February 12, 2026
Tree-mendous desert drama
So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink
Great Green Wall sparks cheers, skeptics, and a ‘carbon perimeter’ debate
TLDR: China’s tree belt around the Taklamakan Desert may now absorb more carbon than it emits, researchers say. Commenters cheer the scale but spar over whether it’s just a rim “carbon perimeter,” how darker forests affect heat and water, and whether app-driven tree planting even matters.
China’s decades-long “Great Green Wall” is getting internet applause and side-eye after new research says the Taklamakan Desert’s rim of trees is sucking up more carbon than it spits out. The study, published in PNAS, tracked 25 years of satellite and ground data and found expanding greenery during summer rains coincides with lower carbon dioxide levels. Cue the chorus: one commenter cheered, “This is the way,” while another snarked it’s not a carbon sink, it’s a “carbon perimeter.” Translation: the edges are greener, the center is still sand.
The cocktail of hot takes got spicier. Users dropped a NASA stat that China drove a huge global increase in leaf area, but skeptics asked about the albedo—how darker forests absorb more heat—and whether extra evaporation could mess with local climate. Then came the corporate subplot: Alipay’s “Ant Forest” app, where tapping earns tree credits. Some remembered the craze, but shrugged that gamified saplings barely register next to the government’s billions. Drama summary: cheerleaders hail dune-stabilizing forests and a country whose forest cover jumped from 10% to 25%; skeptics worry it’s climate optics, not a fix. Either way, the desert’s getting greener—and the comments are getting hotter. Bring popcorn, internet, today.
Key Points
- •Decades of afforestation around the Taklamakan Desert have increased vegetation enough to create a net carbon sink along the desert’s periphery.
- •The findings are based on 25 years of ground and satellite observations and NOAA’s Carbon Tracker modeling and were published Jan. 19 in PNAS.
- •China’s Three-North Shelterbelt Program (Great Green Wall), launched in 1978, has planted more than 66 billion trees, encircling the Taklamakan with vegetation by 2024.
- •Wet-season precipitation (July–September) averaged ~0.6 inches (16 mm) per month, enhancing vegetation and lowering CO2 levels from ~416 ppm (dry season) to ~413 ppm (wet season).
- •The study contrasts prior research focused on CO2 absorption by sand, indicating vegetation-driven sequestration along the desert rim offers a more stable carbon sink.