Thanks for the comments, Manu. Commercial tree planting is very rarely done by using seeds, as the success rate is so low.
1) Seeds don't always land on suitable ground. It may be covered with competing plants, such as grasses, or it may simply be lacking enough soil. The 'seedbomb' concept would only be preferable on non-optimal targets that wouldn't be suitable for seeding with 'bare seeds'. 2) With appropiate design, the idea could be used to plant tree seedlings, rather than seeds. Even small saplings might work. I accept that there's a lot of uncertainty here as to if and where the idea could be appropriate. My suggestion is simply that we keep an eye out for suitable sites that can't otherwise be practically reforested. Degraded former forests in depopulated, roadless areas seem suitable, but my knowledge of such things is limited. Perhaps there are some geographers on the list who can comment on the areas of the world most suitable for reforestation? SOme of these areas will suit seeds, and some will likely not. There are many existing forestry programmes which don't rely on aircraft, but this idea was focussed purely on inaccessible areas where it would be too difficult or expensive to get the planting done any other way. I take Greg's comments about albedo - but this is only applicable in certain cases, such as conifers snow forests. A 2009/12/10 Manu Sharma <[email protected]> > On Thu, Nov 26, 2009 at 2:18 PM, Andrew Lockley <[email protected]> > wrote: > > >> you can put some concrete or sand in a sharp tip on the bottom, some fins >> on the top and you end up with a 'tree cluster bomb'. With the right shape, >> mass and soil type, this should do a pretty complete job of planting a tree. >> >> > [...] > >> Please can people write back with critique? >> >> > > Andrew, > > Catching up with older emails... > > Treehugger blog covered the concept of what they called "seedbomb" sometime > back conceived much like you did with each "bomb" composed of several > capsules that open mid-air. See images > here<http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/seedbomb-instills-fear-plants-trees.php> > . > > I'm not a fan of the idea. Since seeds are cheap, for the cost of one > seedbomb, you could perhaps drop hundreds of actual seeds resulting in much > higher probability of plantation per dollar spent. This could work if done > during the rainy season in tropical areas. > > As a kid, I once learnt that our then environment minister (present > parliamentarian and animal rights activist, Maneka Gandhi) used to air drop > seeds during her helicopter rides. Not sure if that's true. > > Manu > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
