title: Greening China naturally.
abstract: China leads the world in afforestation, and is one of the few countries whose forested area is increasing. However, this massive "greening" effort has been less effective than expected; afforestation has sometimes produced unintended environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic consequences, and has failed to achieve the desired ecological benefits. Where afforestation has succeeded, the approach was tailored to local environmental conditions. Using the right plant species or species composition for the site and considering alternatives such as grassland restoration have been important success factors. To expand this success, government policy should shift from a forest-based approach to a results-based approach. In addition, long-term monitoring must be implemented to provide the data needed to develop a cost-effective, scientifically informed restoration policy.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation & Combat, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China. shixiongcao@126.com
authors.forename: Shixiong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Liding
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Bojie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McNulty
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shankman
authors.forename: Jianwu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yanhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004463:Ecology