The Kubuqi Desert () is a

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

within the

Ordos Basin The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in parts of most Northern China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular ...

in northwestern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, under the administration of the

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Ordos City Ordos, also known as Ih Ju, is one of the twelve List of administrative divisions of Inner Mongolia, major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, China. It lies within the Ordos Plateau of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered ...

. Located between the

Hetao Hetao () is a C-shaped region in northwestern China consisting of a collection of flood plains stretching from the banks of the northern half of the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River, that forms the river's enti ...

plains and the

Loess Plateau The Loess Plateau is a plateau in north-central China formed of loess, a clastic rock, clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of Dust#Atmospheric, wind-blown dust. It is located southeast of the Gobi Desert and is surrounded by t ...

, it is part of the

Ordos Desert The Ordos Desert () is a desert/ steppe region in Northwest China, administered under the prefecture of Ordos City in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (centered ca. ). It extends over an area of approximately , and comprises two sub-de ...

along with the neighboring

Mu Us Desert The Mu Us Desert ( Mongolian: ''magu usu'' Ordos: ʊː ʊsʊ̆"bad (lacking) water"), also known as the Maowusu Desert (), is a desert in the northern Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia, Northwest China.Donovan Webster. 2002. China's Unknown Go ...

to its south, and is the seventh-largest desert in China with an area of .

Ecology

The area had gone through

desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...

due to centuries of

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

. Starting in 1988, the Elion Resources Group and the Government of Beijing worked to reverse

and restore the environment. By 2017, one third of the desert has had greenery restored. Solar panels being installed to produce electricity are also reducing wind speeds, and the shaded areas preserve moisture.

Economic value

Gigawatt-scale powerplants are being built in the desert, using

solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

and

wind turbines A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each y ...

. 455 gigawatts of wind and solar are planned. In contrast, the North American grid had 1213 GW total in 2022.

References

{{Authority control Deserts of China Geography of Inner Mongolia Geography of Shaanxi Geography of Gansu Geography of Ningxia Ecoregions of China Ergs Ordos City