Soil erosion control: Drafting a green code for the blue planet

Satellite imagery evidences China's landmark achievements in tackling soil erosion and restoring degraded land.

Persistent and targeted ecological efforts have turned barren hills into green landscapes, effectively safeguarding watersheds and improving ecosystem stability.

Located in the heart of the Loess Plateau, Qingyang once suffered from fragile ecology and severe soil erosion. Ziwuling Forest is known as a vital natural green barrier for the region.

In 2013, the local government launched the "Rebuild a Ziwuling" afforestation project with region-specific tree planting. Satellite images show that by 2024, nearly 5,000 square kilometers of afforestation had been completed.

Once barren mountains are now covered in green, gullies are stabilized, and a strong ecological Great Wall has been built to protect the Yellow River Basin.

Changting was once a severely eroded area in the southern red soil region, with bare hills, exposed red soil and widespread collapsed slopes.

Systematic control has been carried out since 1983, including terracing sloping farmland, managing collapsed slopes and planting vegetation.

As a result of these efforts, satellite images show that in the past decade, more than 15 square kilometers of sloping land have been terraced and over 1,000 collapsed slopes have been treated. Barren hills have regained green cover, turning the once bare red soil into an ecological oasis.

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