Since 2017, Hunan Province has implemented projects to make targeted improvements to forest quality to gradually tackle the over-density and lack of variety in plantation forests. In the context of poverty alleviation, the construction task of targeted improvement of forest quality is mainly carried out by the national-level poor counties and state-owned forest farms.

 

Up to now, the province has completed the task of targeted improvements to forest quality with the forest area of 410,000 mu (about 27,333 hectares), realizing the transformation from monotonous plantation forest to mixed forest of different ages and layers, from single wood production and management to multi-functional and close-to-nature forest management throughout the lifecycle, effectively preventing the degradation of plantation forest, restoring and enhancing the function of ecological barrier protection. And there are 665,000 mu (about 44,333 hectares) of forest to be improved with targeted actions in Hunan.

 

It is estimated that through targeted improvement of forest quality, the existing forests in Hunan Province can increase water conservation capacity by 10.38 million cubic meters, soil conservation capacity by 1.64 million tons, and dust retention capacity by 328,000 tons every year. It can also maintain ecological balance and realize a benign cycle of ecosystem by enhancing the biodiversity and enriching forest landscaping resource.