1. Problem statement and motivation问题陈述和动机
Reforestation refers to the creation or renovation activities of the forest, which is to foster a fundamental part of the forest. Forestation is known as the large planting area of reforestation, which can form the forests and the forest environment in the future. 退耕还林是指森林的新建、更新活动，是培育森林的基本组成部分。造林被称为大面积的更新造林，可以形成未来的森林和森林环境。
1.1 The significance of the research and benefits of forestation造林研究的意义和效益
首先，从水土保持、更新造林、退耕还林和生态重建等方面来说，这是非常重要的。重新造林可以维持土地和水源。植被覆盖率低，会导致大量泥沙流入河流，破坏土地，填塞河流，使河口淤塞，危害极大。为了遏制水土流失，必须发展更新造林，因为树木有树冠根，能像一只巨手一样牢牢地抓住土壤。
其次，造林可以防止荒漠化。一方面，退耕还林控制水土流失，实现防风固沙，提高土壤蓄水能力。另一方面，防护林的建设使其能够抵御沙的袭击。在防护林的保护下，风沙速度将降低70%至80%。
第三，造林给人类带来经济效益。森林产品可以是水果、草药，也可以加工成茶、橡胶、碳等产品。此外，随着森林的逐步成熟，直接和间接的经济效益产生，创造了大量的劳动力和就业机会。
因此，造林促进了当地经济的可持续发展。这样，拥有960万平方公里土地的中国造林规划，不仅对中国的区域气候和经济有着巨大的影响，而且对世界环境保护和生态环境也有着重大的进步。
First of all, from the soil and water conservation, reforestation, returning farmland to forest and ecological reconstruction is extremely important. Reforestation can make land and water be maintained. Low vegetation coverage will lead to a lot of sediment flowing into the river, destroying the land, filling up the rivers and making the estuary silted up, which is of great harm. It is necessary to develop reforestation in order to curb soil erosion, because trees have crown roots to firmly grasp the soil like a giant hand.
Secondly, forestation can prevent desertification. On the one hand, reforestation of deserted arable land takes control of soil erosion, achieves windbreak and sand fixation and increases the water storage capacity of the soil. On the other hand, the build of shelter forest makes it able to withstand the attacks from the sand. The speed of wind and sand will be reduced 70% to 80% with the protection of shelter forest.
Thirdly, forestation brings economic benefits to mankind. Forest products can be fruits, herbs, and can be processed into tea, rubber, carbon and other products. Besides, as the forest gradually matured, the direct and indirect economic benefits generate, creating a lot of labor and employment opportunities.
Therefore, forestation promotes the sustainable development of the local economy. In this way, the forestation programs in China, who owns a land of 9.6 million square kilometers, will make a huge difference not only to the regional climate and economy in China, but also a significance progress in the environmental protection and ecological environment around the world.
1.2 The planting area in China中国种植面积
Driven by the nationwide voluntary tree-planting campaign to promote the key projects of forestation, forestation in China has gained rapid development. Especially in recent years through the implementation of the reform of collective forest right system, a wave of tree planting has set off, significantly accelerating the pace of forestation. In 2008 and 2009, the national forestation has achieved 4,771,300 hectares and 5,884,700 hectares, respectively 22.1% and 23.3% higher than the last year. According to statistics, key forestation programs from 1979 to 2009 has completed the forestation of 83,021,300 hectares in China, since the reform and opening up policies. Among them, the Three-North Shelterbelt Project completed the forestation of 31.7932 million hectares, with 8.6306 million hectares being completed in the Natural Forest Protection project, Grain for Green Project completing 21.9211 million hectares, Tianjin sandstorm source control project completing 5,773,700 hectares, Fast Growing Forest Base completing 1.8197 million hectares, Yangtze River shelterbelt project completing 6,019,200 hectares, Pearl River shelterbelt project completing 505,400 hectares, Coastal Protecting Forest project completing 1,709,300 hectares, Taihang Mountain Greening Program completing 4,292,600 hectares and Plain Green Project completing 556,900 hectares. In total, artificial forest area in China has reached 62 million hectares, being the country with the largest plantation area in the world (China Network, 2010).
The data can be concluded in following chart:
The Planting Area (data source from: China Network, 2010)
1.3 The actual benefits
The forestation projects in China seem to be very effective, however, the tree planting in China not only failed to improve the environment, but also sowed the seeds of a crisis to the ecological environment. In general, the forest area in China is small, with a low forest coverage rate in the world. The natural forest cover rate continues to decline and blindly forestation brings counterproductive. This kind of unscientific planting with little follow-up protection brings disasters to the ecological balance and natural forests. The natural forests in China annually disappear 400,000 hectares. According to the average of nearly a decade of logging and deforestation rate, by 5055 China will lose all forests. In this way, the gap between the planting area and productive area of forest plantations become bigger and bigger.
