China will soon launch a nationwide geological environment survey of its agricultural areas, the first such survey in the world.

The Ministry of Land and Resources announced at a national meeting on geological environment studies in Hangzhou Sunday that the survey, to be extended to 2010, will cover a total 1.55 million square kilometers of agricultural land. The survey will help to determine soil conditions for improving the distribution of agricultural production.

During the survey, the distribution and quantity of some 60 chemical elements and compounds in the soil will be analyzed, and evaluations of the geological environment and pollution will be made.

Shou Jiahua, Vice-Minister of Land and Resources, said some Chinese provinces like Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hubei and Guandong had been conducting geological environment surveys since 1999. East China's Zhejiang province had even worked out an element distribution map for its northern part based on data collected.

The success of local surveys had laid a sound foundation for a nationwide study, which is expected to cover China's major agricultural bases like the coastal areas, the economic belts along the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and the north-east China economic area.

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2003)