Land managers can hasten the return of vegetation after a forest fire by reseeding the burned area, frequently from planes or helicopters. But chances of success are slim. The seeds are eaten by birds, or if the soil is too hard, they might not germinate. Researchers have now created a portable wooden carriage that securely screws the seeds into the ground, increasing the likelihood that the landscape will recover. Their work is influenced by the stork’s bill geranium, whose seeds emerge from their pods, soar through the air, and use their corkscrew-shaped tails to drill into the ground.
The team first softened tiny strips of oak by boiling them with lye and sodium sulfite before creating the human-made variant. The strips were then formed by setting them on a mold and warping the inner fibers of the wood in various ways on the top and bottom so that they would curl when moist and uncurl as they dried (see video, above). The seed-bearing carrier eventually twists into a supple surface, much like a drill bit. According to the researchers’ findings published in Nature today, during field experiments, the carriers effectively drilled their seeds into the ground 80% of the time.
The seed’s chances of survival can be significantly increased if the carrier also distributes a coating of fertilizer and advantageous fungus. Currently, each carrier is manufactured by hand, making the process too time- and labor-intensive to be scaled up. However, the researchers point out that if the manufacturing process can be automated and made more affordable, it might be a potent tool for land management.
Reference: doi: ERIK STOKSTAD @ www.science.org, 10.1126/science.adh1858
Any statistics on accidental casualties?
Seems like an awesome job and perhaps it will be more widely used, without casualties and to increase environmental growth, for healthy environments.