How one of the world’s most eroded landscapes came back to life

The Loess Plateau, a region spanning more than 640,000 km² in China, was considered the most eroded place on Earth by the late 20th century—until soil restoration changed everything.

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Yolanda G. Menéndez

Journalist and communicator

Journalist and content manager specialising in sustainability. Trained at the Carlos III University of Madrid, she works at the intersection between the environmental, the human and the organisational from a conscious and committed point of view.

Her texts seek to provide clarity and perspective, integrating a critical, conscious and documented look at the challenges of the present.

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The Loess Plateau spans more than 640,000 km² across three Chinese provinces and parts of four others. This vast region—larger than France—is home to around 100 million people. Yet by the late 200th century, what had once been fertile, productive land was regarded as the most eroded landscape on Earth, according to the documentary Lessons of the Loess Plateau by ecologist John D. Liu.

The story of the Loess Plateau demonstrates that even soils seemingly beyond repair can be restored. Thanks to an ambitious ecological recovery programme led by the Chinese government—working in partnership with local communities and international organisations—the region was transformed from a dusty, barren expanse into a living model of soil conservation, biodiversity, and water resilience.

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Soil conservation: definition, importance and benefits

When we think of the major environmental crises we face, we often look up—toward the atmosphere’s greenhouse gases—or outwards, to rising seas and melting ice caps. Rarely do we look down. Yet the ground beneath our feet is one of the most fragile and vital layers of the planet. Soil takes centuries to form, cannot be manufactured—and we have depleted it in just a few decades.

Soil conservation refers to a range of practices aimed at protecting, maintaining, and improving soil quality, ensuring that it continues to support essential life-sustaining functions: food production, water regulation, carbon storage, biodiversity, and infrastructure stability. This includes both preventing further degradation—through erosion, compaction, or pollution—and restoring already damaged soils.

Its strategic importance is undeniable. Healthy soil is critical for food security, climate adaptation, and safeguarding water resources. The economic implications are also considerable: degraded soils result in lost productivity, infrastructure damage, and costly remediation. From an ecological standpoint, fertile soil is essential to life on Earth. Without it, a sustainable future is not possible.

The Loess Plateau: a global benchmark for large-scale soil recovery

To understand the extent of the damage on the Loess Plateau, it helps to examine how the land was used. For generations, the region was subjected to widespread deforestation, overgrazing, and intensive hillside farming. With the vegetation cover stripped away, the soil was left fully exposed to the elements. Heavy rains carried away millions of tonnes of topsoil, carving arid gullies into the land and turning rivers brown with sediment.

Each year, dust from the plateau clogged the Yellow River, sending columns of loess—the fine, wind-blown sediment that gives the region its name—drifting through northern Chinese cities, including Beijing.

Faced with this ecological collapse, the Chinese government launched an unprecedented restoration initiative. In 1999, supported by the World Bank, the “Grain for Green” programme began—a comprehensive plan to re-green the plateau and reverse the damage caused by overgrazing and excessive cultivation of the hillsides that were once covered with forests. In 2004, the World Bank described it as “the world’s largest and most successful water and soil conservation project.”

By 2016, China had converted more than 11,500 square miles of rainfed farmland into forest or grassland, resulting in a 25% increase in vegetation cover, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change.

How to restore soil: from reforestation to regenerative agriculture

There are proven, practical ways to stop degradation and bring soils back to life. These include targeted reforestation, regenerative agriculture, terracing, infiltration Peasant with a shovel walking among crops, with colourful mountains and stylised textures in the background ditches, permanent ground cover, crop rotation, and composting. Such measures not only rebuild soil fertility but also enhance its capacity to retain water, support biodiversity, and sequester carbon.

According to the FAO, just one gram of healthy soil can contain up to 10,000 species of microorganisms—crucial for food production—and holds three to five times more water than degraded soil.

In Brazil, the Agricultura de Baixo Carbono (Low-Carbon Agriculture) programme promotes large-scale recovery of degraded soils using sustainable agricultural techniques. These include pasture restoration, integration of crops, livestock, and trees, and direct seeding. The rehabilitation of degraded grasslands alone now covers 15 million hectares. These strategies improve soil structure, boost fertility, enhance water retention and reduce erosion, while helping to mitigate climate change.

In Africa, a similarly bold effort is transforming the landscape of the Sahel: the Great Green Wall. This continent-wide initiative aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land from Senegal to Ethiopia through reforestation and sustainable land management. Although the project has seen real success in some areas, it continues to face challenges—among them, funding gaps, coordination across borders, and harsh climate conditions. Yet its long-term potential as both a shield against desertification and a driver of rural development remains significant.

Soil conservation in cities: urban solutions for living soils

Soil conservation is not just a rural issue. Cities must also re-evaluate how they manage and interact with their soil. In many urban areas, land sealing has reached extreme levels: parks paved over for car parks, natural riverbeds encased in concrete, industrial zones left polluted and abandoned. This disconnect from urban soils worsens flooding risks, contributes to the urban heat island effect, and degrades the health of ecosystems.

But change is underway in some cities. In Melbourne, Australia, the Urban Forest Strategy incorporates soil regeneration as a core component of urban planning. In Portland, Oregon, initiatives are under way to remove asphalt and install permeable pavements that help restore the natural water cycle and reduce soil contamination. Singapore, meanwhile, has integrated biofiltration systems into its green infrastructure plans, effectively reviving urban soil ecosystems.

Restoring soil does not mean going backwards. It means moving forward with greater awareness. It calls for an economic and productive model that preserves the very ground that sustains us—so we can build a more resilient and liveable future. Because the health of our planet truly does begin beneath our feet, in that fragile, vital layer that makes life possible.

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