2026年8月12日至19日，上海根与芽百万植树计划宁夏林地调查活动在白芨滩国家级自然保护区展开，5名志愿者跟随上海根与芽百万植树计划团队，历时约一周时间共完成对8片治沙林地的走访调查。通过林地调查活动，可以动态监测保护区内治沙林地的整体恢复效果，也可以为林地后期的养护提供参考。
From August 12 to 19, 2026, the Shanghai Roots & Shoots Million Tree Project (MTP) carried out its annual Ningxia Forest Survey at the Baijitan National Nature Reserve. Over the course of one week, a team of five volunteers and MTP staff surveyed eight afforestation sites. The annual forest survey is an important part of MTP’s long-term monitoring work, which enables the team to assess the effectiveness of desertification restoration and provide valuable information for future forest management and maintenance.
志愿者在宁夏治沙林地中行走，龙飞扬摄
Volunteers hiking in the forest. Photo by Feiyang Long
草方格治沙是宁夏等沙化地区常用的独特治沙方法，可以降低地表风速减缓沙地流动；同时搭配灌木种植可以有效固定沙丘。随机采样法是林地调查的常用调查方法，每个草方格约为1平方米大小，宁夏林地调查需选随机取100平方米大小的网格为调查样方，在草方格清晰时可以借助其划定样方边界，在草方格模糊时则需要根据林地中灌木的树行来确定大致边界。
One of the most distinctive techniques used to fight desertification in Ningxia is the straw grids, which can reduce wind speed at the ground surface and stabilize shifting sand dunes with shrubs. The survey adopted a random sampling method, with 100-square-meter sample plots selected within the forest site. Where the grids were still visible, they were used to define the plot boundaries. In older sites where the grids had gradually weathered away, the boundaries were determined according to the planting rows of the shrubs.
志愿者在草方格中进行调查，张敏摄
Volunteers conducting the survey within straw grids. Photo by Min Zhang
每到一片林地选定好样方，调查工作便分成两条线同步推进：一边是灌木测量，志愿者手持量尺，对样方内的柠条、花棒、沙拐枣等主要治沙灌木逐株登记高度、冠幅，记录它们的生长变化；另一边是植被普查，在辨认出样方内所有植物的种类之后，志愿者需要数清楚它们的数量，任何一株也不能“放过”。
Once each sample plot was established, the team worked along two survey lines simultaneously. One group focused on shrub measurements, using rulers to record the height and crown size of shrubs like Caragana Korshinskii, Hedysarum scoparium, and Calligonum arborescens to track their growth. At the same time, the other group conducted a vegetation inventory, identifying every plant species within the sample plot and carefully counting the number of each individual plants.
志愿者在测量灌木，龙飞扬摄
Volunteers are measuring shrubs. Photo by Feiyang Long
志愿者在统计样方中植物的数量，郭珈源摄
Volunteers are counting plants in the sample plots, photo by Jiayuan Guo
在短短几天的调查内，志愿者也能发现不同年份林地的不同状态：最早十年前栽植的林地内柠条生长茂盛，地表枯枝落叶及土壤结皮丰富；部分林地由于自身立地条件较差沙化程度改善较慢；部分新栽植的林地虽然灌木还未长大，但地表植被覆盖度高、植物种类丰富。
Within a few days of fieldwork, volunteers observed remarkable between forests planted in different years. Forests planted more than ten years were filled with thriving Caragana shrubs, thick layers of fallen leaves, and well-developed biological soil crusts. In areas with harsher environmental conditions, vegetation recovery was slower. Meanwhile, in some newly planted forests, although the shrubs were still young and relatively small, the ground already showed encouraging levels of vegetation coverage and surprising diversity of plant species.
治理之初的2015年宁夏治沙林地，摄于2015年7月
The original 2015 forest site, taken in July 2015
经过十年治理之后的2015年宁夏治沙林地，摄于2026年8月
The 2015 Forest after ten years of restoration, taken in August 2026
2025年治沙林地中发现的蒙古韭，郭珈源摄
Allium mongolicum found in the forest planted in 2025. Photo by Jiayuan Guo
从2015年开始算起，上海根与芽与白芨滩保护区的合作也已走过第十个年头，种植超过200万株灌木，治理沙化土地面积达1万多亩。志愿者在一周的时间内走完了百万植树计划的十个年头和万亩林地，但对于这片土地来讲，从沙子变为土壤可能还需要倾注更多的十年和心血。
The year 2026 marks ten years of partnership between Shanghai Roots & Shoots and the Baijitan National Nature Reserve. Since 2015, the Million Tree Project has planted more than 2 million shrubs and restored over 713 hectares of desertified areas, contributing to the long-term recovery of this fragile ecosystem. During just one week of fieldwork, the volunteers walked through thousands of hectares of MTP forests, witnessing the changes over the ten years. Yet this journey also also offered an important reminder: for this land, transforming sand into soil takes decades of patience, care and continued commitment.
百万植树计划2015年宁夏治沙林地航拍，王凯摄
Aerial view of the 2015 Ningxia Forest. Photo by Kai Wang
百万植树计划2025年宁夏治沙林地航拍，王凯摄
Aerial view of the 2025 Ningxia Forest. Photo by Kai Wang
感谢白芨滩国家级自然保护区对于此次活动的全力支持，也感谢5位志愿者的参与和付出！我们期待在下个十年，还会有更多人愿意陪我们一起走遍这里的每一片林地。
We extend our heartful thanks to the Baijitan National Nature Reserve for their continued support and partnership, and to our five volunteers for their dedication and hard work throughout the survey. As we look ahead to the next decade of the Million Tree Project, we hope many more people will join us in walking through these forests, witnessing the transformations with us.