As expected, in the end, the government of Alashan agreed to Jiagu's desert management and development plan, and allowed Jiagu to contract the development of barren sand wasteland in accordance with the consistent principle of "whoever governs benefits from it".

In fact, Chen Jianzhang considered from his own point of view, if he was in a decisive high position, he would make a similar decision. Because the two desert areas are one of the most ecologically and economically weak areas in the Alashan region, and the development of social capital will not waste national resources; the most important thing is that with the pulse of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there is no need to worry about destroying the ecology.

After the news came back, Wang Yuye had an even more headache.

Managing and developing the desert is by no means as simple as digging a pit, planting seedlings, and watering buckets of water with a shovel!

Desertification control must first complete the four links of road construction, electricity, well drilling, and installation of irrigation facilities, and finally plant plants such as Saxon and Populus euphratica suitable for the growth of sandy land, each of which is very expensive and laborious.

Finding water is just the beginning.

Taking road construction as an example, the desert is quite undulating, and it is difficult to ensure the basic topography requirements of the management and development if we do not organize a mighty army of bulldozers to attack the sand dunes, reduce the height and slope, and level the large sand dunes.

It can be clearly seen from the early desert water search operation that construction in the desert may not work normally if you don't pay attention to it. Telephone poles that have been erected with great difficulty may be broken when they encounter strong sand and dust, and when plants and trees are planted, they may be uprooted when the wind blows......

During the day, the wind and sand are braved by the scorching sun, and at night, the sky is used as a bed and the ground is used as a bed, and the sky is fighting...... It sounds good to say, but in Wang Yuye's eyes, this means that it is difficult for all kinds of talents to stay, for a long time, and to take root.

According to the group's preliminary estimates, just to complete the above-mentioned infrastructure construction, the average investment per mu is more than 2,000 yuan to develop one million mu, which will cost 2 billion, and if you want to fully develop two deserts with a total of more than 100 million mu, you need to invest ...... Wang Yuye's eyes darkened.

"Did you sell me enough?" Wang Yuye said weakly to Qi Zheng.

Even if there are government-supported relaxation loans, self-raised 2 billion yuan to do desertification control projects is already an extremely exaggerated figure, not to mention more investment in the future.

Qi Zheng smiled: "So it depends on the output, if there is a good output, you are not afraid of not being able to raise funds." ”

This did not comfort Wang Yuye. In his opinion, it is difficult to produce output in desert management and development, at least in the first few years, and he seems to have seen Jiagu fall into a deep pit and can't climb out.

Qi Zheng was speechless, and he didn't produce anything in a few years? You underestimate my methods too much. He muttered to himself.

"Development always has to come step by step, and you can't get fat in one bite, right? If the early development effect is not good, no one will be stupid enough to continue to invest, and I am not a head iron. Qi Zheng analyzed from a different angle.

If you don't have an iron head, you won't think about smashing into the desert? Wang Yuye thought angrily.

But since the boss said so, he still has to give him face. He didn't say anything more, and went on to adjust the group's budget.

......

Jiagu took the water outlet as the center, which officially opened the prelude to the desert treatment and development.

The first phase of the Jiagu development desert project is about 100,000 acres.

Whether it is to build roads, repair electricity, or plant trees and grasses, first of all, if you have to fix sand and keep flowing, why not!

When it comes to sand fixation, the most eye-catching thing that my country has created is the "grass grid sand barrier".

More than 40 years ago, in order to protect China's first desert railway, the Baolan Railway, from being buried in the desert, wheat grass was used to tie up squares on the surface of quicksand, and artemisia and flower sticks were planted in the grid. Together with the forest belt and the pebble belt, these "carpets" composed of wheat straw squares have become the patron saint of the desert railway, and are known as "miracles in the history of human desertification control".

This technology has been popularized in many places in the northwest, if you have been to Ordos and other places, you can see that there are sand dunes divided into squares by sand willow branches, these squares stretch endlessly, like a large net covering the yellow sand. This mainly has the effect of sand fixation. When the rainy season comes, trees and grasses will be planted in the lattice, and another oasis will appear in the desert.

Of course, the grass grid sand control invented by the predecessors is quite mysterious, but the ecological restoration of the sand area is a systematic project, and it cannot be "eaten all over the world in one trick".

Standing on the shoulders of its predecessors, Jiagu Lab continued to look for more efficient and long-lasting methods of desert ecological restoration, until Chen Jianzhang introduced the concept of "biological soil crusting" from Australia.

"Biological soil crusting", that is, mosses, lichens and other cryptofloral plants are cemented together with bacteria and fungi and fine particles in the surface soil, which can not only survive in extreme environments, but also increase the content of organic matter such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil, affecting the infiltration process of precipitation and the redistribution of soil moisture.

However, it takes at least 10 years for the crust to form an effective mulch at a natural rate of growth alone.

But where is the Jiagu Laboratory? Behind a group of hangers, there is still a big boss who can really open the hanging, how can they be stumped by this?

Around the water outlet of the Tengger Desert, employees spray laboratory-grown microorganisms suitable for soil crusting onto the sand in the grass squares, which can greatly shorten the crusting time, which is an upgraded version of biological soil crusting, and the application field of microorganisms has always been Jiagu Laboratory's forte.

Moreover, there is also someone's spirit array.

"Green Bamboo Lark Array triggered, main wood system, range: 250 kilometers radius. Effect: Moisturizes, grows. The creature is in the array, as if it was newborn, raising purple flowers, and growing vigorously. ”

"Tiangang Wuji Array triggered, the main gold and water systems, range: 250 kilometers around. Effect: Extreme pressure, wind. It can control the air pressure, and the wind and water rise. ”

The "Qingzhu Lark Array" accelerates the growth of cryptoflorous plants such as mosses and lichens, and further shortens the time of soil crusting, while the "Tiangang Wuji Array" turns strong winds into light winds and weakens the winds into invisible, fully protecting the biological soil crusts from being blown to the sky in the initial stage.

Therefore, when Academician Yuan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences led several researchers to arrive here, they were surprised to find that this vast sandy area had been covered with a "biological carpet".

"Your method is really extraordinary!" After solving the question, Academician Yuan sighed, "If it can be promoted, this will definitely become a sharp weapon for restoring the desert ecology!"

Chen Jianzhang said with a smile: "After all, it has just been applied, and it has to be repeatedly experimented to have the value of promotion." We also hope to gain more similar experience and technology in the field management and development of deserts for promotion. ”

Academician Yuan nodded appreciatively: "That's why I support you Jiagu, you don't just want to make profits, but embody more awareness of social responsibility......"

......