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Drones To Plant 1 Billion Trees A Year


Still Waters

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An engineering firm in the United Kingdom wants to change the world 1 billion trees at a time, and they're relying on drones to do it.

The team at BioCarbon Engineering has developed an experimental system that uses drones to plant thousands of trees per day in deforested areas. The aerial technique is cheaper and faster than planting trees manually, and makes it possible for conservationists to counteract voracious industrial appetites for trees. BioCarbon is so confident in its drone tree planters, the company expects to plant 1 billion trees every year.

http://blogs.discove...s/#.VSVsj_D-EdU

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pretty exciting... if it works well, it will be good to see drones put to some good work!

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Does it matter how they are planted? nope, as long as they are doing it. Hope this quicker way is quick enough to get in there before the property developers do!!

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I really like this idea and I hope more people show interest in the concept of keeping our home livable. Here's to the future, may it be brighter than ever before.

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Does it matter how they are planted? nope, as long as they are doing it. Hope this quicker way is quick enough to get in there before the property developers do!!

that's what the anti-developer missile drones are for!

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that's what the anti-developer missile drones are for!

How cool would that be, anti-developer missiles, but they have no chance until the anti-planning application missile and the anti-council development department missiles are made. :no:

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That is great. With tree planting drones at our service carbon pollutions will slow or they could even reverse if this technique hits a high point.

Edited by Zalmoxis
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Good idea, hopefully they will not be just planting monoculture trees but a mixed forest biotope. We also need drones to identify and destroy invasive introduced plant species. Plants like Kudzu, Paper Bark, Brazilian Pepper and many others could one day be controlled or irradiated by robotic "gardeners" that could deliver herbicides or better still simply physically damage the plants repeatedly until they can no longer grow back. We are still a long way from that day, but for species with no good biological control, this might save our native plant populations from unwanted competition.

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How cool would that be, anti-developer missiles, but they have no chance until the anti-planning application missile and the anti-council development department missiles are made. :no:

sadly, such technology is still decades away. held up by red tape, i hear.

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They might drop a billion, but only a few thousands would survive, I'm afraid. Years ago they tried this with helicopters, it didn't work.

Drones may make it more cost effective. We'll see.

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the article does say... "

Then, planting drones are sent out to conduct high-volume, precision seeding.

so, i guess many more would germinate than simply dropping seeds from the air.. but as Sundew mentioned, hopefully it would be more than a "monoculture" ... nature doesn't plant monocultures , and for good reason.

This idea strikes me a little like an attempt to make drones more

likable??

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do you really need drones to plant trees? what is stopping you from simply planting young trees or even seeds old fashion way? seems like an answer to a question that no one asked.

Edited by aztek
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do you really need drones to plant trees? what is stopping you from simply planting young trees or even seeds old fashion way? seems like an answer to a question that no one asked.

I think it's a numbers game. Easier to get a fleet of drones than to wrangle up 50-100 people.
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I think it's a numbers game. Easier to get a fleet of drones than to wrangle up 50-100 people.

it should not be too difficult to wrangle up a few thousand from the job center, a few hours a week planting a couple of trees each for their "pay"? or is that abusing their rights?

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it should not be too difficult to wrangle up a few thousand from the job center, a few hours a week planting a couple of trees each for their "pay"? or is that abusing their rights?

I really don't know. I have enough trouble getting 3 people to show up for a party, let alone a small army for hard work on varied terrain and plunking seeds, coming back and caring for them, etc. Not trying to fight with you, just throwing one person's opinion/experience out there.

EDIT: Also, how freaking cool is it to have a robotic horde to plant trees? I mean, on the rule of cool, this is a go!

Edited by RedSquirrel
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I really don't know. I have enough trouble getting 3 people to show up for a party, let alone a small army for hard work on varied terrain and plunking seeds, coming back and caring for them, etc. Not trying to fight with you, just throwing one person's opinion/experience out there.

EDIT: Also, how freaking cool is it to have a robotic horde to plant trees? I mean, on the rule of cool, this is a go!

get the party started, i can have your front room filled before you can say "not on the sofa"!

I do think its a great idea but also think its sad if people today are not prepared to "feed" their own mother Earth for the sake of the future, But where i live there are many volunteers who do help along the canals and rivers, and they do it because they care for their environment. All sorts and kind of people help, they all have one thing in common, they care.

The drones are a good idea, but no matter what the terrain, it would be good if people would follow on from there to look after the areas, but as you have pointed out, hard work is not something people are prepared to put themselves out for, especially if a drone can do it. :hmm:

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I too am saddened by the large number of people that cannot be goaded into proactive green behavior. Recycle? O.k... as long as the bin isn't too far away. Pick up other's garbage? Oh no, that is gross. This is our only home, we should take care of it.

