Alpine regions grow "small forests"

Source: People's Daily - People's Daily

"I hadn't seen a tree before I came here." XiHuan, a 52-year-old villager in Gaqing Village, Seni District, Nagqu City, Tibet, could not have imagined that one day he would be able to plant trees in his hometown of Gao Han.

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. Today, the seedlings at the base are full of greenery.

Is it difficult to plant a living tree? In that song, the answer is: it's hard.

"The average altitude of Nagqu City 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 will lead to frost damage to saplings, it 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! The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is known as the "Water Tower of Asia", and Tibet is located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is an important ecological security barrier.

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, etc., but with little effect.

In 2007, forestry technicians again introduced spruce and alpine willow for trial planting, and only 14 trees survived. These 14 trees are now the oldest trees in Nagqu City.

In November 2016, the Ministry of Science and Technology launched the "13th Five-Year Plan" key research project on typical fragile ecological restoration and protection. Among them, the project of "Research and Development of Key Technologies for Urban Tree Planting and Demonstration of Greening Model in Nagqu Area" was led by Elion Group, a sand control enterprise in Kubuqi, Inner Mongolia, and jointly carried out research by a number of scientific research units.

In Nagqu, with conventional afforestation techniques, trees are difficult to survive. How to overcome difficulties and plant trees scientifically has become a difficult problem facing 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. Nearly 50 trees were planted on a trial basis, and only 8 survived. Hao Wei introduced that the research team has established a climate monitoring station, relying on the ecological big data service platform, comprehensively collecting indicators such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, light intensity, soil conditions and species growth characteristics, and formulating and implementing 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 of the trees.

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 five years of hard work, we have developed a set of practical and feasible tree planting models 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 units and places in Nagqu. In 2020, the Nagqu Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Jinghu Park, Children's Welfare Home, Nursing Home, etc., carried out the greening of urban courtyards, roads and park green spaces.

In the nursing home in Nagqu City, spruce, lilac and other trees come alive in the sun. "Sitting in the house and seeing the trees, and the birds nesting in the trees, I feel good every day." Sang Mei, a 72-year-old resident of Kongma Township in Nagqu Seni District, said.

"We will bear in mind and practice the concept of 'green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains', accelerate the promotion of the achievements of Nagqu science and technology planting trees through various scientific and technological means, make greater contributions to the protection of Tibet's ecological environment, and let the people in alpine and high-altitude areas live an ecologically livable and happy life." Wang Wenbiao said.

"Our children are very happy and can see trees from an early age." Nishio smiled and said, "I'm going to take good care of them." ”

People's Daily (2021-08-25 18th edition)