From October 25th to 28th, the 2021 Advanced Seminar on Key Technologies for Black Soil Conservation was held in Changtu County, Liaoning Province. The seminar was organized by the Personnel Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), hosted by the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), CAS, and co-hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Liaoning Province and the People's Government of Changtu County.

More than 100 scientists and technicians engaged in the research of soil conservation from all over the country attended the seminar. Fang Yunting, deputy director of IAE, and Xu Huanxin, member of the Party Committee and Standing Committee of Changtu County, attended the opening ceremony of the seminar and delivered speeches.

The main topics of the seminar were about theories, methods, and practical needs (e.g., technical talents training) of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization in Northeast China. The seminar contained three main sections: theme reports, exchanges and discussion, and on-site teaching and study. Nearly 20 authoritative experts were invited to give talks, including Prof. Zhang Xudong of IAE, Prof. Ren Tusheng of China Agricultural University, Prof. Wang Jingkuan of Shenyang Agricultural University, researcher Liu Hua at the Modern Agricultural Production Base Construction Engineering Center of Liaoning Province, Zhang Jun, deputy director of the Changtu County Modern Agricultural Service Center, Prof. Ma Shouyi at Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Reclamation Sciences, and Li Shechao, executive deputy secretary-general of the National Science and Technology Innovation Alliance for Black Soil Conservation and Utilization.

A series of theoretical and practical contents, such as black soil conservative tillage models, agricultural machinery supporting equipment, technical demonstration and promotion, and black soil conservative and rural revitalization, were taught during the seminar. The trainees were then checked on how well they learned and understood the new knowledge.

The trainees said that the seminar contents were rich and practical, that the combination of theoretical lectures and field observations led to an intuitive understanding of the knowledge, and that the rare communication opportunity provided them with good understanding of the conservation and utilization of black soil in Northeast China.