Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
The Dutch company, Land Life, invented the Cocoon, a sustainable way of planting trees in degraded and harsh environments. Harsh environments where soils are arid, temperatures are extreme, and pests are abundant. Degraded lands where the earth no longer supports biodiversity and productivity, resulting in desertification due to a combination of natural causes, such as drought, and human activity, such as deforestation, unsustainable agricultural and husbandry practices, or urbanization.
According to Land Life, two billion hectares of land (the size of the surface of China and the United States combined) are deemed degraded. Thus, the company's mission is to sustainably reforest 100 million hectares of degraded land. Reforestation will not only restore ecosystems, but most importantly serve to sink carbon dioxide (Co2), a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. The company’s Cocoon is 95% effective at shielding young seedlings from extreme temperatures, and at keeping a moist environment for the seedling, even in a host desert environment, without the need for added water, for up to a year after planting.
The Cocoon, an evolving, donut-shaped protection for seedlings is a patented invention, recited in several utility patents. In particular, the US patent, US103083291B2, titled Method and apparatus for planting in arid environments, recites the donut-shaped invention, and method of using the invention for sustainably planting seedlings. The patent was awarded to Jurriaan Hendrik Ruys and Eduard Willem Zanen from the Netherlands, and to Steven Caffall Finch from the United Kingdom on September 15th, 2016.
The donut-shaped invention comprises one or several water reservoirs, depending on the aridity of the soil, each with a moisture-resistant cover, and a wick acting as a slow irrigation channel between the water reservoir and the soil beneath. At the center of the reservoir, a perforated shroud is inserted upright to shade and protect the seedling. The reservoir, its cover, and the perforated shroud are each made of biodegradable pulp, with waterproofing additives to retain moisture. The wick is made of a strip of capillary matting material such as nylon or polylactic acid (PLA) with a width that is selected according to the desired flow rate. The reservoir and cover are buried in an excavated hole, flush with the ground surface both to mechanically support the reservoir walls and to protect them from animal attack and harsh temperatures. Once the reservoir is positioned in the excavated hole, the seedling in a plug of growing medium is inserted into the perforated shroud at the center of the reservoir. Then, the reservoir is filled with water and covered.
Thus, the reservoir, together with its cover and the shroud extending above ground, create a protective microclimate for the seedling, while slowly decomposing and eventually leaving no trace, as the seedling matures, grows roots, and establishes itself. A process that also requires initial installation training, as well as preliminary satellite survey and soil analysis. Required preliminaries to determine the choice of seedling and to devise a growing plan, considering that different soils react in different ways.
The patent Figure 15B below shows a cross-sectional view of the Cocoon apparatus. The reservoirs 40 are filled with water 54, and protected from evaporation with a lid 42. At the center of the reservoirs 40, the shroud 20, extends up above the ground surface 51, while the lower portion 22, of the shroud 20, is buried in the soil 53. At the bottom of the shroud 22, the seedling’s upper portion 4 protrudes from the upper portion 6 of the plug 2, comprising growing medium 5. The wicks 43 are shown at the soil level 53 surrounding the reservoirs 40. The bottom of the plug body 10 is shown in contact with the soil 53, where roots will eventually grow.
The image on the left shows the Land Life Cocoon with a seedling at the center of the donut -shaped reservoir, being filled with water. The image on the right shows the closed buried reservoir, now protected from evaporation and rodents, with a shrouded and growing seedling, at the center.
Below, the abstract of the invention.
An apparatus for planting a seedling (3) in an arid area comprises a vertical, downwardly tapering shroud (20) and a seedling plug (1) comprising a body of growing medium covered by a moisture-resistant cap (14) which preferably is sealingly received in a lower region (22) of the shroud. The lower region of the shroud surrounding the upper portion of the seedling is buried beneath ground level (51) with at least one water reservoir (40, 200) and supplied with water via capillary wicks (43), the reservoir being buried beneath ground level and covered by a moisture resistant cover (60) which sealingly surrounds the shroud. The shroud extends above ground level to protect and shade the seedling and together with the cap (14) and cover (60) serves to retain moisture in the planting region for the first year of growth. [Abstract US10383291B2]
Land Life (company website)
https://landlifecompany.com/en-usWHO staff (16 Oct. 2020). Climate change: Land degradation and desertification.
https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/climate-change-land-degradation-and-desertification
