Chongqing- Ten people were awarded as the "Model of Scientific and Technical Workers of 2021" on the evening of November 5, including Professor Yi Zhijian, Vice President, professor, and doctoral supervisor at Chongqing Jiaotong University.
The selection activity of the "Model of Scientific and Technical Workers" began in 2018. Since then, ten advanced individuals will be selected annually to advocate for the public, respecting labor, knowledge, and talent.
The "desert soilization" theory and technology were proposed by Prof. Yi, who led his research team to convert deserts in different conditions at home and abroad into ecological oases, covering 17,000 mu. The desert soilization technology integrates the functions of sand prevention, sand fixing and ecological recovery.
The proposition of "desert soilization" is based on the realization of sand "soilization", which presents a promising alternative to the prevailing methods of desert control.
With years of effort, Prof. Yi, aged 58 this year, has innovatively worked out a way of "soilization" to realize desert greening. Under his leadership, the research team has conducted experiments at deserts of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, the Middle East, and the Sahara Desert and eventually converted deserts into oases.
This achievement has made a broad national and international impact, and Prof. Yi has cultivated over 50 doctoral and graduate students from this project.
On September 19, in the Ulan Buhe Desert of Inner Mongolia, years of applying mechanics to desertification control has achieved a remarkable result. (Photo/ Long Fan)
Desertification control ranks among the greatest environmental challenges around the world.
In 2008, Prof. Yi started thinking about how to endow the sand with eco-mechanical properties. After years of work, His team worked out a paste made of plant cellulose, called Omni-directional integrative constraint (ODI), which does not have any toxic or side effects.
When added to sand and mixed with water, ODI can soilize the sand, and the soilized sand will have the eco-mechanical properties as the soil does, where the sand can become thin mud in a rheological state.
After the water dries, the sand becomes clods with the general binding force. Through the "soilization" technology, the sand can retain water and nutrients, thus forming fertile lands for plants to grow.
The mechanical principle of sand soilization. (Photo/ Chongqing Jiangtong University)
"The desert doesn't lack water, but the soil cannot retain water," said Prof. Yi.
In 2016, his team launched the "desert soilization" application test at the Ulan Buh Desert in Inner Mongolia. Up to now, the team has successfully conducted trials in the Ulan Buh Desert and other areas.
It is worth mentioning that Prof. Yi has also led his team to explore the "ecology+industry" strategy for desertification control.
More than 70 types of crops such as radish, sorghum, pennisetum, tomato, and eggplant were grown in the base after "soilization." The yield of radish and sorghum planted in the Ulan Buh Desert reached more than 13,000 kilograms per mu and 789 kilograms per mu, respectively, both higher than the national average.
"It is the honor of my life to apply mechanics to desertification control," said Prof. Yi.
The third national land resource survey shows that China has 1.918 billion mu of arable land. The desertification area in China has reached 2.595 billion mu, accounting for 18% of the entire territory.
If the technology of "soilization" is adopted to transform 1% of China's desertification area, 26 million mu of arable land will be created.
Prof. Yi (left) and Academician Li Shucai pulled out a sunflower from the sand to check its root system. (Photo/ Long Fan)
Li Ya, Prof. Yi's doctoral student and member of the base for "soilization" in Inner Mongolia, said that the team members and people from nearby villages gathered around the TV to watch the award ceremony.
"Everyone felt proud and happy that the project was recognized by the public," said Li. "Prof. Yi's efforts made in those years shall inspire everyone in the team to forge ahead."
Li Tian'an, Party Secretary of Chongqing Jiaotong University, said, Prof. Yi's team has contributed to China's ecological civilization construction on behalf of Chongqing and provided a new solution to global desertification control by drawing on mechanics to figure out the ways of "turning sand into the soil".
Li hoped that all the scientific and technical workers of Chongqing Jiaotong University would bear in mind the "major responsibilities of our nation," scale the heights of science and technology, and make new and greater contributions to accelerating the realization of a high degree of self-reliance in science and technology.
(Source: Chongqing Daily)
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