Message-ID: <950813001118_102450.3200_DHT33-1@CompuServe.COM> Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 20:11:19 EDT From: "J R. Merriott" <mailto:102450.3200@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Reversing Desertification To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Speaking of desertification, I recently learned of a practical method development workers might use to help reseed rangeland.There is an interesting article on page 3 of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers' August 1995 Resource Magazine. The original source was Agricultural Research, March 1995. Here's a short summary:
At the Jornada Experimental Range in New Mexico, researchers have developed a seeder which is mounted on a pole in the bottom of a dry gully. When the gully runs with water, the device releases the seeds into the water. These have been successfully used to reseed several shrubs and grasses.
They look pretty simple: A bottle of seeds mounted on a pole with a block of wood tied to a cork in the bottle to release the seeds when the water comes along - or with a vane-like device to open the bottle.
The researcher's name on the project was Jerry Barrow, with the Agricultural Research Service. I don't know his address, but this looks like a low cost method that could be used anywhere in the world.