دانلود رایگان مقاله صحرای "Soilization": یک راه حل سازگار با محیط مکانیکی برای بیابان زایی

Desertification refers to the degradation of land [1], [2], [3] and [4]. As a severe global environmental problem, it has drawn considerable attention from the international community. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification [4] was adopted by the United Nations in 1994, and since that time, countries around the world have made ever-increasing efforts to combat desertification [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11] and [12]. However, the spread of desertification has not been controlled. Instead, it is becoming even worse; it is expanding at a rate of 50 000–70 000 km2 annually [13] and [14]. At present, desert and other dryland regions endangered by global desertification account for 41.3% of Earth’s land area [2], [15], [16] and [17]. In China, the desertified land is approximately 1.73 × 106 km2 which is 18.03% of the national territory, and another 3.1 × 105 km2 is tending to be desertified [18]. Desert control poses a global challenge. Presently, there exist three prevailing types of methods of desert control [1], [9], [10], [11], [12] and [19]: engineering methods, chemical methods, and vegetation methods. These methods have all played a positive role in desert control. The principle of engineering methods is to prevent the drifting of sand by building barriers, such as straw checkerboard barriers and sand fences. Chemical methods involve spraying oil, bitumen or latex onto the surface of sand to cause the surface layer to solidify. In vegetation methods, sand is usually remediated through the planting of psammophytes. However, none of the above methods is capable of changing the material characteristics of sand into those of soil.

Natural soil usually takes thousands of years to form. However, by means of sand “soilization,” sand can be turned into “soil” such that it instantly becomes an ideal habitat for plants. Desert “soilization,” which offers a solution to various problems commonly encountered in desert control, such as sand drifting, poor water retention, and the consequent hostility to plant species, has been achieved through interdisciplinary studies combining mechanics, ecology, soil science, and phytology. We believe that the extensive implementation of desert “soilization” for desert control in the near future may foster many new disciplines and industries. Soil degradation has resulted in various global environmental problems [23–25]. The large-scale application of sand “soilization” for planting has the potential to enable the establishment of a thriving desert ecosystem, which may offer a solution to several global environmental problems, such as deforestation, bio-diversity loss, and climate change [16,26–28]. However, large-scale desert control must take into consideration the risks of excessive or undue exploitation of underground water resources [29–32], and make good preparation for the potential impacts including the regional climate and bio-diversity changes brought about by extensive desert “soilization.” Therefore, before the large-scale application of desert “soilization,” scientifically comprehensive planning and assessment must be carried out first, and desert “soilization” might start from areas with access to adequate water resources.