Draft law to help protect black soil

China is planning multiple measures to protect the country's black soil as part of efforts to ensure food security and better conserve the region's farmland ecosystem, according to a draft law.

The draft law on black soil protection was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for its first reading on Monday.

It defines black soil as fecund land that is covered by dark humus, which mainly exists in China's northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning and some parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Producing about one-quarter of the country's total grain output, black soil plays an important role in ensuring China's food supply.

But years of excessive exploitation have eroded its nutrients and the black soil layer has become thinner, posing threats to the country's ecological security and sustainable agricultural development.

According to an explanatory document on the draft law, provincial-level legislation has failed to establish an effective protective mechanism and the country is in need of measures specifically designed to protect the black soil.

With 37 provisions, the draft law specifies the responsibilities of governments and agricultural producers to protect the black soil.

It also notes that China will build a long-term mechanism to maintain the quality of black soil through several means, such as the introduction of related agricultural technology and the adoption of biotechnology.

It also said China will conduct regular surveys of its black soil and build a database to guide management work scientifically.

Technological innovations on black soil conservation, restoration and utilization will gain policy support, according to the draft law. Social service organizations and private capital will also be encouraged to contribute.

President Xi Jinping has shown great concern for the protection of black soil.

When he visited a demonstration zone for green food production in Lishu county, Jilin, last year, Xi was happy to learn that the black soil there was protected by agricultural technologies.

"The black soil would disappear in decades without effective protection measures," he said, stressing the need for effective measures to protect the soil for future generations and saying the soil is as important a treasure as giant pandas.

Effective measures have been adopted to protect black soil in recent years.

Faced with the erosion of black soil, Heilongjiang has taken various measures according to local conditions, including returning straw to farmland, as well as increasing the amount of organic fertilizer and rate of crop rotation.

Since 2015, the province has established 20 pilot projects on the protection and utilization of black soil, covering an area of 348,400 hectares.

"To realize the sustainable use of black soil, it is necessary to focus on scientific research of black soil conservation, nutrient balance and conservational tillage," said Han Xiaozeng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology. "These research results can provide important support for maintaining the fertility of black soil and improving the overall grain yield."