China's large-scale tree-planting initiative, the Three-North Shelterbelt Program (also known as the "Great Green Wall"), has shown success in transforming parts of the Taklamakan desert's margins into a carbon sink. This decades-long effort has stabilized sand dunes and increased forest cover, though experts highlight concerns regarding the strain on scarce water resources.

China's large-scale tree-planting initiative, the Three-North Shelterbelt Program (also known as the "Great Green Wall"), has shown success in transforming parts of the Taklamakan desert's margins into a carbon sink.   
 This decades-long effort has stabilized sand dunes and increased forest cover, though experts highlight concerns regarding the strain on scarce water resources. 
Project Overview and Achievements
Massive Scale: -
Launched in 1978 and scheduled for completion by 2050, the program is one of the world's largest afforestation projects, aiming to plant billions of trees across arid northern China. To date, more than 66 billion trees have been planted.
Carbon Sink:,-
 A 2026 study in the PNAS journal confirmed that the newly vegetated margins of the Taklamakan Desert are absorbing more carbon dioxide than they emit, effectively functioning as a carbon sink.
Desertification Control: -
The initiative has helped stabilize sand dunes, reduced the frequency of dust storms in some areas, and increased China's overall forest coverage from 10% in 1949 to over 25% today.
Economic Benefits: -
The program has revitalized rural economies by creating jobs, enhancing agricultural productivity, and supporting new industries like the production of natural rubber from a planted medicinal tree species. 
Challenges and Criticisms:-
Despite the positive outcomes, the project faces significant challenges:
Water Scarcity: -
Planting water-intensive, non-native tree species in an already arid region places considerable strain on limited water resources, leading to lowered groundwater tables and reduced river runoff in some areas.
Tree Survival Rates: -
Survival rates for planted trees can be low, especially in the harshest conditions, ranging from 15% to over 85% depending on the region and species selection.
Biodiversity Concerns: -
The reliance on monocultures (single species of trees) can limit biodiversity and make the forests more vulnerable to diseases and pests.
Debate on Efficacy: -
Some experts argue that the decrease in sandstorms and desertification may be due more to climate changes than the afforestation efforts, and the overall effectiveness of the "Green Wall" at a regional scale remains a subject of scientific debate.
Overall, the project is a globally significant experiment that demonstrates the potential for human intervention to restore degraded landscapes, but also highlights the critical need for careful, adaptive management and consideration of water resource implications. 
    The announcement marked a milestone in the Three North Shelterbelt Program, launched in 1978 and commonly called the Great Green Wall. 
Great Green Wall (China):-
China has the largest desert area of any country and is heavily affected by sandstorms. However, the country has implemented various measures to restore grassland.
   Mass tree planting around China's Taklamakan Desert is now absorbing more carbon than the region releases.
Moneycontrol
  The Taklamakan Desert in China is today surrounded by billions of trees, and it has transformed into a valuable region on Earth which is soaking more carbon 
agricultural impacts of china's three-north shelterbelt programe.
MJF Lion ER YK Sharma 

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