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China
now has a total of 233.97 million hectares of forests, which cover 16.55
percent of the national total land area, far less than the world's average
level of 30.8 percent. Natural forests are concentrated in the northeast
and the southwest, but scarce in the densely inhabited and economically
developed eastern plains and the vast northwestern region.
However, the forests in China are rich in tree species, with the number
of arbor species alone exceeding 2,800. Rare and peculiar species include
ginkgo and metasequoia (dawn redwood). In order to conserve environment
and meet the needs of economic construction, China has launched large-scale
afforestation campaigns. The area of planted forests has reached 33.79
million hectares, accounting for 31.86 percent of the nation's total forest
area, making China a country with the largest area of planted forests
in the world.
Northeast China Forest Zone Located in the Greater and Lesser Hinggan
Mountains and the Changbaishan Mountain, it is the largest natural forest
area in China, with its forest coverage and timber reserves accounting
for over one-third of the national totals. The area turns out half of
the national total timber output. Chief tree species include larch and
Korean pine.
Southwest China Forest Zone China's second largest natural
forest area, it consists of forests in the Hengduanshan Mountains, on
the southern slopes of the Himalayas and in the area at the U-turn of
the Yarlung Zangbo River. Its forest reserves make up one-third of the
national total. Main tree species include fir, red sandal and nanmu.
Southeast China Forest Zone Comprising mainly planted forests,
it covers the vast hilly areas south of the Qinling-Huaihe line and east
of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Economic tree species are mainly planted
in the zone, such as tea shrubs, moso bamboo, masson pine and lacquer
tree.
Shelter-forests In a bid
to resist sandstorms and prevent soil erosion, China has constructed many
shelter-forests, such as the three-north (northeast, north and northwest
China) shelterbelt, shelter-forests along the middle and upper reaches
of the Yangtze River, coastal shelterbelt networks, afforestation project
in the Taihangshan Mountains and the plain afforestation project. Of these,
the three-north shelterbelt under construction, which is regarded as "the
world's greatest ecological project," will extend more than 7,000 km and
cover 260 million hectares, accounting for a quarter of China's total
land area.
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