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voidx ( voidx@futurology.today ) M to Futurology@futurology.todayEnglish · 8 months ago

China invents process that turns desert sand into fertile soil in just 10 months

www.earth.com

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China invents process that turns desert sand into fertile soil in just 10 months

www.earth.com

voidx ( voidx@futurology.today ) M to Futurology@futurology.todayEnglish · 8 months ago
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China accelerates desert restoration: 3.5 billion-year-old microbes stabilize sand and protect ecosystems in months.
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  • fizzle ( fizzle@quokk.au ) 
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    8 months ago

    Sensational title.

    On straw checkerboards laid across northwest China, a dark film spread over treated sand and stayed after seasonal dust storms. […] In trials near the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang in northwest China, CAS teams saw crusts stabilize sand within 10 to 16 months.

    So they treated the sand with a microbial sludge and it did not blow away.

    Later in the article …

    Even in the best cases, that still meant waiting two to three years for a mature crust that resists disturbance.

    It’s great that people are researching techniques to increase arable land, but this article is pretty trashy.

    • Trudge ( Trudge@piefed.social ) 
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      8 months ago

      deleted by creator

      • Linktank ( Linktank@lemmy.today ) 
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        8 months ago

        Only two thirds?

    • HubertManne ( HubertManne@piefed.social ) 
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      8 months ago

      Honestly I almost ignored the 10 months when reading the headline as my brain sorta ignored it. That is a goofily small amount of time for something like this.

    • SaveTheTuaHawk ( SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca ) 
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      8 months ago

      We all saw The Martian. The secret is poop.

      • DragonTypeWyvern ( DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social ) 
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        8 months ago

        Biosludge pls, we’re being professional

  • Toneswirly ( Toneswirly@beehaw.org ) 
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    8 months ago

    Cool tech, but it still doesnt solve the much more pressing issue of procuring clean water and somehow transporting it to the freakin desert.

    • Alcoholicorn ( Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz ) 
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      8 months ago

      Just wait for the snow to melt.

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