Chinese Arbor Day is scheduled on March 12th every year. It is a holiday established through legislation in China to inspire people's enthusiasm for forests and afforestation, promote national greening, and protect the ecological environment that humans rely on for survival. In 1915, China designated Qingming Festival as Arbor Day, which was initially proposed by forestry scholars such as Ling Daoyang. Later, in 1928, Arbor Day was changed to March 12th, the day of Sun Yat sen's death, to commemorate the revolutionary pioneers' desire for afforestation. This setting has been used by Chinese Mainland and Taiwan, China until now.
March 12, 2023 is the 45th Arbor Day in China.
Festival Logo
Chinese Arbor Day is a holiday established to promote national greening and protect the human ecological environment. Unlike other celebratory holidays, Arbor Day requires efficient organization of related activities by various agencies and units in order to better achieve the original intention of its establishment. In February 1984, the third meeting of the National Greening Committee adopted the current logo for China Arbor Day to enhance its influence and appeal, and to facilitate organized participation of the public in greening activities.
The tree in the emblem pattern symbolizes that every citizen of our country should plant 3 to 5 trees, and everyone should take action to green the land of our motherland. The engraved words "China Tree Planting Day" and "3.12" not only remind people of the date of the Tree Planting Day, but also embody the Chinese people's indomitable determination to plant trees year after year to benefit mankind. Three broad-leaved trees and two coniferous trees mean 'forest'. Surrounding the outer circle of the forest, it represents a virtuous cycle of the natural ecosystem centered around the forest.
Festival achievements
For many years, the national voluntary tree planting activity has been implemented, and people across the country have conscientiously fulfilled their duty as citizens to plant trees. As of 2008, the number of people participating in voluntary tree planting in Chinese Mainland has reached 10.4 billion, with a total of 49.2 billion trees.
The nationwide voluntary tree planting movement has effectively promoted the improvement of China's ecological situation. In 1981, the forest area in China was 1.729 billion mu, with a standing timber volume of 10.26 billion cubic meters and a forest coverage rate of 12%. By 2008, the forest area in China had reached 2.62 billion mu, the standing timber volume had reached 13.618 billion cubic meters, the forest coverage rate had increased to 18.21%, the per capita public green space in urban areas had increased to 6.52 square meters, and the total area of nature reserves in the country exceeded 100 million hectares. In addition, China has intensified the implementation of six key forestry projects, including the construction of key protective forests in the "Three Norths" and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the return of farmland to forests and grasslands, the protection of wildlife and plants, the construction of nature reserves, and the protection of natural forests. In the context of decreasing global forest resources, China has achieved sustained growth in forest resources. The improvement of forest vegetation not only beautifies homes, reduces the harm of soil erosion and sandstorms to farmland, but also effectively enhances the carbon storage capacity of forest ecosystems.
According to the "2020 China Land Greening Status Bulletin" released by the Office of the National Greening Commission, China completed 6.77 million hectares of afforestation, 8.37 million hectares of forest nurturing, 2.83 million hectares of grassland improvement through grass planting, and 2.096 million hectares of sand prevention and control in 2020.
Ecological significance
The fundamental purpose of establishing China Arbor Day is to protect forests and increase tree planting.
The growth of every big tree has a significant positive impact on human society. Scholars abroad have calculated the ecological value of trees: a 50 year old tree produces oxygen worth approximately $31200; Absorb toxic gases and prevent air pollution worth approximately 62500 US dollars; Increasing soil fertility value by approximately 31200 US dollars; The value of conserving water sources is $37500; Providing breeding grounds for birds and other animals worth $31250; Produce protein worth $2500. Excluding the value of flowers, fruits, and wood, the total value created is approximately $196000.
Clusters of forests can provide good protection for ecosystems. Compared to bare land, one hectare of forest land can store at least 3000 cubic meters more water. The water storage capacity of 10000 acres of forest is equivalent to a reservoir with a cost of over ten million yuan and a storage capacity of one million cubic meters. Experts predict that if forests are lost on Earth, about 4.5 million species of life will cease to exist, and 90% of freshwater on land will flow into the sea for nothing, posing a serious water shortage for humanity. The loss of forests can increase wind speeds by 60% to 80% in many areas, resulting in hundreds of millions of deaths due to wind disasters.
In cities, roadside trees can also make beneficial contributions to human society. A tree can store the pollutants emitted by a car traveling 16 kilometers per year. Many trees can absorb harmful gases. For example, one hectare of Cryptomeria fortunei forest can absorb 60kg of sulfur dioxide every day. Others, such as ailanthus altissima, oleander, ginkgo, wutong, can absorb sulfur dioxide. In densely populated cities lacking greenery, there are 34000 bacteria per cubic meter in the atmosphere, which is 10000 times that of forests. After planting a certain number of trees in the city, the atmospheric bacterial content can be reduced by about 80%. Urban forests can increase air humidity. An adult tree can evaporate 400 kilograms of water per day, causing an increase in air humidity while also reducing the temperature of the city and mitigating the heat island effect. Urban forest belts and hedgerows have the effect of reducing noise, and a 30 meter wide forest belt can reduce noise by 6-8 decibels. Urban protective forests have the effect of slowing down wind speed, with an effective range within 40 times the height of trees, and can reduce wind speed by 50% within the range of 10-20 times.