Main data of the 3rd National Land Resource Survey (August 25, 2021)

In September 2018, the 3^rd National Land Resource Survey was launched under the unified leadership and plan of the State Council (the “3^rd Land Survey”). Dada was summarized on December 31, 2019. In the 3rd Land Survey, surveying base maps were produced based on satellite remote sensing images of the one-meter resolution, new technologies like mobile internet, cloud computing and drones found wide application, the “internet+ survey” method was newly used, and quality control was secured throughout the process. The survey lasted for three years and was participated in by 219,000 survey personnel. Thanks to those efforts, 295 million speckle data were collected, and the national land utilization was made clear.

Data of the mainland types nation-wide:

(I) Arable lands: 127,861,900 hectares (1,917,927,900 mu). Including: Paddy fields: 31,392,000 hectares (470,879,700 mu), a share of 24.55% of the total; irrigable lands: 32,114,800 hectares (481,722,100 mu), a share of 25.12%; dry farm: 64,355,100 hectares (965,326,100 mu), a share of 50.33%. Among them, 64% are north of the Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River Line. Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Jilin and Xinjiang are big arable land provinces, home to 40% of the arable lands of China.

There were 18,829,100 hectares (282,436,800 mu), 47,826,600 hectares (71,7398,500 mu) and 61,206,200 hectares (918,092,600 mu) of triple-cropping, double-cropping and one-cropping lands, accounting for 14.73%, 37.40% and 47.87% of the total respectively.

There were 44,694,400 hectares (670,416,200 mu) of arable lands in areas with annual precipitation above 800mm (incl.), accounting for 34.96% of the total; 62,959,800 hectares ( 944,396,400 mu) in areas with annual precipitation above 400mm (incl.) and below 800mm, sharing 49.24% of the total; 12,804,500 hectares ( 192,067,400 mu) in areas with annual precipitation above 200mm (incl.) and below 400mm, sharing 10.01% of the total; 7,403,200 hectares ( 111,047,900 mu) in areas with annual precipitation below 200mm, accounting for 5.79% of the total.

There were 79,190,300 hectares (1,187,854,300 mu) of arable lands with slopes of 2 degrees or below, a share of 61.93% of the total arable lands; 19,593,200 hectares (293,897,500 mu) of arable lands with slopes of 2-6 (incl.) degrees, sharing 15.32% of the total; 17,126,400 hectares (256,895,900 mu) of arable lands with slopes of 6-15 (incl.) degrees, taking up 13.40% of the total; 7,726,800 hectares (115,901,800 mu) of arable lands with slopes of 15-25 (incl.) degrees, accounting for 6.04% of the total; 4,225,200 hectares (63,378,300 mu) of arable lands with slopes above 25 degrees, accounting for 3.31% of the total.

(II) Garden plots: 20,171,600 hectares (302,573,300 mu), including 13,031,300 hectares (195,468,800 mu) of orchards, taking up 64.60% of the total garden plots; 1,684,700 hectares (25,270,500 mu) of tea gardens, accounting for 8.35% of the total; 1,514,300 hectares (22,714,800 mu) of rubber plantation, sharing 7.51% of the total; 3,941,300 hectares (59,119,300 mu) of other garden lands, a share of 19.54%. Among them, 66% are north of the Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River Line.

(III) Forests: 284,125,900 hectares (4,261,888,200 mu), including 197,351,600 hectares (2,960,274,300 mu) of arboreal lands, occupying 69.46% of the total forests; 7,019,700 hectares (105,295,300 mu) of bamboo lands, accounting for 2.47% of the total; 58,626,100 hectares (879,391,900 mu) of shrublands, a share of 20.63%; 21,128,400 hectares (316,926,700 mu) of other forests, a share of 7.44%. Among them, 87% are in areas with annual precipitation above 400mm (incl.). Sichuan, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang are big forest provinces, together occupying 34% of the total forests.

(IV) Grasslands: 264,530,100 hectares (3,967,952,100 mu), including 213,172,100 hectares (3,197,582,100 mu) of natural meadows, dominating 80.59% of the total grasslands of the country; 580,600 hectares (8,709,700 mu) of artificial meadows, sharing 0.22% of the total; 50,777,400 hectares (761,660,300 mu) of other grasslands, accounting for 19.19% of the total. Grasslands are mainly in Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan, dominating 94% of the total grasslands of China.

