Shendong Coal’s Salix Mongolica Woods Demonstration Base Completed in Batuta

Shendong Coal completed construction of a demonstration base of Salix mongolica woods for ecological conservation in Batuta, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in early August.

A desert scene of Batuta when Shendong Coal began mine construction.

Batuta desert area, located in Ordos, is adjacent to Shendong Coal’s mining area in the south. For a long time, local people and residents in the mining area had their lives severely affected by wind and sand.

Batuta Salix mongolica woods demonstration base

Shendong Coal made innovations on technologies for ecological rehabilitation in mining subsidence area and promoted bottle-based, sand-barrier and direct methods of afforestation. It planted Salix mongolica, sea buckthorns, pinus sylvestris, poplar, caragana microphylla and Artemisia desterorum spreng in Batuta. The area now becomes lush and precipitation has increased year by year. The number of sandy days has decreased from more than 30 to three. Miraculously, the desert of yesterday has been transformed into an oasis, attracting rare birds to reside and reproduce here.