26
J. Chen et al.
arable land, and a limited grain harvest for farmers in these areas, living in
poverty, is quite poor. If we make rational use of these natural resources, grow
energy plants and develop “energy farms”, we can not only restore vegetation construction, improve their ecological environment, but also increase rural
employment opportunities and improve the living standards of rural people and
revitalize the rural economy.
(2) Woody oil plants have the characteristics of planting once and benefiting for
many years, and the economic benefits are considerable. They play an important
role in adjusting the industrial structure of rural China and improving the living
standards of the people. Combined with the ecological project of returning
cropland to forest which is being carried out in our country, the large area
construction of biodiesel raw material forest can change the inferiority of barren
mountain into its advantage. Under the premise of the existing economic level
and resource level, we should make full use of mountain resources, cultivate
woody oil plants on a large scale and develop the road of bioenergy with Chinese
characteristics.
(3) China is a large country of energy production and consumption, and it is also a
country with coal as the main energy consumption. Coal consumption accounts
for more than 75% of the total primary energy consumption in China, which is
close to the average value of that of the same kind of countries in the world.
80% of such large coal consumption is directly burned, resulting in serious
environmental pollution. In the absence of effective methods to control the
ecological environment pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels, the only way
to reduce the use of fossil fuels and to develop clean and alternative energy is to
reduce the use of fossil fuels. And the development of “energy farms” is to grow
energy plants on a large scale to produce a large number of clean and alternative
energy sources, which is one of the best ways.
There are the following reasons why energy plants can be grown in large areas in
China:
(1) Land resources
China has a vast land area. In addition to the existing cultivated land, forest land
and grassland as traditional agriculture, there are nearly 300 million mu of barren
mountain wasteland in the south and 1.5 billion mu of saline-alkali land in the north.
Sand can be used to grow energy plants. Because the arable land area in rural areas
of our country is limited, there is no free cultivated land to grow energy crops, and
woody oil plants have the characteristics of wild, drought-tolerant and barren, so we
make use of the large area of barren mountains in rural areas. The development of
energy crops by “energy farms”, which do not compete with grain production, will
become a potential development trend in the future.
(2) Energy and plant resources.
China has tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, cold temperate and plateau alpine
regions. The flora of plants is complex and diverse, among which there are only a
J. Chen et al.
arable land, and a limited grain harvest for farmers in these areas, living in
poverty, is quite poor. If we make rational use of these natural resources, grow
energy plants and develop “energy farms”, we can not only restore vegetation construction, improve their ecological environment, but also increase rural
employment opportunities and improve the living standards of rural people and
revitalize the rural economy.
(2) Woody oil plants have the characteristics of planting once and benefiting for
many years, and the economic benefits are considerable. They play an important
role in adjusting the industrial structure of rural China and improving the living
standards of the people. Combined with the ecological project of returning
cropland to forest which is being carried out in our country, the large area
construction of biodiesel raw material forest can change the inferiority of barren
mountain into its advantage. Under the premise of the existing economic level
and resource level, we should make full use of mountain resources, cultivate
woody oil plants on a large scale and develop the road of bioenergy with Chinese
characteristics.
(3) China is a large country of energy production and consumption, and it is also a
country with coal as the main energy consumption. Coal consumption accounts
for more than 75% of the total primary energy consumption in China, which is
close to the average value of that of the same kind of countries in the world.
80% of such large coal consumption is directly burned, resulting in serious
environmental pollution. In the absence of effective methods to control the
ecological environment pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels, the only way
to reduce the use of fossil fuels and to develop clean and alternative energy is to
reduce the use of fossil fuels. And the development of “energy farms” is to grow
energy plants on a large scale to produce a large number of clean and alternative
energy sources, which is one of the best ways.
There are the following reasons why energy plants can be grown in large areas in
China:
(1) Land resources
China has a vast land area. In addition to the existing cultivated land, forest land
and grassland as traditional agriculture, there are nearly 300 million mu of barren
mountain wasteland in the south and 1.5 billion mu of saline-alkali land in the north.
Sand can be used to grow energy plants. Because the arable land area in rural areas
of our country is limited, there is no free cultivated land to grow energy crops, and
woody oil plants have the characteristics of wild, drought-tolerant and barren, so we
make use of the large area of barren mountains in rural areas. The development of
energy crops by “energy farms”, which do not compete with grain production, will
become a potential development trend in the future.
(2) Energy and plant resources.
China has tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, cold temperate and plateau alpine
regions. The flora of plants is complex and diverse, among which there are only a