Land resource survey results released

China now has a total area of 23.46 million hectares of wetlands, of which mangrove forests account for 27,100, according to the third national land resource survey released on Thursday.

It was the first time wetlands were included as a major category in China's national land resources survey, conducted every 10 years by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The latest survey, with more than 219,000 staff members participating, was made based on 295 million map units collected by satellite images in high one-meter resolution.

Initiated in 2018, the survey used data collected before Dec 31, 2019. The second national land resources survey was based on data from 10 years prior in 2009.

The latest results showed forest area in China surged from 253.95 million hectares in 2009 to the current 284.12 million hectares.

During the period, farmland area witnessed a slight drop from 135.38 million hectares to 127.86 million hectares.

"It mainly resulted from structural adjustments in the agriculture industry. Some farmland were used for planting fruit trees or herbs," said vice-minister of Natural Resources Wang Guanghua.

He also explained the country's greening project encouraging the planting of trees is another factor behind the slight drop of farmland.

Wang noted the decline of farmland will not bring any effect to the country's food security, as agricultural land covering 253 million mu (16.87 million hectares) can be restored to farmland.