As early as 2013, Beidahuang Group, located in Northeast China, formulated a plan to protect black soil, focusing on the experience of soil erosion reserve projects.
In the past ten years, they have continuously strengthened the protection of black soil and put the plan into practice, and achieved fruitful results. In people's impression, the Great Northern Wilderness is a symbol of fertile harvest.
The natural environment here is superior, the land resources are abundant, and it used to produce tens of billions of catties of grain every year, so it is known as the "granary of China" and plays an indispensable role in China's food security system.
So, why protect the Great Northern Wilderness? What is the purpose of returning farmland to wasteland?
Northeast China is the region with the largest area of black soil in China, and this vast black soil is mainly distributed in the Sanjiang Plain, with Jiamusi in Heilongjiang as the center. Due to the accumulation of rich humus over thousands of years, the black soil has become a famous granary in our country.
Although the black soil in the Northeast has been developed for a relatively short period of time, it was once inhabited by various ethnic minorities who made a living from fishing and hunting.
It was not until the rise of the Jurchens that the Northeast began to learn farming techniques. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, a large number of Manchus entered the customs, and the northeast region, as the "land of dragon prosperity", was blocked layer by layer, and even invaded by the first colonizers.
It was not until the ** period that the population of the Northeast region showed a ** increase, and many people began to "break into the eastern part of the country".
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the degree of development in Northeast China was not high enough, and the degree of organization and industrialization of agricultural society was also insufficient, and it was necessary to wait until 1958 when 100,000 PLA officers and soldiers came to the Great Northern Wilderness to reclaim and cultivate, and then large-scale utilization began.
The Great Northern Wilderness is one of the earliest large-scale agricultural production bases in China, where thousands of intellectuals, workers, peasants and soldiers have been organized to carry out large-scale farming, aiming to promote the process of China's agricultural modernization.
* Invest heavily in the use of cutting-edge technology, integrate human and material resources, build bridges and roads, dig ditches, and introduce suitable crop varieties. Based on the military organization and combined with the needs of the people's livelihood, large-scale reclamation of black soil, the establishment of state-run farms, the establishment of production and construction corps, and the full use of the rich natural resources of Northeast China.
This move made the reputation of the "Great Northern Wilderness" great. At that time, General **, Minister of Agriculture, advocated the production of the movie "Great Northern Wilderness", which was widely popular. **The name "Great Northern Wilderness" was also used in letters to the Northeast region, and the name has spread since then.
Since the reform and opening up, China's industrial strength has been increasing day by day, and the level of agricultural mechanization has also improved. The Great Northern Wilderness Plain is vast and very suitable for agricultural machinery operations, so through this means, the grain production of the Great Northern Wilderness continues to increase.
From 1995 to 2005, the total grain output of Beidahuang has doubled, and in 2022, Beidahuang has achieved "eighteen consecutive harvests" of grain production, and has stabilized at more than 40 billion catties for 11 consecutive years, accounting for half of the domestic commodity grain market.
The Great Northern Wilderness is a landmark place in the history of agricultural development in New China. Here, large-scale collectivized agricultural production methods were vigorously promoted, providing an important experimental platform for the development of Chinese agriculture.
The grain produced in the Great Northern Wilderness not only ensures China's food security, but also makes a great contribution to China's agricultural development. All this is inseparable from the black soil in the Northeast.
The fertile black soil has endowed the Great Northern Wilderness with unparalleled grain production capacity, making it an important force in stabilizing the "Chinese rice bowl".
Black soil, known as the best land for agriculture and forestry in Northeast China, has become an important pillar of grain production because of its natural fertility, strong fertilizer retention and deep soil layer.
However, with the expansion of agricultural production and the increase in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, black soil is gradually facing the challenge of degradation. Although black soil is naturally alkaline soil, long-term application of chemical fertilizers will lead to soil acidification, which is extremely unfavorable to crop growth, and can easily trigger the release of metal ions such as aluminum and manganese in the soil, posing a threat to crop roots.
