HOHHOT, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Too expensive to hire a worker for weeding? An industrial park in the Ulan Buh Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has come up with an alternate choice -- geese.

Some 2,000 ganders were introduced to the China-Israel desertification prevention and control industrial park in Dengkou County in the city of Bayannur in late May to eat the grass on a 50-hectare area planted with pear trees.

"The geese have had an obvious effect, with the weed gone to a large extent," said Wang Huimin, a worker with the park.

Wang said the geese help save on labor costs of up to 250,000 yuan (about 36,000 U.S. dollars) for weeding, and the manure that is directly utilized in the soil will improve soil fertility.

The fowls are expected to be sold in October, which will bring in an estimated revenue of up to 300,000 yuan, according to Wang.

Yuan Yan, chief of the bureau of agriculture, animal husbandry, and science and technology of Dengkou County, said the geese not only serve as a biological way for weeding but also bring economic benefits, which are an effective trial for environment control in the desert area.

The eighth-largest desert in China, the Ulan Buh Desert, covers a total area of 1 million hectares, with nearly one-third of its area in Dengkou. After 70 years of ecological management, more than 180,000 hectares have been planted with vegetation, which forms an ecological barrier. Enditem