NANJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have released research results documenting technological breakthroughs in combating black soil degradation and boosting modern agricultural development through the use of modern precision practices.

Referred to as the "giant panda of cultivated land" thanks to its fertility and scarcity, black soil in China's Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, all located in the country's northeast, and in some parts of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, covers a total area of 1.09 million square kilometers. It produces about a quarter of China's total grain output.

However, black soil has experienced varying degrees of degradation due to factors such as excessive exploitation and climate change. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), together with authorities in the four provincial-level regions mentioned earlier, launched the "Black Soil Granary" program in 2021 to provide sci-tech support to the fight against soil degradation.

The CAS published the project's latest achievements, covering theories, technologies, models and smart equipment, on Monday in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

Jiang Ming, chief commander of the project and director of the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology of the CAS, said that after five years of collaborative research, the project has established seven core demonstration zones, covering a total area of roughly 12,900 hectares. This project has increased soil organic matter content by 0.25 to 0.7 percent, reduced the soil erosion rate by 80 percent, and boosted grain yield by over 5.2 percent.

INTEGRATED PRECISION SENSING

The research team made breakthroughs in integrating multi-source data from satellite, aerial and ground-based platforms, systematically mapping the current state of black soil degradation. They constructed the first-ever 10-meter spatial resolution information map of organic matter content in the black soil regions.

Their research reveals the spatial and temporal changes in black soil degradation over the past four decades, elucidates the degradation mechanisms and regulatory mechanisms for fertility improvement, and develops key conservation technologies tailored to different regions.

Jiang noted that the black soil information map serves as the core data foundation for digital management and precision production, addressing long-standing challenges such as fragmented data and delayed monitoring. Leveraging ground-sky-space integrated multi-scale sensing technology, it enables precise assessment of black soil resources, degradation types and severity for each plot, facilitating dynamic monitoring and targeted treatment.

"We are moving away from the past one-size-fits-all, experience-based management model, making black soil conservation evidence-based, precise and efficient," Jiang explained.

The information map also provides decision-making support for agricultural activities like straw incorporation, fertilization, soil improvement and agricultural machinery scheduling, enabling tailored measures based on local conditions.

SMART AGRICULTURE

Zhang Yucheng, a senior engineer at the Institute of Computing Technology of the CAS, said that Honghu new-energy unmanned smart tractors and supporting equipment have been widely deployed.

The research team completed independent development of this third-generation Honghu smart agricultural machinery technology system, with more than 90 percent of key components domestically produced. To date, 375 units of various smart agricultural machines have been manufactured, including 140 soil-testing robots and 5 unmanned soil-testing transport vehicles.

Zhang said the third-generation Honghu series is customized for the operational characteristics of black soil in northeast China, adapted to conservation tillage and large-scale, standardized operations. Equipped with an unmanned driving system, the series covers the entire process of plowing, planting, managing and harvesting. This effectively alleviates challenges in northeast China, including operating in the short frost-free period, tight farming windows and low manual labor efficiency.

Smart machinery enables uniform seeding, precise fertilization and variable rate pesticide application, reducing resource waste and supporting soil quality improvement and fertility preservation. In demonstration zones, the application of these machines has led to significant cost savings and efficiency gains for major grain crops such as corn and soybeans. The series has now entered mass production and large-scale promotion, Zhang said.

DEMONSTRATION TO WIDESPREAD APPLICATION

Jiang said the next step is to move the achievements from "demonstration effectiveness" to "long-term, region-wide effectiveness," continuously optimizing the protection models adapted to different sub-regions and expanding the reach of technology promotion.

Meanwhile, leveraging the black soil information map and intelligent agricultural machinery, they will build an intelligent, digital, full-chain black soil health management system.

Zhang said future efforts will continue to iterate the intelligent agricultural machinery, enriching the full range of large, medium and small equipment to adapt to different plot sizes and black soil types, and driving intelligent agricultural machinery from demonstration pilots to normalized, region-wide adoption.

Nora Berrahmouni, deputy director of the Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, said China has made great commitments, including its national legislation and research program on black soils. Specifically, the CAS has effectively mobilized its strong research capacity to implement a science and technology campaign, delivering notable progress and tangible results in advancing sustainable black soil management and innovation.

The FAO is also actively supporting black soil countries. For example, an FAO-China South-South cooperation program was launched last year to promote optimized black soil management practices, support the establishment of soil analysis laboratories, and develop national digital soil maps, said Berrahmouni.

In addition to on-the-ground actions, the FAO, in collaboration with black soil member countries, launched the Global Status of Black Soils report in 2022 to understand the status and challenges of black soils at global level, she said.

The release of black soil breakthroughs in China indicates great progress in terms of soil conservation and sustainable utilization. China has the potential to showcase and share its knowledge and information with other countries. Through the International Network of Black Soils under the Global Soil Partnership hosted by the FAO, a good platform exists for bringing countries together and sharing this knowledge with other researchers and promoting restoration of black soils worldwide, she added.