Researchers comprehensively diagnose black land in NE China

BEIJING -- Chinese researchers have conducted a 10-day aerial integrated observation experiment to accurately monitor the quality and condition of black land in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, according to Tuesday's China Science Daily.

In order to monitor the location, degree, and speed of black land degradation, the researchers carried out sky-ground monitoring on a farm covering 900 square kilometers.

They completed the ground survey of almost 200 quadrats by collecting the scanning images and designed six types of observation quadrats, including black soil, sandy soil, white slurry soil, and meadow soil.

During the observation experiment, black land topography, soil nutrients, soil temperature and humidity, crop properties, and cultivated land quality were diagnosed accurately, facilitated by 15 homemade satellites achieving more than 50 images, according to the report.

Totally 16 organizations, including both the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology and the Aerospace Information Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, participated in the observation.