(V) Wetlands: 23,469,300 hectares (352,039,900 mu) (wetlands are a new land type in the 3^rd Land Survey, covering 7 secondary land types), including 27,100 hectares (406,000 mu) of mangrove forests, accounting for 0.12% of the total wetlands of China; 2,207,800 hectares (33,117,500 mu) of forest swamps, accounting for 9.41%; 755,100 hectares (1,326,200 mu) of shrub swamps, accounting for 3.22%; 11,144,100 hectares (167,162,200 mu) of wet meadows, a share of 47.48%; 1,512,300 hectares (22,685,000 mu) of coastal tidal flats, sharing 6.44% of the total; 5,886,100 hectares (88,291,600 mu) of inland tidal flats, sharing 25.08% of the total; 1,936,800 hectares (29,051,500 m) of swamplands, a share of 8.25%. Wetlands are mainly in Qinghai, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, Sichuan and Gansu, dominating 88% of the total wetlands in China.

(VI) Cities, towns, villages and industrial and mining lands: 35,306,400 hectares (529,595,300 mu), including 5,221,900 hectares (78,327,800 mu) of city land, accounting for 14.79% of the total; 5,129,300 hectares (76,939,600 mu) of designated towns, accounting for 14.53% of the total; 21,935,600 hectares (329,034,500 mu) of villages, sharing 62.13% of the total; 2,442,400 hectares (36,636,600 mu) of mining lands, sharing 6.92% of the total; 577,100 hectares (8,656,800 mu) of scenic spots and special use areas, sharing 1.63%.

(VII) Lands for transportation: 9,553,100 hectares (143,296,100 mu), including 566,800 hectares (8,501,600 mu) of lands for railway, a share of 5.93% of the total lands for transportation; 17,700 hectares (265,200 mu) of lands for rail transit, a share of 0.18%; 4,029,600 hectares (60,444,700 mu) of highway lands, accounting for 42.18% of the total; 4,765,000 hectares (71,475,600 mu) of rural roads, a share of 49.88%; 96,300 hectares (1,444,100 mu) of airport lands, a share of 1.01%; 70,400 hectares (1,056,400 mu) of lands for ports and piers, sharing 0.74%; 7,200 hectares (108,500 mu) of lands for pipeline transportation, a share of 0.08%.

(VIII) Water areas and lands for water conservancy facilities: 36,287,900 hectares (544,317,800 mu), including 8,807,800 hectares (132,117,500 mu) of rivers, accounting for 24.27% of the total; 8,464,800 hectares (126,971,600 mu) of lakes, sharing 23.33% of the total; 3,368,400 hectares (50,525,500 mu) of reservoirs, a share of 9.28%; 6,418,600 hectares (96,278,600 mu) of ponds, occupying 17.69%; 3,517,500 hectares (52,762,700 mu) of irrigation canals and ditches, accounting for 9.69%; 802,100 hectares (12,031,900 mu) of hydraulic construction lands, taking up 2.21%; 4,908,700 hectares (73,629,900 mu) of glaciers and perennial regions of perpetual snow, a share of 13.53%. Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Jiangsu come top in terms of water areas, together accounting for 45% of the total.

The 3^rd Land Survey is a major survey of the national conditions and strength, and a unified survey of natural resource foundations carried out after the reform of Party and state institutions. Data collected during the survey objectively shows the national land utilization status and problems in arable land protection, ecological construction, land conservation and intensive land use, which should be solved through targeted measures. Efforts are needed to implement the most strict arable protection rules, and make sure local Party committees and governments effectively perform their duties in this respect, demanding that Party committees and governments shoulder common responsibilities. The utilization of arable lands for non-agricultural purposes and for non-food-growing purposes must be eliminated and controlled, respectively, thus strictly limiting the transfer of arable lands to non-agricultural lands. Strict efforts must be made to investigate and treat all kinds of illegal arable land occupation or transfer. The arable land requisition-compensation balance must be ensured. The arable land retention and permanent basic farmland protection targets set in the national planning shall be fulfilled. We must stick to the system concepts, strengthen the top planning, utilize lands according to their natures and carry out the ecological construction under the unified plan. We must continue land conservation and intensive land use, determine the new lands for construction scientifically, and make sure land development and utilization are more efficient. Efforts in the development and use of urban and rural inventory lands for construction shall be continued, and the policy systems on governments leading market players to participate in the re-development of low-efficient urban lands. The land use standards and land conservation and intensive use evaluation shall be strengthened. Land conservation approaches shall be widely encouraged.

Results of the 3^rd Land Survey are the fundamental basis for making the important national economic and social development strategies, plans and policies. We should further share the results of the 3^rd Land Survey, and use them as the common foundation and base map for territorial space planning and all kinds of special planing, to contribute to the modernization of the national governance system and capacity.

(From Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 26)