People familiar with Alipay should know that there is a"Ant Forest"Every time Alipay is used for electronic payment, a green energy ball will be generated. After enough virtual energy is accumulated, real saplings can be exchanged and finally planted in the Gobi Desert in northwest China

People familiar with Alipay should know that there is a"Ant Forest"Every time Alipay is used for electronic payment, a green energy ball will be generated. After enough virtual energy is accumulated, real saplings can be exchanged and finally planted in the Gobi Desert in northwest China.

"Ant Forest"However, few people actually investigate and prove whether these virtual saplings have actually been planted in the desert.

The problem of land desertification in China

China has a vast territory and a wide range of regional environments, and there is a serious problem of land desertification in the northwest region. The factors leading to land desertification mainly include climate change and human activities.

Climate variability has existed for a long time in the already severely arid northwest region, with vegetation degradation and wind erosion occurring since ancient times. However, unreasonable human activities are an important factor in the emergence of land desertification in modern times.

Both the West and China have experienced a stage of sacrificing the ecological environment in exchange for economic development.Unconscious land reclamation, crop planting, Overgrazing, and deforestation will lead to land depletion.

Combined with poor irrigation methods, excessive water use and water pollution, it has caused water and soil loss, Desertification and salinization, which not only affect the natural environment, but also affect the social economy, and ultimately threaten human survival and social development.

A large number of human activities that violate the laws of nature have overwhelmed the already fragile ecological environment, leading to increasingly serious problems.

According to relevant data, one fifth of the global population is threatened by land desertification, and China is one of the most severely affected countries.

It is reported that the lower reaches of the Tarim River suffer from severe water loss due to excessive agricultural water use, which affects the growth of local vegetation and leads to large-scale desertification.

At the World Conference on Preventing Desertification in 1977, Beijing was listed as a desert Edge city.In recent years, the frequent occurrence of sandstorms in the North and Northwest regions of China is also one of the serious manifestations of land desertification.

The Economic Loss Assessment of Desertification Disasters in China shows that the direct economic losses caused by desertification in China are as high as 54 billion yuan, and solving environmental problems is urgent.

In 1981, the National People's Congress passed the Resolution on Carrying out the National Compulsory Tree Planting Movement.

In 2002, the State promulgated and implemented the Law of the People's Republic of China on National Defense and Desertification Control, which vigorously publicized the concept of environmental protection to the public throughout the country and strengthened the public's awareness of participating in environmental protection.

"Ant Forest"

In the memory of many people, every March 12th Arbor Day, schools and units organize collective participation in tree planting activities. Under the influence of such an atmosphere,More civil organizations and even well-known entrepreneurs are beginning to devote themselves to the cause of environmental protection.

2016"Ant Forest"

"Ant Forest"

In addition to shopping and paying fees, environmental friendly and low-carbon travel modes such as walking, taking high-speed rail, taking bus and renting Bicycle-sharing system can also generate green energy balls.

Users can steal their friends' energy and also use functions such as accelerated maturity and protective covers to increase the fun of playing.

Finally, Alibaba's Ant Financial Services will bear the cost of planting trees, allowing users to benefit from public welfare activities and increasing user stickiness.

Due to the fun of collecting energy, many people even set an alarm clock to collect it on time, just like the popular vegetable stealing game in the early years.

Some people have actually reduced their driving habits and opted for public transportation or increased walking to increase their pace in exchange for energy. The awareness of low-carbon and environmental protection has simply integrated into many people's lives.

"Ant Forest"610"Ant Forest"

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Alxa and the Haloxylon Tree

"Ant Forest"

In 2017,The "Million Tree Initiative" was launched in AlxaBut unfortunately,All the saplings planted in the first batch died, and none survived.

Alxa in Mongolian language meansA Land of Colorful Colors. There are natural sceneries of mountains, valleys and desert historic sites, as well as cultural landscapes such as Khara-Khoto, Mandela Mountain rock paintings, and Tibetan Buddhism Guangzong Temple.

However, with the degradation of Grassland degradation and fragile ecology, the problem of Desertification has become increasingly serious, and Alxa, which was originally rich in water and grass, has long become an extremely arid area.

According to statistics, the desert area of Alxa League accounts for more than one-third of the total area of the League, with 94700 square kilometers.

The terrain here is harsh, with sparse vegetation and a dry climate. The highest annual rainfall is less than 210 millimeters, and the northwest of Alxa, which has the lowest rainfall, is only 32.8 millimeters.

You should know that in rainy southern cities, the monthly rainfall is over 200 millimeters.

Moreover, Alxa is also an area with high evaporation capacity. Take Ejin Banner, Alxa League, where the average annual rainfall is 30 mm, for example, the evaporation capacity is up to 1000 mm.

