Chapter 86: The Desertification Problem

The next morning, Lu Yu got up, washed and dressed, then drove to Shudu Library and resumed the reading and study he had been forced to interrupt before.

Since he was about to recruit researchers and begin work on drought-resistant plants, he focused his reading on botany and biology.

On Blue Star, there were already a number of plants naturally suited to arid conditions: poplar trees, cacti, drought willow, bougainvillea, moss rose, agave, oleander, and so on.

These plants could survive with very little water, but they still could not do without it entirely.

Then there were the lower plants, mosses, and algae.

When the soil and air were moist, these plants could absorb water directly. In times of drought, their moisture rapidly evaporated, leaving them wind-dried, while their protoplasm did not solidify but remained in a dormant state.

Protoplasm is the collective term for the living substance within a cell, composed of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and other components.

Some of these plants could even endure years of desiccation, and once water became available, they would at once restore their vital activity.

Rather familiar, wasn’t it?

It was much like the existence of the Trisolarans: wind-dried, dormant, awakened.

Only in the novel, they were advanced humans, not lower plants or algae.

...

For all their resilience, these plants still seemed rather feeble when measured against the increasingly severe desertification crisis at home.

Many people did not truly understand how serious the country’s desertification problem was.

According to the national forest authority, which organized several departments and related institutions to participate in a joint survey from 2013 to 2015, the fifth national monitoring of desertification and sandification was completed.

By the end of 2014, the nation’s desertified land had reached 2.6116 million square kilometers, accounting for 27.20 percent of the country’s total land area.

It was mainly concentrated in Western Region Province, Tibet, Qinghai Province, Gansu Province, Inner Mongolia Province, and parts of thirteen other provinces, including Shanxi Province.

In 2004, the total area of desertified land had stood at 2.6362 million square kilometers.

And this was after the country had invested enormous manpower, material resources, and financial means into concentrated治理.

Over a span of ten years, the area had shrunk by only 24,600 square kilometers.

...

If one had ever been to the northwest, one would know policies such as closing mountains to allow forests and grasslands to recover, fencing and resting grasslands, closing off sand to restore forests and grasslands, and prohibiting access to protect sandy land.

Beyond that, there were artificial sand stabilization measures such as grass grid barriers, stone grids, plastic grids, and the like.

These involved using straw, wheat stalks, stones, plastic strips, and other materials to create square barriers with sides ranging from one to three meters, serving as sand obstacles to prevent drifting dunes from migrating with the wind.

Aside from the materials themselves, these barriers required a great deal of labor.

There was also artificial afforestation and grass planting, or aerial seeding of forests and grasslands, but such measures were only effective in semi-humid regions, since they required a great deal of water.

In drier areas, the main option was to plant saxaul, which many people called saxaul grass.

In truth, saxaul was a small tree, and "saxaul tree" was the more accurate name.

This plant had a broad adaptability, rapid growth, an extensive root system, and dense branches, giving it formidable windbreaking and sand-fixing power.

It was widely used in desert control and afforestation efforts.

Its drought resistance came from the trait of secondary dormancy, allowing it to survive the long, dry summers.

Its leaves were also extremely small and scale-like, reducing transpiration.

But it had one drawback: although saxaul was highly salt-tolerant and could absorb large amounts of salt from the soil, earning it the name "salt wood," it required soil containing a certain amount of salt in order to grow.

Besides saxaul, the plants used most often in windbreak and sand stabilization efforts were hedgehog broom and desert willow, among others.

These were all small shrubs, characterized by drought resistance and rapid growth.

As for trees like poplars and red willows, although they were even stronger as windbreaks and sand stabilizers, they had long growth cycles, and a single tree needed many years to mature.

...

Lu Yu studied these materials. Every drought-resistant and arid-adapted plant had its own advantages, and its own shortcomings.

As he examined their various characteristics in detail, he kept recalling the related technologies in the introductory science documents.

He had to admit that there were indeed many technologies, but when combined with his current circumstances, only two were actually usable.

One was plant genetic modification: artificially inserting genes from other species to create plants with new traits.

However, his present laboratory still lacked some of the equipment required for genetic modification experiments.

For example, a high-speed refrigerated centrifuge, which separates biological samples at high speed while keeping them chilled and active.

A qualitative PCR amplifier, used to amplify tiny gene fragments.

And a quantitative PCR amplifier, used to quantify gene fragments during amplification.

These three pieces of experimental equipment were only manufactured by Prussia and the Lighthouse Nation.

As for other items like electrophoresis tanks, electrophoresis instruments, ultraviolet projectors, and the like, they were all available domestically.

...

The other method was a clumsy one, much like the one described in the old lesson "The Green Thumb."

In order to cultivate pure white marigolds, one would select the palest blossoms from among golden flowers as seeds, breed them generation after generation, and each time choose the palest flowers for the next round. After twenty years, pure white marigolds were finally produced.

Lu Yu could use this same approach, identifying the most drought-resistant plants among a batch, using them as seeds, and breeding them generation after generation. Sooner or later, he would obtain a variety with the broadest possible adaptability.