2. Research Gap
Given the huge survey data and so many forestation programs with encouraging progress, however, there is no existing literature or materials clarifying the overall process of forestation projects in China since its reform and opening up in nearly 50 years. Apart from the regional forestation programs around China, which can be concluded in nearly ten key programs, forestation programs sponsored by the companies or initiated by non-profit organizations also make their own contributions, which can not be ignored, to the forestation progress in China. Take the forestation programs sponsored by Honda Co. for example, which is called tree planting activities of Honda joint venture in China, it has been a long-term national environmental charity project to be undertaken across China. This project was officially launched in Xinghe County, Inner Mongolia in China. The first phase of the project lasted five years, with a total investment of 10 million yuan. It completed the planning project of 740,000 trees, the green area of which has achieved 7,000 acres. Honda and Xinghe County work together to open a second five-year forestation project in 2013, with the forestation funds increased to 20 million yuan. The forestation programs initiated by different organizations and companies need a comprehensive statistic and research (Honda, 2015).
Also, the forestation project has taken many forms relying on the rapid development of information technology. Apart from the traditional forestation activities, relying on electronic information platform, integrated forestation activities began to play their role in the forestation progress in China. Take the recent Million Forest Project for an instance, it is an integrated forestation activity consists of online and offline parts. It is co-sponsored by The Climate Group, together with China Green Foundation and the United Nations Environment (Guyi, 2014). The goal is to plant one million sea buckthorn trees, to help poor areas in western China, increasing their revenue and improving the ecological environment. This project also involves the online activities in other regions in China, making them engage in such interactive activities and contribute their own strength to save forest resources.
Therefore, it can be seen that this research should make comprehensive nationwide survey on forestation activities in China and explore a logical thread to organize them and their failure in increasing the productive area of forest plantations in China within the nearly last 50 years. The main research gap in this research should be the viewing angle of such a huge time and space span contained in so many forestation programs that has been or will be implemented in China.
3. Objectives
The main goal of this research paper will determine the gap between the planting area and productive area of forest plantations in the forestation programs in China within the nearly last 50 years. However, in achieving this, several subpision targets should be made:
1) Explore the overall planning and deployment of forestation programs of the Chinese government, focusing the large projects within regional units.
2) Summarize the forestation programs initiated by companies and organizations in China, including their scale, affects, quantity and contributions.
3) Examine the mechanisms and means used in such forestation programs and their impacts respectively.
4) Examine the forestation progress in China from the whole time and discover the development in such programs.
5) Make a conclusion of the overall means used in the forestation programs during such a long time and within such large territory.
6) Evaluate the overall impacts of the forestation programs taken in China, from the perspectives of environmental and ecological protection, economic benefits, its long-term climate effects and so on.
7) Determine the gap between the planting area and productive area of forest plantations in the forestation programs in China within the nearly last 50 years.
8) Analyze the reasons and see what can be improved.
Generally speaking, this research will firstly make its way through the overall viewing angle of the Chinese forestation programs in this nearly 50 years and make a conclusion about that. After that, the overall means and plans contained in them will be evaluated and analyzed. Thirdly, the impacts of these forestation programs in China will be concluded and last but not least, it will be discussed that what can be drawn from the gap between the planting area and productive area of forest plantations and see what can be improved in the overall layout used in these forestation programs in this nearly 50 years in China.
4. Procedures and Methods
According to the subpision targets listed above, there will be four steps in conducting this research.
In the first step, the literature investigation method, data analysis method and historical research method will be used, based on the literature and data describing the forestation programs taken in China in this nearly 50 years. After the analysis, the literature and data will be reviewed in a historical perspective with the policy analysis through these 50 years in forestation programs.
In the second step, the literature investigation method, conceptual analysis and comparative study will be used. Related literature investigation on the forestation progress and related theories will be reviewed with the core concepts analyzed. With the comparative study between the forestation practice in China and the theories in literature materials, the overall means and plans contained in forestation programs taken in China in this nearly 50 years will be concluded.
In the third step, the speculation research method, behavioral research method and the historical research method will be used. So that the impacts of the forestation programs taken in China in this nearly 50 years will be analyzed in a comprehensive manner.
In the last step of this research, the behavioral research method, historical research method and comparative study will be used to determine gap between the planting area and productive area of forest plantations and conclude it from an overall point of view.
5. References and the books to be read
China Network. (2010). The Case of Forestation In China. [electronic resource].
Dobson, A. P., Bradshaw, A. D. & Baker, A. J. M. (1997). Hopes for the Future: Restoration Ecology and Conservation Biology. Science. 277(5325), 515-522.
Guyi. (2014). Million Forest’ activities. [electronic resource].
Honda. (2015). China (Inner Mongolia): Holding a tree-planting project in Inner Mongolia. [electronic resource].
Jon R. L. (2012). China’s Reforestation Programs: Big Success or Just an Illusion? [electronic resource].
Richardson, S. D. (1990). Forests and forestry in China: Changing patterns of resource development. Island Press, Washington DC.
Qiu, H., et al. (2010). Bioethanol development in China and the potential impacts on its agricultural economy. Applied Energy, Elsevier, 87(1), 110-120.
Wenhua, L. Degradation and restoration of forest ecosystems in China. Ecol Manage 201(10), 33-41.