At the same time, soil acidification will also cause the loss of important nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus, which will seriously restrict crop growth and yield. We must take effective measures to protect the resources of black soil and ensure that they continue to contribute to the development of agriculture and forestry.
The abundance of microorganisms in black soil is the cornerstone of soil health and crop growth. However, acidification threatens these microorganisms and disrupts microbial ecosystems, thereby reducing soil fertility and affecting crop growth.
The excessive use of pesticides, fertilizers and agricultural machinery in modern agriculture will lead to a decrease in the number of microorganisms in the soil, the protection of the top of the soil layer will be destroyed, and rainwater will be lost, which in turn will destroy various nutrients in the black soil, resulting in a decline in the fertility of the black soil.
As the climate warms, the rate of water loss in the black soil accelerates, and the drought of the land is becoming more and more severe. At the same time, due to the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, a large amount of industrial wastewater and domestic sewage are discharged into the black soil, resulting in a serious decline in land quality.
Many farmers overuse chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the production process, which damage the structure of the soil and cause an imbalance in the nutrients of the land. In addition, the poor management of farmers has led to the irrational cultivation of crops on the black soil, which has further exacerbated the land problem.
In addition, activities such as coastal reclamation and waterfill filling have also disrupted the original wetland ecology, and some irrigation projects and excessive reclamation of mountain and village terraces have also damaged the ecological structure of the black soil and brought a series of problems.
Black soil is a precious resource on the earth, but due to the impact of natural disasters such as abnormal climate, drought and floods, as well as the development of industrialization and urbanization, the ecological environment and agricultural production of black soil are facing great threats.
The intensive construction of infrastructure such as roads, railways, and buildings has occupied a large amount of land resources and accelerated the degradation and reduction of black soil.
Although industrialization has brought many benefits to people, it has also brought serious damage to agricultural production. Excessive mechanized operations, such as deep tillage and frequent use of heavy agricultural machinery, have exacerbated the problem of soil erosion and compaction in black soils to a certain extent.
In addition, due to the lack of scientific and effective planting guidance, farmers in Northeast China often have a single planting structure, that is, only a single crop is planted for a long time and repeatedly cultivated on the same land, which makes the black soil gradually lose its fertility and even evolve into desertification.
Therefore, solving these problems is an urgent task to prevent the degradation of black soil and protect the security of cultivated land resources in Northeast China.
In order to protect the black soil and protect the "granary of China", the state has adopted a strict protection policy, and the local government has also established a special monitoring agency to gradually implement the policy of returning farmland to famine, and strive to achieve the best results from various aspects.
First of all, we should provide scientific guidance to farmers to promote their transformation to modern agriculture and avoid waste of resources. At present, the low technological content and low degree of scientific production in agricultural production are the main reasons for environmental pollution and low social and economic benefits.
For the black soil, returning farmland to famine requires farmers to reform their own agricultural production methods, such as ensuring the efficient use and reproduction of black soil through technical means such as rational fertilization, rational tillage and fallow.
Starting from the first level, through the administrative control of land reclamation and rural land use planning, the scientific and rational allocation of land resources can be realized, the excessive use and damage of black soil should be avoided, and the overall utilization rate should be improved.
At the same time, according to different regions and uses, strengthen the protection of black soil, especially strictly delineate the red line of development and utilization, prevent arbitrary development, and ensure that industrial efficiency is improved under the premise of protecting the environment and maintaining ecological balance.
The third approach is to promote sustainable farming techniques to protect soil fertility. After returning farmland to wasteland, we need to adopt sustainable planting methods, which will significantly reduce the cultivation cycle, reduce the degree of soil erosion and compaction, and thus maintain ecological balance.
On this basis, we can use perennial, deep-rooted and stable economic plants to protect the soil through rotary cropping, promote agricultural development, and achieve the goal of protecting black soil.
