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Only 310 kilometers from Beijing is Wangyedian Experimental Forest Farm， a wealth of flourishing trees dotting a chain of mountains in southwestern Harqin Banner in Chifeng City， Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Acting as a green shelter， trees growing in the forest farm protect northern China from the sandstorms from Khorchin， one of the largest sandy areas in the country. The forest farm was founded in 1956. Back then， the locale featured only barren mountains， and now it is overwhelmingly green. For 63 years， Wangyedian Experimental Forest Farm has passed the green baton from generation to generation.
From Bald to Green In the early days after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949， mountains and hills accounted for 50 percent of the land of Harqin Banner with only 3.3 percent of forest coverage rate. Vegetation was seriously deteriorating， causing great losses of water and soil and making natural disasters more frequent. In 1952， the forestry administrative office welcomed its first director， Shen Shixiang. Facing tough conditions， Shen led several colleagues to mobilize local people to plant trees， successively setting up 15 seedling breeding stations in mountains， which produced over 10 million saplings the next year.
“In those days， we had nothing，”recalls Xing Yulin， now in his 90s.“We rented five rooms as offices and even our pickaxes were borrowed from local villagers. The whole mountain was just stone and barren land. And it often suffered torrential flooding during the rainy season.”
Shen and his colleagues didn’t give up. In the spring of 1964， the forest farm planted over 400 hectares of Chinese pines and larch trees with a survival rate reaching 85 percent in the year when they were planted. From 1957 to 1978， the forest farm maintained the pace of planting 667 hectares of trees each year. Across those two decades， a total of about 12，300 hectares of planted trees increased the forest coverage rate to over 80 percent. By 1981， all the suitable land for forest had turned green.
Made-to-Order Forest
The traditional forestry industry primarily focused on output of quality timber. So， logging companies often performed clear cutting which devastated both the forest and surrounding ecology. So for a while， Wangyedian， like other state-owned forest farms， was plagued by low-quality forest structure， low recoverable resources and vulnerable forest functionality. Modern sustainable forestry places emphasis on the multiple functions of the forest by selective cutting and targeted tree selection， enhancing the value of each tree.“Today， after selective cutting， we plant precious broad-leaf species to fill the forest gap，” explains Ma Chenggong， director of the Multifunctional Forest Management Demonstration Project sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation （APFNet） in Wangyedian. “Then the forest can be slowly converted into a multiaged， diverse forest with mixed species mimicking a natural forest to produce economic value while guaranteeing ecological value.”
It took eight years for Wangyedian to set up a preliminary multifunctional forest demonstration zone combining man-made forest and close-to-nature forest. In 2011， APFNet launched the first phase of the project： “Construction of Multifunctional Forest Management Demonstration” in Wangyedian Experimental Forest Farm due to its advantageous location， efficient management and rich forest resources.
“Now the forest coverage rate of our forest farm is as high as 92.1 percent， so we have almost no more suitable land left for afforestation，”Ma continues. “Without any more room for advances in quantity， we have to focus on improvements in quality. Our cooperation with APFNet to introduce close-to-nature forest management is this kind of exploration and innovation.”
Green Mountain Value
A total of 18 administrative villages surround Wangyedian， home to 35，000 people. How can a forest farm both protect the environment and help poverty reduction while giving full play to the role of multifunctional forestry？ To expand residents’ income channels， the forest farm provides free non-wood forest products under the trees for the villagers. Local villagers can collect forest byproducts such as fungi， edible plants， medicinal plants and forest seeds.
“The better the forest grows， the more it offers to us，” grins 54-year-old Mr. Shao， a resident in Dadian Village.
According to him， the popular spring wild vegetables are brackens and bitter buds. In summer， people collect mushrooms and wild herbs. In autumn， they look for hazelnuts and pine nuts. In winter， locals use twigs from chaste trees to weave utensils and use cutting residues to plant mushrooms. According to statistics， these “freebies” have helped increase annual per capita income of farmers living around the forest by more than 2，000 yuan （US$300）.
Zhang Yonghua， a resident from Dongjuzi Village in Meilin Town， runs an edible fungus planting cooperative. His greenhouse grows monkey-head mushroom and other fungi. “Prices are good this year，”grins Zhang. “The purchase price for fresh mushrooms increased by more than two yuan （US$0.29） per kilogram. The favorable forest climate in Wangyedian is especially suitable to grow fungi. Many of our products have been exported to Japan and Europe.”
The multiple functions of the forest， the renewal of management concepts and means， the momentum of harmonious development in the community and the sincere effort to return wealth to the people are creating more ecological dividends for Wangyedian Experimental Forest Farm. Today， different styles of cabins peek out from behind the trees and colorful flowers. During summer， various outdoor activities like hiking， cycling and camping are attracting countless tourists seeking getaways.
