold, and there is only an optimal growth period of more than two months per year, and the long wind and snow period and the soil freezing period lead to serious frost damage to the saplings, which is difficult to take root, and the degree of lignification of new branches is low." Hao Wei, general manager of Nagqu Yili Ecological Technology Co., Ltd., introduced.
Even if it's hard, plant it!
As early as 1998, Nagqu forestry technicians built the first tree planting test base in the local area, covering an area of only 2 acres, and tried to plant alpine willows, water cypress branches, sea buckthorn, Bangong willow, etc., but with little success.
In 2007, forestry technicians again introduced spruce and alpine willow for trial planting, and only 14 trees survived. It can be said that these 14 trees are the oldest trees in Nagqu City.
In November 2016, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China launched the "13th Five-Year Plan" Typical Fragile Ecological Restoration and Protection Research "Key Special Project" project of "Research and Development of Key Technologies for Urban Tree Planting and Greening Model Demonstration in Nagqu Area", led by Elion Group, a sand control enterprise in Kubuqi, Inner Mongolia, and jointly with a number of scientific research units to launch a green challenge to Nagqu.
Here, with conventional afforestation techniques, it is basically difficult for trees to survive. How to plant trees scientifically has become a difficult problem in front of the research team. "In the selection and breeding of seedlings, we use big data technology to screen and compare germplasm resources on a large scale and on a large scale. Nearly 50 trees were planted on a trial basis, and only 8 survived. Hao Wei introduced, "Established a climate monitoring station, relying on the ecological big data service platform, comprehensively collect the indicators of temperature, humidity, wind speed, light intensity, soil climate and species growth characteristics, and formulate and implement a number of windproof and cold-proof measures." In view of the strong ultraviolet rays and the restriction of plant growth, the atomization spray mode is adopted to increase the air humidity and avoid burns to the trees by the sun. In view of the low soil temperature and insufficient accumulated temperature, the tree enclosure is made of polymer materials, which plays a role in water accumulation and sun protection, and can also absorb solar radiation and convert it into heat to warm the roots. ”
Open-top heated greenhouse. People's Daily Photo by Li Haixia
The demonstration base planted 300,000 trees. Photo by Jiang Feibo
The effort paid off, and the research team finally solved the technical problem of planting trees at an altitude of more than 4500 meters. "After more than 5 years of hard work, we have developed a set of practical methods and models for planting trees in alpine and high-altitude areas, planting 400,000 trees, with a survival rate of 75%, so that the people of Nagqu can also see the 'small forest' at their doorstep." Wang Wenbiao, chairman of Elion Group, said.
This scientific and technological achievement has been promoted in some parts of Nagqu. In 2020, Nagqu Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Jinghu Park, Children's Welfare Homes, Nursing Homes and other places opened the urban courtyard, road and park green space greening mode.
Walking into the nursing home in Nagqu City, you can see that spruce, lilac and other trees are growing hard in the sun. "Sitting in the house and seeing the trees, and the birds nesting in the trees, I feel good every day. Never thought about it before. Sangmei, 72, is a native of Kumma Township, Nagqusena district.
It's so hard to plant trees, so why plant them?
Tibet is the main body of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and an important national ecological security barrier. It is known as the "water tower of Asia", and it is also the "river source" and "ecological source" of China and South Asia and Southeast Asia.
"We will bear in mind the important concept of 'green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains, ice and snow are also golden mountains and silver mountains', and through the application of various types of science and technology, accelerate the promotion of the achievements of nagqu science and technology tree planting, so that the people in the alpine and high-altitude areas of Tibet can enjoy more tree forests and ecologically livable happy life." Wang Wenbiao said.
"Now that there is a tree in Nagqu, although it can't be compared with other places, it's already very good." Our children are happy and can see trees from an early age. Therefore, I have to take good care of them. Nishi said with a smile. (Li Haixia)
Source: People's Daily News