Site Preparation Technology in Arid and Semi-arid Region Based on Solar Elevation Angle

This article provides an overview of afforestation and land preparation methods in arid and semi-arid regions, and for the first time proposes a method and approach for calculating land preparation technical specifications based on solar elevation angle, providing new technical ideas and support for afforestation in arid and semi-arid regions. Research suggests that current afforestation and land preparation techniques prioritize water storage over ineffective water consumption, and do not take into account soil evaporation factors when designing land preparation specifications. Reducing or inhibiting soil evaporation through land preparation is a key technology. Accurate calculation of soil preparation and planting depth to diameter ratio(hole shaped soil preparation), soil preparation depth, planting depth, and other soil preparation technical specifications is required. This study proposes differentiated land preparation parameters to address the issues of high evaporation and low afforestation survival rate in arid and semi-arid regions between 39°-50° north latitude. The lower limit of the ratio of planting depth to diameter in the 39°-50 ° north latitude area is 3.6-2.0, which decreases with increasing latitude. Below this limit, the sun shines directly on the turning surface, increasing soil evaporation. In the region of 39°-44 ° N latitude, when the diameter of the hole shaped soil preparation is 30 cm, the planting depth and soil preparation depth are 108.2-80.2 cm and 138.2-110.2 cm, respectively; In the latitude range of 45°-50 ° N, when the diameter of the hole shaped soil preparation is 40 cm, the planting depth and soil preparation depth are 101.5-80.2 cm and 131.5-110.2 cm, respectively. The afforestation and land preparation technology proposed in this study aims to reduce soil evaporation, which can avoid direct sunlight on the soil surface, effectively reduce the temperature inside the hole, slow down the rate of soil moisture content decline, and benefit the survival rate of afforestation.