Neither dams nor bridges: China’s silent green mega-construction to distribute water across the country
A recent study has offered insight into the Asian giant’s afforestation drive - the process of creating new forests in areas with little vegetation.
In recent decades, China has reshaped its land use strategy to fight climate change and secure crop yields through afforestation - creating new forests in areas with little vegetation, such as grasslands or farmland - ultimately improving the ecosystem.
A new study published in Earth’s Future highlights the changes observed in these afforested lands: in China, areas where new vegetation was planted saw an increase in land and plant evapotranspiration - the process by which water moves from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere through evaporation and plant transpiration.
This led to “slightly more overall precipitation,” according to the study, but “the amount of water available for use actually decreased because more water was lost to evapotranspiration.” In other words, water evaporated at a higher rate than rainfall replenished it.
“Specifically, expanding forests in eastern China and restoring grasslands in the Tibetan Plateau and northwest regions were the main factors boosting evapotranspiration,” the study notes, adding that afforestation directed more moisture toward the Tibetan Plateau, which did experience an increase in water availability.
However, in eastern and northwestern China, water availability dropped - especially in the northwest - “due to substantial moisture moving to the Tibetan Plateau”.
“Our findings highlight that land cover changes can redistribute water resources between regions,” the study concludes. “Understanding these effects is crucial for planning sustainable land and water management in China.”
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