Finally, we need to promote the construction of ecological civilization, which requires policy coordination and all-round promotion. **It is necessary to take the lead in formulating feasible economic incentives, guide enterprises or individuals to actively participate, and increase capital investment to achieve benefit sharing.
In the past, the Tohoku region used to overcut trees for national construction, which caused damage to the fertility of the black soil. In order to improve the situation, the action of returning farmland to forest should be carried out, and appropriate planting techniques and management models should be adopted according to different geographical locations and land uses.
In areas where farmland has been returned to farmland, broad-leaved trees such as drought-resistant and cold-resistant trees, larch, and ash are widely planted, and forestry is actively developed to contribute to the improvement of the soil environment and ecosystem.
Strengthen supervision and protection, establish and improve a long-term management mechanism for returning farmland to forests, closely monitor the plots of land returned to forests, and deal with illegal acts in a timely manner, so as to ensure that the effect of returning farmland to forests is stable and continued.
Returning farmland to forest is one of the most direct and effective ways to protect black soil, and it has greater social and economic benefits, so we should formulate more concrete and feasible policies and plans to actively promote the management of black soil cultivated land.
The land quality of the Great Northern Wilderness has been challenged by the historical planting structure, the large-scale planting of a single variety has led to the waste of resources and pollution, and the long-term and high-intensity cultivation mode has led to a significant decline in soil fertility, and many problems have occurred.
However, since 2013, the state has begun to pay attention to the construction of ecological civilization and pay attention to the plight of the Great Northern Wilderness. Through the repeated policy of returning farmland to famine, the Great Northern Wilderness has been able to maintain a certain vitality, achieve the stability of grain production, and start the road of sustainable development.
The Great Northern Wilderness has abundant undeveloped land resources, and through the implementation of the policy of returning farmland to wasteland, it can not only restore and improve the ecological environment, alleviate land pressure, but also help promote forest growth and carbon absorption, and fight climate change.
For the Great Northern Wilderness, this policy is of vital significance, not only to achieve sustainable development, prevent the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, protect the over-consumed black soil, but also to explore the huge food production potential of the Great Northern Wilderness, and make important contributions to China's food security.
The Great Northern Wilderness, an important grain and green food producing area in China, is gradually realizing the modernization and transformation of farmers' economic organizations, agricultural science and technology, agricultural material services, agricultural product processing and other industrial chain links, and improving resource utilization and product quality.
With the vigorous development of emerging industries such as intelligent agricultural technology and digital rural construction, as well as the help of ecological civilization brought by returning farmland to wasteland, the status of the Great Northern Wilderness as a modern agricultural gathering place will be more stable and promote the process of China's agricultural modernization.
China's consumer market will continue to expand, and the public's demand for green, safe and healthy food will grow rapidly. As China's main grain production base, Beidahuang will continue to devote itself to creating a brand image of "high quality, green, organic and pollution-free" by virtue of its own advantages and advanced technology, so as to meet the needs of different consumers and actively explore diversified markets.
With the in-depth development of urban-rural integration, Beidahuang is also actively seeking transformation and upgrading, and strives to promote the deep integration of agriculture, tourism, culture and other three major industries.
At the same time, they have also made continuous explorations in environmental protection and increasing farmers' incomes, and have achieved remarkable results.
Beidahuang has innovatively developed a unique industrial model such as African ostrich and local buckwheat cultivation and rice field households, aiming to provide a large number of job opportunities and social services through the development of leisure agriculture and tourism agriculture, and actively promote the prosperity of the local economy.
In short, in addition to the unique advantages of the Great Northern Wilderness, multiple factors such as policies and markets will also promote its sustainable development, provide important support for China's agricultural modernization and food security, and conform to the trend of agricultural development of the times.
For a long time in the future, the ecological protection of the Great Northern Wilderness will be wise and far-sighted. As the most important grain producing area in China, the Great Northern Wilderness contains huge development potential, which is worthy of our patience and investment.