A dying desert poplar forest in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is being brought back to life through ecological restoration efforts that replenish the water supply the forest desperately needs.
Populus euphratica, more commonly known as desert poplar, is a rugged species of tree, dubbed "guardian of the desert." It is resistant to low temperatures, drought and saline-alkali soil, and serves as an ideal windbreak and sand-fixation plant.
In Keping County, Aksu Prefecture, a desert poplar forest spanning over 26,000 hectares stands. Many of the trees are withered, their dead branches scattered across the ground. Yet, a closer look reveals fresh green shoots sprouting from some of them.
Keping County is a county short of water resources, with annual precipitation of less than 100 millimeters, while evaporation per year is as high as over 2,500 millimeters. River course diversion made survival even harder for the poplars, and many trees began to wither and die as a result.
Things began to change in 2022, when water from the Yarkand River, Xinjiang's most flood-prone river, more than 100 kilometers away, was channeled to the area for the first time. The water flowed over the cracked, parched earth and seeped underground, raising the water table. The withered trees then began to sprout anew.
"The desert poplar trees here thrive with an appropriate groundwater level. A depth of 6 to 7 meters ensures healthy growth; if it drops any lower, the trees begin to degenerate," said Aimair Abudurexiti, a forest ranger in Keping County.
To ensure the water is used as precisely as possible, 22 monitoring wells have been installed throughout the forest area to track groundwater levels and transmit data in real time.
Zhang Qin, a researcher from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been conducting research here since before the first ecological water diversion in 2022. Over years of continuous follow-up, she has witnessed the entire process of the forest's recovery.
Since 2022, a cumulative total of 646 million cubic meters of water has been diverted from the Yarkand River to the desert poplar forest in Keping County, gradually restoring vitality to the area.
"With our own eyes, we can see that the trees have become greener. We've also observed the presence of protected wild animals like goitered gazelles and hares, and they are now very commonly seen," she said.
Water diversion helps revive dying desert poplar forest in Xinjiang
