China has planted so many trees around the Taklamakan Desert that it's turned this 'biological void' into a carbon sink (www.livescience.com)

submitted 1 day ago by remington@beehaw.org to c/news@beehaw.org

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[-] Trudge@piefed.social 5 points 1 day ago

We found, for the FIRST time, that human-led intervention can effectively enhance carbon sequestration in even the most extreme arid landscapes, demonstrating the potential to transform a desert into a carbon sink and halt desertification... Based on the results of this study, the Taklamakan Desert, although only around its rim, represents the FIRST successful model demonstrating the possibility of transforming a desert into a carbon sink," Yung said.

(emphasis mine)

And here I thought they had been doing that around the world.

[-] DancingBear@midwest.social 4 points 1 day ago

We’re much better at turning carbon sinks into deserts.

[-] Trudge@piefed.social 4 points 1 day ago

There have been coördinated reforestation and afforestation prohects on all populated continents for the last four decades at least. I'm surprised that we only now confirmed that these processes can "transform a desert into a carbon sink" and I'm wondering if the data is lagging or if the work is much slower than I realized.

[-] ranandtoldthat@beehaw.org 2 points 1 day ago

I believe there's been real progress in the Sahel in western Africa. Iirc it involves more than just planting trees but full on land management like having grazing livestock graze in newly forested areas.

[-] DancingBear@midwest.social 2 points 18 hours ago

I think I watched a documentary about planting trees in the dessert, might have been Gobi? Dessert… I think that’s in china… pretty sure it was Chinese pretty wild they were literally on giant sand dunes

[-] Skua@kbin.earth 2 points 18 hours ago

The Gobi is in China (and Mongolia, it covers most of the border between them). It's actually quite possible that the documentary was about the same project as this article, though. The Taklamakan is either next to the Gobi or just the western part of the Gobi depending on who you ask

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this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026

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