Controlling Sand Movement Through Mechanical Measures: China’s Experience - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 45

Fig. 2.22 A view of part of the Shapotou Desert Research Station showing the system of
checkerboards made with straw to increase surface roughness and reduce sand movement
Many railways pass through the Gobi area which as a result of strong winds and
scarcity of sands is saturated with sand flows, 60 % of the Lanzhou-Xingjiang lines
cross the Gobi area and the Yumen sections (Hesan Lake-Wangdong, Sanshilijing-
Gongchan River and Junken-Erdaogou) lie north of the Qilian Mountain. The
prevention systems on this railway obtained the first National Prize on Progress
in Science and Technology in 1954.
In response to strong winds, insufficiency of sand resources and the erosion
abilities of sand flows, major measures were adapted which included reducing the
wind velocity and shut off sandy resources and combination of prevention and
protection. At the edge of the railway lines there are higher sand barriers, which
include shrub branches and other materials which form a fence height of about
1.5 m. After 20 years of construction and study, by the end of 1994, on both
sides of railway lines Junken-Erdaogou, Sanshilijing-Gongchanghe River, 96 km
of shelterbelts of prevention have been established. The work has continued and
China's proven technologies have been adopted elsewhere (Yang et al. 2005 , 2011 ).
References and Further Readings
Chen Guangting (2005) Sandy disaster prevention and control measures of the Arterial highways
and railways in sandy areas. Institute of Desert Research, CAS, Lanzhou. P.R. China. China
Environmental Science Press, Beijing
Ci L, Yang X (2010) Desertification and its control in China. Higher Education Press/Springer,
Beijing/Heidelberg/New York, 513 p