Abstract: There is a global need to restore the functional integrity of nature; a proposal advanced because forests are so large in their influences on global biophysics. Here we examine the results of a rapid landscape-scale shift in ground cover/use from 1999 to 2004, China’s “Grain for Green Project,” as a practical example of a large scale attempt to restore a vulnerable environment. The project’s results thus far indicate that while natural coverage increased from 34.6%% to 47.2% in the northern part of Shaanxi Province. Although only 34.08% farmers declare they will cultivate grass-forest-land again when compensation for grain not produced is stopped, we believe that the restored vegetation may be completely reconverted back to cultivation at the program’s end and thus compromise the sustainability of the program’s environmental achievements.

Key words: Natural and landscape restoration, environment restoration, biodiversity protection, vegetation coverage, Grain for Green Project