Story

Science vs. The Desert

May 28, 2009 | Pulitzer Center
By
Sean Gallagher, for the Pulitzer Center, China
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In the Turpan desert botanical garden. the indistint Tamarix hispida is cultivated and researched as it is a species perfectly suited to life in the desert, flourishing in saline soils and being unable to grow in the shade.

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One of the center's main goals is to find species that are able to 'fix' the sand in order to stop it moving.

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One of the center's main goals is to find species that are able to 'fix' the sand so that vegetation can return and restore it to a level of productivity.

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One of the center's main goals is to find species that are able to 'fix' the sand so that vegetation can return and restore it to a level of productivity.

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Water pipes run throughout the park to irrigate the plants being used for research.

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One of the center's main goals is to find species that are able to 'fix' the sand so that vegetation can return and restore it to a level of productivity.

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Ammopiptanthus mongolicus is a plant dating from the Tertiary period and is high on the government's list of protected species. Originating from Inner Mongolia, it is a valuable species for desertification-related research.

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Plants in the National Herbal Medicine Garden help further the study of plants’ adaptability to growing in dry climes.

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Plants in the National Herbal Medicine Garden help further the study of plants’ adaptability to growing in dry climes.

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Education is also of paramount importance at the Turpan desert botanical garden. Raising awareness of the environment and the associated challenges China currently faces is key to the future of the country.

Lying in the second lowest depression in the world, at 154 metres below sea level, the Turpan desert botanical garden is China's largest and is at the centre of the race to research and study the effects of desertification and how it can be stopped. By growing and cultivating sand-fixing plants, the researchers of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences are attempting to find ways in which productivity can be restored to arid land and investigate the success of plants to stop moving deserts in their tracks. The importance of the Turpan desert botanical garden, and others like it around the country, is unquestionable. It is through studying, researching and ultimately applying, sand-fixing and soil-stabilsing plants, which will help to protect the vast swathes of land that are being attacked and taken over. The task is huge, but it is through science and education that China can find ways to fight back against its growing sands.