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Vegetation grows along the Tarim River on the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert. |Image source: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
China’s massive reforestation is turning one of the world’s largest and driest deserts into a carbon sink, meaning it absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits, new research shows.
The Taklimakan Desert (also called Taklimakan or Taklamakan) is slightly larger than the state of Montana, stretching about 130,000 square miles (337,000 square kilometers). It is surrounded by high mountains that block moist air from reaching the desert for much of the year, creating extremely arid conditions that are too harsh for most people plant.
However, over the past few decades, China Sowing a forest on the edge of Taklimakana new study shows this approach is starting to bear fruit.
“For the first time, we have found that human-led interventions can effectively enhance carbon sequestration even in the most extreme drought areas, demonstrating the potential to transform deserts into carbon sinks and halt desertification,” said study co-authors. Yuronga professor of planetary science at the California Institute of Technology and a senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told LiveScience in an email.
Research shows that more than 95% of the Taklimakan Desert is covered by quicksand, which means it has long been considered a “biological blank.” Since China experienced massive urbanization and farmland expansion in the 1950s, the desert has continued to expand. This transformation of natural land creates the conditions for more dust storms to occur, which often blow away soil and deposit sand, leading to land degradation and desertification.
In 1978, China implemented the “Three North Shelterbelt Project”, a huge ecological project aimed at mitigating desertification. Also known as the “Great Green Wall,” the project aims to plant billions of trees on the edge of the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts by 2050. More than 66 billion trees have been planted in northern China so far, but experts believe debate Whether the Great Green Wall significantly reduces the frequency of sandstorms.
China completed vegetating the Taklimakan Desert in 2024, and researchers say the effort has stabilized the dunes and desert The country’s forest cover has increased It has increased from 10% of its area in 1949 to over 25% today.
China wants to plant trees and shrubs on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert and use heavy machinery to level the dunes. |Image source: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Now, scientists have discovered that the spreading vegetation on the outskirts of the Taklimakan Desert is absorbing more carbon dioxide (CO2) is releasing more carbon into the atmosphere than the desert is releasing, meaning the Taklimakan may be transforming into a stable carbon sink.
The researchers analyzed ground observation data of different vegetation cover types and showed precipitation, vegetation cover, photosynthesis and carbon dioxide2 Flux changes in the Taklimakan Desert over the past 25 years. They also used the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s carbon trackermodeling CO2 global sources and sinks to support their discoveries.
The results were published in the January 19 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesshowing a long-term trend of expanding vegetation and rising carbon dioxide2 Absorbed along the edge of the desert, consistent in time and space with the Great Green Wall.
Increased vegetation cover around the Taklimakan Desert promotes photosynthesis and carbon dioxide sequestration. |Image source: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
During the study period, precipitation in the Taklimakan Desert during the rainy season from July to September was 2.5 times that during the dry season, averaging about 0.6 inches (16 millimeters) per month. Precipitation enhances vegetation cover, greening and photosynthesis on the desert edge, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions2 Concentrations over the desert increase from 416 ppm in the dry season to 413 ppm in the wet season.
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previous Research indicated The Taklimakan Desert may be a carbon sink, but these studies have mainly focused on carbon dioxide2 Absorbed by desert sand. They also believe that sand is not a stable carbon sink when climate changebecause rising temperatures cause the air in the sand to expand, releasing additional carbon dioxide2.
“According to the results of this study, the Taklimakan Desert, although only on its edge, represents the first successful model showing the possibility of transforming deserts into carbon sinks,” Yong said.
The Great Green Wall’s potential to slow desertification is unclear, but its role as a carbon sink “could become a valuable model for other desert regions,” he added.
