March 12th is China’s Arbor Day. In February 1979, the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress of China decided to designate March 12 every year as China's Arbor Day. In December 1981, the Fourth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress passed the "Resolution on Carrying out the National Voluntary Tree Planting Movement". The State Council promulgated the specific implementation measures for the national voluntary tree planting movement the following year. Before and after Arbor Day, afforestation activities are concentrated across China.
China’s forest resources are unevenly distributed, mainly in the northeast and southwest. The forest quality is not high, and the forest age structure is dominated by young forests, middle-aged forests and artificial forests.
As of 1993, China had a forestry land area of ??3.943 billion acres, a forest area of ??2.006 billion acres, a forest coverage rate of 13.92%, and a living stock volume of 11.785 billion cubic meters. , with a forest volume of 10.137 billion cubic meters, ranking fifth in the world.
As of June 1995, the country's total forest area reached 134 million hectares, of which more than 33 million hectares were protected by artificial afforestation, ranking first in the world.
In March 1998, according to the latest World Forest Resources Assessment Report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, China's forest area was 134 million hectares, accounting for 3.9% of the world's total forest area, ranking first in the world. Five, China’s per capita forest area ranks only 119th. China's total forest stock volume is 9.78 billion cubic meters, accounting for 2.5% of the world's total forest stock volume, ranking 8th in the world. The world's per capita forest stock volume is 71.8 cubic meters, while China's per capita forest stock volume is only 8.6 cubic meters.
On March 12, 2001, the first "Bulletin on China's Land Greening Status" issued by the National Greening Committee of China showed that at present, China's artificial afforestation area has reached 46.667 million hectares, and the development rate is as fast as The scale ranks first in the world. China's forest area has reached 158 million hectares, and the forest coverage rate has increased to 16.55%.
Celebrities and tree planting in history:
Zhuge Liang, who made great contributions to the establishment of Shu, wrote in his suicide note to his later master Liu Chan when he was critically ill: "I have 800 mulberry trees in my family. With one plant, the children and grandchildren can have enough food and clothing." He planted eight hundred mulberry trees as a source of living expenses for his children and to make long-term arrangements for their children's lives. A generation of famous ministers with a breeze on their sleeves. After his death, he left only the mulberry trees he planted to his descendants, which is deeply regrettable.
Dong Feng and Xinglin
Dong Feng, a famous doctor in Soochow during the Three Kingdoms period, had excellent medical skills and was willing to give charity. When Dong Feng lived in seclusion in Lushan, he treated poor people and never took any money. He only asked the patients to plant apricot trees in front and behind his residence according to the severity of their illness after they recovered. Five apricot trees were planted for patients with serious illnesses and one for those with mild illnesses. In a few years, there were more than 100,000 almond trees in front and behind his house. Whenever the apricots were ripe, Dong Feng used them to exchange for rice to help the poor. People called this apricot forest "Dong Xian's Apricot Forest", and later generations praised the doctor as "the famous apricot forest".
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and Willows
The ancient legendary novel "Kaihe Ji" records that after Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty came to the throne, he ordered the construction of the Tongji Canal. Yu Shiji suggested planting willows on the embankment. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty Thinking that this suggestion was good, he ordered willows to be planted on both sides of the newly opened Grand Canal and planted them himself. The imperial letter gave the willow tree the surname Yang, enjoying the honor of having the same surname as the emperor. From then on, the willow tree had the reputation of "Yangliu".
Bai Juyi and flowers and trees
Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, loved trees like treasures. He was demoted to be the governor of Chungju. He planted flowers and trees every year and wrote a poem: "I bought flowers and trees with money and planted them on the east slope of the city. But those who buy flowers are not limited to peaches, plums and plums." The poem also says: "On Sima Day in Jiangzhou, during the time of the governor of Zhongzhou. Pine trees were planted all over the backyard, and willows were planted to shade the front."
Wang Anshi and Bamboo Peach Willow
Reformers of the Song Dynasty , the poet Wang Anshi was very interested in planting bamboo, peach, and willow. He wrote a poem: "I am still tired of knowing that my house is flourishing, so I move and repair bamboos like spreading young chicks." "Peach trees are planted in the south and north of the house. The east wind blows several feet high". "Move the willow to become the gate, how can I be the king? Cut through the pine and make the path into three." It shows how much he loves trees.
Zhu Yuanzhang and the Persimmon Tree
According to "Yanjing Dinner Notes", Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was a poor boy and often starved. One day, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been without food for two days, walked to a village and saw a ripe persimmon tree, so he picked some fruits and had a delicious meal. Later, when he became emperor, he could not forget the contribution of persimmon trees, and he still wanted to plant trees. So he ordered people with five to ten acres of land to plant persimmons, seeds, peaches, and dates. He also ordered people in Fengyang, Chuxian, Anhui, etc. Local people are required to plant two persimmon trees per household, and those who fail to do so will be punished. Since then, persimmon trees have been widely planted in Anhui and other places.
Zuo Zongtang and Zuo Gongliu
When Zuo Zongtang, a famous general in the late Qing Dynasty, was the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, he ordered the army to plant 260,000 willows along the more than 600 miles of the Hexi Corridor. , known as "Zuogong Liu", is still praised by the people of northwest China. Yang Changxi, a native of the Qing Dynasty, once wrote a poem praising: "The generals have not yet returned the border, and the descendants of Hunan and Hunan are all over the Tianshan Mountains. Three thousand new willows have been planted, attracting the spring breeze to Yuguan
Our country is the most dangerous land in the world due to desertification. One of the most serious countries. According to statistics, my country's desertified land area currently reaches 1.689 million square kilometers, accounting for approximately 17.6% of the total land area, involving nearly a thousand counties and banners, and the desertified land area is still expanding at a rate of 2,460 square kilometers per year. , equivalent to the loss of land area of ??a medium-sized county, land desertification has endangered the survival and development of more than 100 million people.
Some areas of our country face desertification, dry lakes, declining groundwater levels, sparse vegetation, and raging sandstorms and other natural disasters. They are facing serious ecological crises, and ecological refugees have appeared in some places. Land desertification not only seriously affects the sustainable development of the local economy and society, endangering people's lives and survival, but also seriously affects the ecological environment of many other provinces, regions, and big cities.