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So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

livescience.com

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Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#81

Post by 3371 »

raven12345 wrote: post #75
ramblenode wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of China's large projects are actually some type of competition with the US. The Tianjin Grand Bridge was basically built to eclipse the Causeway and showcase China's engineering prowess. The massive Shanghai subway buildout was a direct challenge to New York City's subway hegemony. Those 20+ story pig towers? Totally unnecessary way to do farming, but a source of national pride when compared to the already impr…

Unlike the Soviet Union, China did not have much of a competitive mentality towards the United States, because for most of the time China lagged far behind the United States.

What? 超英趕美 has been a thing since 1958.

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#82

Post by marc_g »

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #77
jillesvangurp wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Addressing desertification of land is actually pretty smart. It's not pure charity. The land is actually more valuable when it isn't a desert anymore. If the land can support soil and hold water again, it becomes suitable for farming. If you don that sustainably (i.e. don't allow it to turn it back into desert), that adds to the economy. There's a lot of degraded land all over the world that with a little bit of focu…

My favorite story about revitalizing land: company dropped 12,000 tons of (waste) orange peels and left. Decades later and the wasted land has been revitalized after the nutrient infusion. https://www.sciencealert.com/how-12-000-tonnes-of-dumped-ora...

Fascinating. The before, during, and after photos are incredible.

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#83

Post by blks »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #55
culi wrote: post #5

China accounts for more than 25% of the global net increase in leaf area between 2000 and 2017, according to NASA data https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/china-has-pl... China's also been a major supporter of the Great Green Wall of Africa providing technology and funding. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3302068/why-...

Addressing desertification of land is actually pretty smart. It's not pure charity. The land is actually more valuable when it isn't a desert anymore. If the land can support soil and hold water again, it becomes suitable for farming. If you don that sustainably (i.e. don't allow it to turn it back into desert), that adds to the economy. There's a lot of degraded land all over the world that with a little bit of focu…

We need a climate Stalin. Nothing will be done about it otherwise.

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#84

Post by inglor_cz »

IncreasePosts wrote: post #66
inglor_cz wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main problem with attempts at reversing the damage is that forests aren't fungible. An old growth forest has a rich, balanced ecosystem. Newly planted forests tend to be susceptible to catastrophic damage by various critters, as the species mix is much less complex, and their fauna and flora is relatively impoverished.

In the grand scheme of things having an old growth forest is probably better than having a new growth forest, but if a goal is to increase carbon absorption, new growth forests beat the pants off old growth forests.

True, growing forests are carbon sinks while stable forests are neutral.

As long as you can prevent forest fires, which would release the CO2 again...

IDK if you can prevent forest fires in Taklamakan, with its relatively high summer temperatures.

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#85

Post by red-iron-pine »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #55
culi wrote: post #5

China accounts for more than 25% of the global net increase in leaf area between 2000 and 2017, according to NASA data https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/china-has-pl... China's also been a major supporter of the Great Green Wall of Africa providing technology and funding. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3302068/why-...

Addressing desertification of land is actually pretty smart. It's not pure charity. The land is actually more valuable when it isn't a desert anymore. If the land can support soil and hold water again, it becomes suitable for farming. If you don that sustainably (i.e. don't allow it to turn it back into desert), that adds to the economy. There's a lot of degraded land all over the world that with a little bit of focu…

> centuries of overgrazing by sheep and goats has turned much of the middle east into a waste land. Simply keeping sheep off the land with some fences can actually restore land within a few years.

Lebanon was famous for its ceder trees, for example. most are long gone...

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#86

Post by red-iron-pine »

staplers wrote: post #59
jillesvangurp wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Addressing desertification of land is actually pretty smart. It's not pure charity. The land is actually more valuable when it isn't a desert anymore. If the land can support soil and hold water again, it becomes suitable for farming. If you don that sustainably (i.e. don't allow it to turn it back into desert), that adds to the economy. There's a lot of degraded land all over the world that with a little bit of focu…

The 8-8-8 rule (8 hrs work, 8 hrs play, 8 hrs sleep) that unions lobbied for during labor reforms helped establish a common sustainable work week. Something similar for land management could go a long way. 33% for farming, 33% for human development, 33% for forest/dense wild. Just an example, but you get the idea.

yeah but stock prices need to go up

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#87

Post by paul_h »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #55
culi wrote: post #5

China accounts for more than 25% of the global net increase in leaf area between 2000 and 2017, according to NASA data https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/china-has-pl... China's also been a major supporter of the Great Green Wall of Africa providing technology and funding. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3302068/why-...

Addressing desertification of land is actually pretty smart. It's not pure charity. The land is actually more valuable when it isn't a desert anymore. If the land can support soil and hold water again, it becomes suitable for farming. If you don that sustainably (i.e. don't allow it to turn it back into desert), that adds to the economy. There's a lot of degraded land all over the world that with a little bit of focu…

> Scotland has a lot of planted pine forests that have drowned out native species

Team Land management for Grouse hunting enters the chat.

https://www.mossy.earth/rewilding-knowledge/rewilding-scotla... ... "In the 1700s, large scale sport shooting and sheep grazing began to leave its mark on the landscape. Overabundant herbivores and over grazing, alongside regular burning, prevented woodlands from naturally regenerating, causing soil erosion, soil acidification, flooding, biodiversity loss and more"

And - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuTV1SiYeu4 - is a longer story that bubbled up in social media a few months ago. Maybe not Hacker News.

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#88

Post by ragall »

paul_h wrote: post #87
jillesvangurp wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Addressing desertification of land is actually pretty smart. It's not pure charity. The land is actually more valuable when it isn't a desert anymore. If the land can support soil and hold water again, it becomes suitable for farming. If you don that sustainably (i.e. don't allow it to turn it back into desert), that adds to the economy. There's a lot of degraded land all over the world that with a little bit of focu…

> Scotland has a lot of planted pine forests that have drowned out native species Team Land management for Grouse hunting enters the chat. https://www.mossy.earth/rewilding-knowledge/rewilding-scotla... ... "In the 1700s, large scale sport shooting and sheep grazing began to leave its mark on the landscape. Overabundant herbivores and over grazing, alongside regular burning, prevented woodlands from naturally regener…

There's a non-profit called "Planet Wild" that funds re-greening projects all over Europe, Africa and even India. Here's one in Scotland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiDBAU2d7oE, or Spain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1QJvRsjg8M. Forest plantations are monocultures that kill biodiversity.

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#89

Post by ragall »

tyre wrote: post #15
stevenjgarner wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Taklamakan+Desert/@38.8709...

I believe this is an example https://maps.app.goo.gl/aXtwERHb2pVxEVnV6 Those rows of greenery are the trees planted. They do a ton of this by hand, it's really fascinating.

> They do a ton of this by hand, it's really fascinating

They used to, but now they have robots that plant tree seedlings.

Re: So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

#90

Post by raven12345 »

3371 wrote: post #81
raven12345 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlike the Soviet Union, China did not have much of a competitive mentality towards the United States, because for most of the time China lagged far behind the United States.

What? 超英趕美 has been a thing since 1958.

Did I say there was absolutely none? And this slogan is only for steel production. Is there anything else?
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