But Lu Yu could not wait twenty years.

He felt that it might be possible to develop a harmless growth solution to accelerate the plants' growth.

...

In fact, compared with the two, plant genetic modification was naturally the better choice.

The second method could only strengthen the plant's existing traits; it could not create new ones.

Simply put, Lu Yu imagined using plant genetic modification to give those drought-resistant trees some of the traits of algae.

They would not only absorb water from the soil, but also take in moisture from the air, allowing them to survive.

One must remember that even in a desert, the air still holds at least three percent humidity.

If this could be achieved, then many desertified areas could be planted with such vegetation.

But since he had not yet conducted any actual experiments, Lu Yu did not know whether this idea could succeed.

...

Lu Yu was so absorbed in the books and in his own thoughts that he did not even notice it was time for the library to close.

Only when he heard the bell did he return the books to their shelves and head toward the parking lot.

On the way home, he kept thinking about plant genetic modification. Based on the scientific materials he had consulted, he felt he had a very good chance of succeeding.

Only the experimental procedures and details would need careful planning and refinement.

Driving while concentrating, and thinking over the broad outlines at the same time, he soon arrived home.

After entering, Lu Yu went to the study, turned on the computer, and searched the internet for information on some experimental equipment.

Most of what he needed for the experiment could be purchased domestically, and it was all quite good.

Only the high-speed refrigerated centrifuge, qualitative PCR amplifier, and quantitative PCR amplifier mentioned earlier had to be bought from abroad.

Of course, that referred to high-end precision equipment.

Although they could also be classified as ultra-precise instruments, they were not on any export ban list.

Lu Yu organized the various pieces of equipment into a list and emailed it to Tang Zhiming and Liu Shichang, asking them to purchase the items as quickly as possible.

...

After sending the email, Lu Yu lit a cigarette. After thinking it over and over, he felt that the laboratory really ought to be built in Western Region.

After all, whether they were plants cultivated through genetic modification or plants bred over many generations, they would have to be tested in an arid growing environment.

Shudu, with its natural advantages, was simply not a suitable place to test drought-resistant and arid-adapted plants.

Therefore, a plant research park should be established in Western Region, and the laboratory built within it.

Having made up his mind, Lu Yu sent another email to Liu Shichang, telling him to register a company engaged in plant research.

Then, on the outskirts of Wuchi City in Western Region, he was to establish a plant research park, and all the equipment just ordered would be delivered there as well.

He also sent another email to Tang Zhiming, asking him to go to Western Region with Liu Shichang to oversee the construction of the laboratory.

Liu Shichang and Tang Zhiming quickly replied, saying that they would begin making arrangements the next day.

After reading their responses, Lu Yu continued browsing online for related papers on plant genetic modification.

...

In fact, genetically modified plants on Blue Star had already existed for some years.

In the past, when the technology was immature and understanding was incomplete, genetically modified crops had been widely promoted.

Although these crops had the advantages of high yield and strong resistance, they also led to monoculture and impoverishment.

Moreover, as the target genes of genetically modified crops escaped and cross-pollinated with wild relatives, new weeds were produced.

For an established ecosystem, genetically modified crops and these new weeds were tantamount to an invasion by alien species and could cause certain harm.

In addition, whether genetically modified crops were harmful or harmless had long been a matter of international dispute, with no definite answer.

At first, Lu Yu had been somewhat puzzled. In theory, since plant genetic modification on Blue Star had developed for so long, someone should already have thought of transforming drought-resistant plants so that they could absorb moisture from the air.

Only after looking around did he realize that people had indeed tried it, and foreign laboratories had tried as well; they had simply all failed.

The exact reasons were not given online, and Lu Yu had no way of knowing.

Frowning, he considered it from his present understanding and felt that the experiment should not be overly difficult. So why had they all failed?

Unable to determine the real reason, Lu Yu searched for a long time without finding an answer.

In the end, he concluded that he might have been thinking about the matter too simply; otherwise, it could not be as it appeared before him now.

It seemed his knowledge in this area was still insufficient, with blind spots he had yet to fill.

Still, that was only natural. Lu Yu had never studied botany in the first place.

Although he had read some biology books before, they were simply not closely related to genetic modification.

He had only just begun reading books on botany as well.

To expect him to be thoroughly versed and to know everything intimately already was indeed asking too much.

He would have to keep reading more in this field, or else it would be no different from the blind men feeling an elephant.

...

With a touch of confusion, Lu Yu closed the computer.

He left the study, went upstairs, changed into sportswear, and began to run.

He did not stop until he was too exhausted to go on, at which point he sat down on the floor to rest.

After such intense exercise, his whole body felt refreshed.

It was only a pity that Shi Zixuan and Qin Xiaomian were not there; after exercising, the fun was diminished by just that little bit.

Habits were truly terrifying things. They could influence a person without their realizing it, until one was already immersed in them and knew nothing of it.

Then, when things suddenly changed, one would only then discover that leaving certain things, or certain people, could feel strangely awkward.

Thinking of this, Lu Yu gave a wry smile to himself, then got up to run hot water and wash up.