Chapter 984 Desert Oasis
When Xiao Peng and the others arrived at Akrut, everyone was shocked. Abdullah even knelt down and shouted "Allah" exaggeratedly.
Everything before them truly astonished them. Looking around, there was a whole expanse of green! Seeing such a large expanse of green in the desert was a true 'oasis'!
Although Xiao Peng was not as exaggerated as him, he also took out his own drone, put on glasses, flew into the sky to observe, and then he also felt at a loss for words.
Although he always claimed that China's desertification control level was the best in the world, this was the first time he had witnessed the results of desertification control with his own eyes. He couldn't believe that what he saw was the result of human efforts.
This green space isn't as large as you might imagine, only about 3,000 mu (approximately 2 square kilometers). But how difficult is it to build such a green space in the desert? All the green plants are arranged in neat rows, and viewing them from the air with a drone is a real treat for those with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The most important thing is: it's not just about planting the plants; the biggest question is whether these plants can survive. And now these plants are obviously thriving.
Xiao Peng was still in shock when he heard a gunshot. It startled him. He quickly pressed the drone's return button and took off his glasses.
"Uh..." Xiao Peng felt helpless after seeing the scene in front of him.
A woman pointed a hunting rifle at them and asked, "What are you doing?"
Xiao Peng quickly said, "Don't get me wrong! I'm Chinese!"
It feels more effective to say that I'm Chinese here. After all, such a large green space is definitely not something that can be handled by Chinese experts alone. It can only be done by local people under the guidance of Chinese experts. If the cooperation between the two sides is not good, there will be no such results.
Sure enough, after hearing what Xiao Peng said, the woman actually asked Xiao Peng in irregular Chinese: "Are you really Chinese?"
Xiao Peng was amused: "Of course! Your Chinese is pretty good."
After hearing what Xiao Peng said, the woman put down her gun and said, "Thank you, teacher, you taught me well. I'm from the nursery forest ranger team."
As she finished speaking, she heard the roar of engines and several pickup trucks rushed over at high speed, carrying many black men with guns. Seeing them approach, the woman with the gun waved her hand to indicate that it was okay, and then the black men put down their weapons. Xiao Peng now understood that if someone here fired a gun, someone would come to support them as quickly as possible.
The importance these people attach to this green space is beyond imagination!
There aren't many people with guns in Mauritania! It's only in recent years, with the emergence of terrorists in the northeast, that more and more Mauritanians have been armed. But this is the first time Xiao Peng has seen such an armed group.
And the reason for the existence of this team is to protect this green plant?
Ismail told him that when the Chinese first came here to carry out greening, they would secretly let their own livestock come here to graze on the trees, which made the Chinese experts who came here so angry that they jumped up and down and cursed. Now, after a few years, the local residents have begun to protect the green space on their own initiative?
"Who are you?" a woman wearing sunglasses asked as she got out of the first car. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and long pants similar to a military uniform. Her hair was casually tied into a ponytail.
"Are you Chinese?" Xiao Peng asked in Chinese.
"Hmm?" The woman looked at Xiao Peng. "Comrade from the peacekeeping force?"
Well, upon hearing this address, Xiao Peng laughed. He waved his hand and said, "This question is difficult to explain. Don't get me wrong, we don't mean any harm, you're just overreacting! My name is Xiao Peng, what's your name?"
"Xiao Peng?" The woman tilted her head slightly. "That name sounds familiar... Oh, my name is Zhou Yun, and I'm an assistant researcher at the Pan-African Green Great Wall Ecological Research Center at the Northwest Institute of Ecology and Geography, Huazhong University of Science and Technology."
After shaking hands with Zhou Yun, Xiao Peng said, "Your appearance was quite intimidating. You don't look like a scholar at all."
He was not joking when he said that, as Zhou Yun had an AK-47 slung across his back.
Zhou Yun laughed. "I'm just carrying it on my back to scare you. There are no bullets in it. Xiao Peng, you don't know us here. People often come to graze illegally. They don't want to control the desertification or do greening, but they want to share the fruits of the plants they plant. This makes the people of Akrut very angry, so they organized a nursery guard team to crack down on illegal grazing. After all, it took everyone five years of hard work to build this place to its current size, and we can't let others destroy it!"
"How much?" Xiao Peng was stunned. "Five years?"
Zhou Yun thought he thought it was too long, so he explained, "Five years is really fast to reach this scale. The key is the lack of manpower. There are less than 200 people living in Akrut, and less than a few dozen people can work. Creating such a large green space in just five years is a miracle!"
Xiao Peng coughed twice and said, "Ms. Zhou, you misunderstood me. I originally thought it would take at least a dozen years to reach the current scale."
Zhou Yun laughed after hearing what Xiao Peng said. "If it were the case, it might have taken more than ten years, but our country has a lot of experience in sand control. In the first year, we used 'grass grids' to plan the area, and then planted 'sand sticks' within the 'grass grids' to fix the sand. This sand fixation method is very effective. In about two years, the sand will form a crust, and then green plants can be planted according to the situation."
Xiao Peng suddenly understood.
"Grass grids" are incredibly simple. They're made by using dry wheat straw as lines to create a grid pattern one meter long and wide across the desert. The hay helps stabilize the sand. If you see small squares of hay in the deserts of China, you can easily tell they're part of a desert control effort.
Don't underestimate this grass grid. The Baolan Railway Sand Control Project, which employed this "grass grid," was directly awarded the National Science and Technology Specialty Progress Award. This tiny grass grid is on par with the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" initiative, and was even awarded the highest medal by the United Nations Environment Programme.
However, if only grass grids are used, the crust formation will take a long time, so the second method is used here, which is the 'sand stick'.
The sand stick is actually a legume plant of the Rosales order, and its scientific name is 'Achillea millefolium'. The branches of this plant are excellent wood, the flowers are a source of nectar, and the young branches and seeds are all good feed.
Crucially, this plant is incredibly drought-resistant. Its roots can reach 40 meters underground and radiate over a wide area, making it incredibly effective in sand fixation, accelerating the formation of crusts. They also plant a large amount of alfalfa, the legendary "king of forage grasses." This grass is incredibly hardy, drought- and heat-resistant, suggesting livestock farming is already well established here. It's already quite large-scale.
Xiao Peng felt so proud when he saw this!
Chinese people controlling desertification?
Awesome!
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