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What a cynical bunch. I see people volunteering for hard labor all the time. Clean up after hurricane, sand bag to prevent flooding (in 100 degree weather no less). Every year every 4th grader in Missouri is given a tree to plant in their yard by the Missouri Department of Conservation. People have volunteered to plant trees, bushes and flowers along the highway. They just need to know where and when.

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Well, I was speaking from personal experience, but if that a cynic makes me, I'll grab my lamp.

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I really don't know. I have enough trouble getting 3 people to show up for a party,

EDIT: Also, how freaking cool is it to have a robotic horde to plant trees? I mean, on the rule of cool, this is a go!

lol may be you throw booooring parties, lol jk how about inmates, community service, there are millions of drug addicts, not working, robing ppl to get drugs, we got drugs confiscated by cops, lets give 1, or 2 or 3 grams of coke, for a planted tree, also competition for drug dealers\cartels, their own drugs will be given away for free, same people would not have to buy them now.

it would be cool, even cooler would be to build huge robotic horde and have them clean up garbage that we threw all over the planet, on land and sea.

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lol may be you throw booooring parties, lol jk how about inmates, community service, there are millions of drug addicts, not working, robing ppl to get drugs, we got drugs confiscated by cops, lets give 1, or 2 or 3 grams of coke, for a planted tree, also competition for drug dealers\cartels, their own drugs will be given away for free, same people would not have to buy them now.

it would be cool, even cooler would be to build huge robotic horde and have them clean up garbage that we threw all over the planet, on land and sea.

jeeze, coke for planting a tree? a few grams of that stuff and I guess they could plant them quicker than the drones.....not sure its the best idea though, but community service is a starting point, along with the job centers.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here we go again. The last variation I heard was planting by helicopter. In this, the seedlings are grown in little soil plugs. At planting time the plugs are frozen, loaded into a helicopter, flown over the planting site and tossed out. The top acts as a drag to keep the seedling upright. The seedling plants itself simply by hitting the ground.

BUT: the soil has to be thawed and of just the right consistency with no frozen pockets. Too soft and the seedling buries itself; too hard and it doesn't go deep enough. Rocks, stumps and logging debris really make a mess of the process.

Another idea: planting by bow-and-arrow: Simply attach the frozen plug to an arrow and shoot it at a high angle. Same problem with frozen ground, rocks, etc.

Solution: natural reseeding. Requires a knowledge of silviculture.

1. For some species, scarify the ground by dragging logs over it - the logger can do this. The only requirement is to restrict harvesting to just before seed fall. Need to have seed sources nearby.

2. Keep clearcuts small - 40 acres max. Edge trees serve as the seed source. Can't harvest adjoining blocks until the site is restocked. The section-sized clearcuts of the past were a bad idea. If you have a seeding failure, you have no seed source to restock the stand and brush takes over. Small blocks.

3. Leave some seed trees. These need to be large "mother trees." Problem is, the best mother trees produce the limbiest offspring. Only works with trees that do well in partial shade.

4. Selective cutting. For shade-tolerant species like beech and maple, selection cutting can be used to the exclusion of all other types. Even for shade-intolerant trees like Douglas-fir and pines, three out of four cuttings can be by selection. Only the final harvest cut needs to be anything other than a selection cut.

5. Patch cuts. Cut small groups of trees in 1/4-acre to one-acre patches. This allows plenty of light for shade-intolerant species and allows a tract to remain premanently forested while producing continuous crops of wood.

Unfortunately, most logging in the eastern US is by "logger's choice." By signing the logger's contract, the landowner allows him to cut whatever he wants. This practice is fading out in areas where the US Forest Service has insisted on things like bonds and cutting regulations, but in areas where there is no government forest land, loggers tend to run rough-shod of small private owners.

Another problem with planting seedlings is root damage and compaction. A lot of trees die later, sometimes years later, because they weren't planted properly. Hope those flying shovels can do the job right.

Doug

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An engineering firm in the United Kingdom wants to change the world 1 billion trees at a time, and they're relying on drones to do it.

The team at BioCarbon Engineering has developed an experimental system that uses drones to plant thousands of trees per day in deforested areas. The aerial technique is cheaper and faster than planting trees manually, and makes it possible for conservationists to counteract voracious industrial appetites for trees. BioCarbon is so confident in its drone tree planters, the company expects to plant 1 billion trees every year.

http://blogs.discove...s/#.VSVsj_D-EdU

Sorry I double posted this Still Waters :blush: Drat!
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