The Alxa region is the largest source of sandstorms in China.In 2015, Beijing encountered a massive sandstorm, with strong winds sweeping from the northwest, carrying a vast expanse of yellow sand, plunging the vast city of Beijing into a dark and raging sand.

This sandstorm came from the Alashan Desert and in just 7 hours, it rushed from the far northwest to the city of Beijing. It made humans witness the angry roar of nature.

How difficult it is for a tree to survive in the arid and water scarce Alashan."Ant Forest"

Careful users will find that the virtual shuttle tree does not require much energy, just like the real one, its small size can take root and grow in the desert.

Haloxylon ammodendron is a super drought resistant plant that is also salt resistant and very suitable for survival in deserts.

The shuttle tree, known as the "King of Desert Vegetation"Its leaves are shaped like scales, so they can reduce transpiration more than other shapes of leaves. It can only use tender branches for normal photosynthesis, retain more water, and survive better in the desert.

Moreover, the growth of Haloxylon ammodendron trees has improved the Soil structure of the site, not only turning the flowing sandy soil into fixed land, but also increasing the content of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil, making the soil more fertile.

The trunk of the shuttle tree is hard and heavy, rich in nutrients, and is also a favorite food for many livestock.Moreover, many people do not know that Haloxylon ammodendron can also breed "desert ginseng" - Cistanche deserticola.

A 455 mu Haloxylon ammodendron mixed forest can produce about 6000 kg of fresh Cistanche deserticola every year through inoculation technology, with a value of nearly 120000 yuan, which can provide many employment opportunities for local people and create more economic benefits.

"Ant Forest"

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However, even so, this batch of Haloxylon ammodendron forests eventually grew strong to a height of 80 centimeters under such harsh conditions.

During the Spring Festival in 2017, Alipay launched a "five blessing" red envelope war. You can get five blessing cards by watering virtual trees, and finally exchange them for red envelopes.

"Ant Forest"And gained a huge user base of 200 million in total.

"Ant Forest"

2019"Ant Forest""Ant Forest"

2020"Ant Forest"550 millionIt is expected that the number of saplings planted by netizens has exceeded200 million treesThe total area has reached 2.8 million acres.

3"Ant Forest"

20218"Ant Forest"6.132000

"Ant Forest"113.26397

9"Ant Forest"

There is a sign in the content that says"This area is Ant Forest No. 277, covering 3334 mu.A total of 150000 shuttle trees are planted in this area

And beyond that, there is a vast expanse of yellow sand, where there are no visible green trees. According to Jack Ma's promise to plant 100 million trees annually, there should be a forest here.

Immediately after, the video comment section exploded, and questions flooded in,"Ant Forest"

Netizens who do not know the truth are angry and sad, feeling that years of trust and support have been lost. The heated discussion sparked by the news has attracted many news media to visit Forest 277 in the Alxa region for interviews.

In this regard, the Ant Forest official explained that this is because of the special terrain in Alxa, poor conditions, lack of water resources, scarce rainfall, and only 130ml of annual rainfall.

Workers need to pull water from far away to get water, so the growth of the shuttle tree is not easy.

In addition, the saplings of the shuttle tree are already very small, not as thick as the little thumb or as long as the palm. In addition, according to geological conditions, a mesh planting method is used, and only one shuttle tree is planted every 15 square meters. Therefore, the shuttle tree species are very sparse and grow very slowly.

Moreover, an adult shuttle tree that has grown for many years is only 40 centimeters tall, so it's hard to tell without looking down or approaching.

Because netizens' doubts are based on their own habits and beliefs about trees, believing that trees must be lush and towering,"Ant Forest"

According to the follow-up investigation by the reporter, trees in desert areas are prone to stunting or even dying prematurely, and this batch of Alxa's shuttle trees can achieve a survival rate of 75% in such harsh environments, which is inseparable from the hard work of local forest protection workers.

After planting trees, local forest protection personnel will conduct inspections and arrange for replanting if unqualified seedlings are encountered.

After all this truth was exposed, it once again sparked a heated discussion among netizens,"Ant Forest"

Through this wave of counterfeiting, many people have learned that afforestation in the desert is different from the large forest they imagined, and not seeing the green patches does not mean that trees have not been planted.

This event has also become another form of environmental public welfare promotion, allowing more people to understand the scientific knowledge of planting trees in the desert.As the shuttle forests grow, more and more greenery fills the deserts of the Alashan region.

In the 1990s, there were almost no green trees visible in the Alxa region, and the vegetation coverage was even less than 10%, leading to soil erosion, frequent sandstorms, and in severe cases, even the overturning of houses, resulting in severe losses.

In recent years, the vegetation coverage of Alxa has reached as high as 20%.

"Ant Forest"

It brings people from all over the world together through games, using the method of "everyone gathers firewood and flames high" to infiltrate the concept of environmental protection into the hearts of more people.

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