From 1999 to 2014, under the leadership of Ministry of Land and Resources and with the support of Ministry of Finance, China Geological Survey implemented the national geochemical survey on the Chinese farmland, in partnership with people's governments at the provincial level and the local authorities of land and resources. It took about 2 billion RMB to organize over 100 thousand person-time in 77 units in China to finish the daunting task. 

The survey was carried out at the scale of 1:250,000, covering a total area of 1.507 million square kilometers, among which 1.386 billion mu of farmland was under investigation, accounting for 68% of the total area of national arable land (2.031 billion mu). Meanwhile, the assessment demonstration work covered an area of 75 thousand square kilometers in the key regions at the scale of 1:50,000 and in local areas at the scale of 1:10,000. 

The report showed that 52.44 million mu of farmland abundant with selenium has been found and strict protection and scientific development and utilization were highly recommended; 1.272 billion mu of farmland was diagnosed as free of heavy metal contamination, and human activities should be prevented from polluting the farmland; the medium to heavily polluted farmland stood at 34.88 million mu. In such cases, different measures, including rehabilitation treatment, adjustment of growing structures or usage of land should be adopted accordingly.

For the full text of the report, please download the report in both English and Chinese versions in PDF format below. 

1.Geochemical Survey Report on Chinese Farmland（English Version）.pdf 

2.Geochemical Survey Report on Chinese Farmland（Chinese Version）.pdf