“While cultivating and protecting forest resources， we strive to optimize the state-owned forest farm’s role in providing greater ecological products for society and more attractive benefits for the public，” declares Zhao Hui， head of Wangyedian Experimental Forest Farm.
From Bald to Green In the early days after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949， mountains and hills accounted for 50 percent of the land of Harqin Banner with only 3.3 percent of forest coverage rate. Vegetation was seriously deteriorating， causing great losses of water and soil and making natural disasters more frequent. In 1952， the forestry administrative office welcomed its first director， Shen Shixiang. Facing tough conditions， Shen led several colleagues to mobilize local people to plant trees， successively setting up 15 seedling breeding stations in mountains， which produced over 10 million saplings the next year.
“In those days， we had nothing，”recalls Xing Yulin， now in his 90s.“We rented five rooms as offices and even our pickaxes were borrowed from local villagers. The whole mountain was just stone and barren land. And it often suffered torrential flooding during the rainy season.”
Shen and his colleagues didn’t give up. In the spring of 1964， the forest farm planted over 400 hectares of Chinese pines and larch trees with a survival rate reaching 85 percent in the year when they were planted. From 1957 to 1978， the forest farm maintained the pace of planting 667 hectares of trees each year. Across those two decades， a total of about 12，300 hectares of planted trees increased the forest coverage rate to over 80 percent. By 1981， all the suitable land for forest had turned green.
Made-to-Order Forest
The traditional forestry industry primarily focused on output of quality timber. So， logging companies often performed clear cutting which devastated both the forest and surrounding ecology. So for a while， Wangyedian， like other state-owned forest farms， was plagued by low-quality forest structure， low recoverable resources and vulnerable forest functionality. Modern sustainable forestry places emphasis on the multiple functions of the forest by selective cutting and targeted tree selection， enhancing the value of each tree.“Today， after selective cutting， we plant precious broad-leaf species to fill the forest gap，” explains Ma Chenggong， director of the Multifunctional Forest Management Demonstration Project sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation （APFNet） in Wangyedian. “Then the forest can be slowly converted into a multiaged， diverse forest with mixed species mimicking a natural forest to produce economic value while guaranteeing ecological value.”
It took eight years for Wangyedian to set up a preliminary multifunctional forest demonstration zone combining man-made forest and close-to-nature forest. In 2011， APFNet launched the first phase of the project： “Construction of Multifunctional Forest Management Demonstration” in Wangyedian Experimental Forest Farm due to its advantageous location， efficient management and rich forest resources.
“Now the forest coverage rate of our forest farm is as high as 92.1 percent， so we have almost no more suitable land left for afforestation，”Ma continues. “Without any more room for advances in quantity， we have to focus on improvements in quality. Our cooperation with APFNet to introduce close-to-nature forest management is this kind of exploration and innovation.”
Green Mountain Value
A total of 18 administrative villages surround Wangyedian， home to 35，000 people. How can a forest farm both protect the environment and help poverty reduction while giving full play to the role of multifunctional forestry？ To expand residents’ income channels， the forest farm provides free non-wood forest products under the trees for the villagers. Local villagers can collect forest byproducts such as fungi， edible plants， medicinal plants and forest seeds.
“The better the forest grows， the more it offers to us，” grins 54-year-old Mr. Shao， a resident in Dadian Village.
According to him， the popular spring wild vegetables are brackens and bitter buds. In summer， people collect mushrooms and wild herbs. In autumn， they look for hazelnuts and pine nuts. In winter， locals use twigs from chaste trees to weave utensils and use cutting residues to plant mushrooms. According to statistics， these “freebies” have helped increase annual per capita income of farmers living around the forest by more than 2，000 yuan （US$300）.
Zhang Yonghua， a resident from Dongjuzi Village in Meilin Town， runs an edible fungus planting cooperative. His greenhouse grows monkey-head mushroom and other fungi. “Prices are good this year，”grins Zhang. “The purchase price for fresh mushrooms increased by more than two yuan （US$0.29） per kilogram. The favorable forest climate in Wangyedian is especially suitable to grow fungi. Many of our products have been exported to Japan and Europe.”
The multiple functions of the forest， the renewal of management concepts and means， the momentum of harmonious development in the community and the sincere effort to return wealth to the people are creating more ecological dividends for Wangyedian Experimental Forest Farm. Today， different styles of cabins peek out from behind the trees and colorful flowers. During summer， various outdoor activities like hiking， cycling and camping are attracting countless tourists seeking getaways.
“While cultivating and protecting forest resources， we strive to optimize the state-owned forest farm’s role in providing greater ecological products for society and more attractive benefits for the public，” declares Zhao Hui， head of Wangyedian Experimental Forest Farm.