454 Modern Agricultural Reforms
animal husbandry were adversely affected and people lived in poverty due to lack
of fuel, fodder, fertilizer and timber. It became known as a region with the most
harsh environment with the most backward economic conditions in the country.
Forest resources and their distribution are influenced by the local environment
which affect agriculture, livestock production and economic condition of the soci-
ety. The Chinese Government has given priority to conservation and development
of forest resources. Before 1977, the natural forest area in the ‘Three North’ region
was only 16,947,000ha, of which scrub made up 42.6 per cent. The natural forests
were distributed in hilly and mountainous areas of the south-east area of the ‘Three
North’ region, and the medium and high mountains in the west, beyond the
400mm isohyet including the Tianshan Mountains, Aertai Mountains and Qilian
Mountains. In the vast desert and semi-desert area, very little scattered natural
secondary forest is present, with trees and shrubs such as Populus euphratica,
Haloxylon ammodendron and Tamarix chinesis. The average forest cover of the three
provinces was only 1.1–2.2 per cent. Serious destruction of natural resources has
resulted in degradation. Drought frequency increased from an average of once in
17 years in the Qing Dynasty (1664–1800) to once every 1.5 years during the
period 1950–1975.
The ‘Three North’ region is an important area for agricultural and livestock
production in China, with rich solar energy resources. The annual accumulated
day temperature, with daily temperature above 10°C amounts to 1500–4500°C.
The annual frost-free period is 100–180 days. The annual average temperature
gradually decreases from south to north and is between 12.1°C and –2.2°C. The
north-western part of the region, covering 58 per cent of the total land, belongs to
the arid climate zone, with an annual precipitation under 250mm. The south-
eastern part of the region is in the semi-humid zone with an annual precipitation
of 400–600mm. Between them, accounting for 10 per cent of the total land, is the
semi-arid zone, with 250–400mm annual rainfall. Most of the rainfall is concen-
trated in summer, and only 10–15 per cent of rainfall is in spring (Table 18.14).
The construction of ‘Three North’ shelterbelt
In order to improve the natural environment and social conditions of people of the
region and to speed up the development of agriculture, forestry and animal hus-
bandry, the Chinese Government decided to build a protective forest system in the
region seriously affected by drought, wind, snow storms and soil erosion. This
came to be known as the ‘Three North Protection System’ and has been listed as a
key project in the country’s economic construction.
Guided by the theory of IFS, the ‘Three North’ shelterbelt system is designed
to cover a vast area from 73°30' to 127°50' east and 33°20' to 49°48' north. It
starts in Binxin County, Heilongjiang Province in the east to the Uzbel Pass, Xin-
jiang Autonomous Region in the west; and from the country’s border with Russia
in the north to Tianjing, the Fenhe, Weihe, the lower reaches of the Taohe River,
the Burhanda and the Kunlun Mountains in the south, which includes 645 coun-
ties in 13 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and covers an area of