In late August, the scene of Hukou in Wuwei County, Gansu Province, relying on the "sand barrier + shuttle" model to crush sand for afforestation. Photo by Que Daohua
Wuwei, Gansu, China, August 26 (Gao Zhan Cui Lin) "This place is called Tiger Mouth, not because the terrain is long like a tiger, but because in previous years, the wind and sand here were tyrannical, and when the wind blew, the sand rolled stones and roared like a tiger." Bai Shengzhong, a villager in Shangquan Village, Datan Town, Minqin County, Wuwei, Gansu Province, said that after more than ten years of efforts by Minqin people to control sand, the shuttles and grids everywhere have firmly locked the quicksand.
Minqin County is surrounded by sand on three sides and is surrounded by two major deserts, Tenggeri and Badain Jaran. Among them, Laohukou is the largest wind and sand mouth on the western line of Minqin Oasis, with a total length of 37 kilometers and a desert area of 170,000 mu. The sand sources in the area are deep and wide, and the sand dunes are scattered, which seriously threatens the production and life of the people in 5 towns and 18 villages along the route, and the safe operation of transportation, communications, water conservancy and other facilities. For a long time, every "roar" of the tiger mouth has brought different degrees of harm to the locals.
Bai Shengzhong, 52, wears a white shirt and has a confident smile on his simple face. "Over the years, the effect of tiger mouth sand control is very obvious, there is less wind and sand, and the harvest in the field is better." Bai Shengzhong said that more than ten years ago, in the winter and spring, the wind was raging, and after the yellow wind, it was full of sand; every year during the spring sowing period, the crops had to be replanted with several stubbles. "Once the wind and sand come, you have to replant it once, and the harvest depends on the mood of god."
The endless "Desert Guard" shuttle locked the wind and sand of the "Tiger's Mouth". Photo by Gao Zhan
"Some villagers use wheatgrass to plant wheat grass at the edge of the field in an attempt to block a small amount of wind and sand, thereby increasing the survival rate of crops." Bai Huiben said, but the effect was minimal, and the dunes were still pressing forward.
Time came to 2008, the county launched the implementation of the large-scale treatment project of Laohukou, which lasted two years, completed the "sand barrier + shuttle" model project sand pressing afforestation of 100,000 mu, 46,000 mu of beach afforestation, the implementation of sand sealing and afforestation (grass) 24,000 mu, the construction of sand prevention and control technology demonstration area of 0.2 million mu, the test demonstration of straw, geotechnical bags, clay, nylon net, pebbles, corn straw, ecological grass mats and other sand barrier setting technology 9 items, vegetation coverage in the treatment area reached 36%, and the soil crust at the top of the sand dune was initially formed. The surrounding ecology is gradually restored.
Suo suo is the "desert guard", that is, it is to fix the sand in the desert. Bai Shengzhong said: "The root system of the shuttle is very developed, and it can extend to a depth of more than ten meters underground to absorb water, which also plays a good role in sand fixation." Bai Shengzhong said that the most tired thing is to pull water, all from a long distance, people carry animals to reach the destination.
"In the past, ordinary people begged for a living here, just like the tiger's mouth to survive." Jin Fawan, director of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Minqin County, said that the development of Minqin should first consider ecological and environmental issues, "If the survival of the people is a problem, the economy cannot be mentioned." ”
"Local villagers are accompanied by sand all year round, fighting with sand, pressing sand every autumn, and planting trees in spring. The county completes more than 40,000 mu of sand pressing and afforestation every year. Jinfawan said that as of now, using the model of "straw sand barrier + shuttle + artificial replanting grass seeds", the county's artificial afforestation and preservation area has reached more than 2.2986 million mu, of which the area of sand pressing afforestation has reached more than 633,000 mu; the sealing and breeding of natural sand vegetation is more than 3.25 million mu, and the county forest coverage rate has increased from 3% in the 1950s to 17.91%. "Effectively blocking the two major deserts 'holding hands', the ecological environment of the county has continued to improve."
Now the tiger's mouth is full of grid-like sand barriers and thousands of shuttles and red willows. The environment has improved, and the lives of local villagers have changed dramatically. "I'm wearing it clean, I don't have any soil on my face anymore, my crops are harvesting well, and I've started to think about developing side businesses to subsidize my family." Bai Shengzhong said. (End)
Source: China News Network