Recycling

Biography

Biography: Zhao Xueyong

Abstract

The agro-pastoral transitional zone in northern China refers to a region along the isohyets line of 380 mm annual precipitation in northern China and covers about 8.5*105 km2 and a transitional zone from nomadic land use to growingly intensified cropping land use. In the past 50 years, this region went through a severe desertification period from 1950s-1980s mainly due to cropland invasion and over-grazing driven by population increase. Since early 1990, desertification has been reversed, however, the reversion rate has been decreased and water availability reduced, characterized by lake shrinkage, river drying-up and underground water table reduction. As a result, natural and planted trees and bushes of large area died of drought and came into a challenge to land restoration and local economic development. Therefore, there come to a common consensus that promotion of recycling material use, including water and organic matter from agro-pastoral activities, for degraded land restoration and economic development in the agro-pastoral transitional zone. Since 2011, a series of experiment have been carried out on selection of fiber decomposers, techniques for fast decomposition of organic matter of stalks, manures and residues after animal feeding, mixed with sand and/or bentonite for re-production of animal feeding, granulate organic fertilizer and soil ameliorant, etc.. Eight decomposers of fungi were cultured for fast decomposition of organic matter, and a trial production line was industrialized for producing semi-fermented livestock feedings, organic fertilizer, and organic mixture for shifting sand fixation and soil improvement (photo 1). The trial production line is of a capacity to produce organic mixture to successfully fix 200 ha of shifting sand dunes and animal feedings of 50-60 t annually. It is expected that this technique will be fully developed and utilized in a larger scale for desertified land restoration and employment of more labors.