Farmers plant trees along a road in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui autonomous region in this Nov 18, 2011 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The central government has invested 461.1 billion yuan ($73.19 billion) in forestry over the past six years, the State Forestry Administration said Wednesday.

The investment averages out at 76.85 billion yuan per annum, up from 41.53 billion yuan in 2005.

A large part of the investment was spent on key shelterbelt construction in northern China and along the Yangtze River, conversion of farmland to forests, natural forest conservation and planting to control sandstorms in Beijing and adjacent port city Tianjin, according to the administration.

The increased investment came amid the country's efforts to increase its "forest carbon sink capacity," the use of its forested areas to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby helping to address global climate change.

The country's forest coverage reached 20.36 percent in 2010, up from 18.2 percent in 2005, and is expected to further increase to 21.66 percent by 2015.