In recent years, the Alar City of the First Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has successively planted trees and restored greenery on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, and steadily carried out such work as returning farmland to forest and preventing and controlling desertification. Ecological barriers have turned the Gobi Desert into a beautiful oasis. Starting from 2022, Aral City of Xinjiang has continued to carry out aerial afforestation in the desert edge and desertification areas with the target of "benefiting the desert and greening the desert", and the operation area will exceed 300,000 mu this year, which also provides an important practical basis for increasing vegetation coverage in the Taklimakan Desert and restoring the ecological environment in the Tarim River basin and surrounding areas. 

（The plane took off for an air sowing operation. Photo by Lin Guoqiang  ）

As the number of autumn operations continues to increase, in recent days, Sinoway Forest Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. responsible for this work has rationally deployed aircraft sorties and continued to carry out timely operations to ensure the survival rate and germination rate of flying afforestation operations. At the same time, the company has made use of the characteristics of high efficiency, low cost and accurate operation area, and has conducted more than 180 sorties in the 12th Group Tanan Town and the 10th Group Chang 'an Town this year, with an operation area of nearly 70,000 mu.
Wang Xinpeng, general manager of Sinoway Forest Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., said: "At present, we fly five or six sorties a day, and the operation area is about 2,000 to 4,000 mu. At full capacity, it should be around 15 sorties a day."

 （The workers are processing the tree balls. Photo by Lin Guoqiang）

In order to improve the efficiency and quality of flysowing afforestation operations, this year, Sinoway Forest Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. has set up a special processing area for "tree species balls" in the flysowing afforestation base to make and dry the "tree species balls" used in flysowing on site. The company also added four new tree species that are resistant to drought and salinity, such as Alcamel thorn, artemisia Caragana, Caragana caragana, and saxophyll, optimizing and improving the processing technology of "tree ball" to provide favorable conditions for seed germination and improve vegetation coverage.
"This year, we have adjusted the selection of the whole airseeding area and the ball production process to increase the diversity of plants and improve the surface coverage of vegetation." Wang Xinpeng said.

（The workers fitted the aircraft with tree balls. Photo by Lin Guoqiang）

In 2022, the total planting area of Aral in Tuan Town on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert exceeded 50,000 mu. At present, the "tree ball" in the fly-seeding area has sprouting and growing for more than a year, and some seeds have emerged. Through the rational use of natural precipitation and ecological water replenishment, the operation density of fly-seeding afforestation has been increased, and the work of replanting, reseeding and young forest care has been done in a timely manner to ensure the completion of the afforestation operation task of 300,000 mu of fly-seeding.

"Through the field inspection of the airseeding site last year, the overall emergence rate far exceeded expectations." Wang Xinpeng said, "The next step is to strengthen cooperation with universities and national scientific research institutions, and do a good job in the research of afforestation by flying in the arid desert areas of southern Xinjiang, improve the scientific and technological content, and lay the foundation for large-scale afforestation by flying in the entire northwest region, forming good ecological and economic benefits." (All Media Reporter Lin Guoqiang Correspondent Guo Ying)