{"id":542123,"date":"2010-04-23T16:40:55","date_gmt":"2010-04-23T20:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dirt.asla.org\/?p=4428"},"modified":"2010-04-23T16:40:55","modified_gmt":"2010-04-23T20:40:55","slug":"water-battery-enables-tree-growth-in-dry-regions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/542123","title":{"rendered":"Water Battery Enables Tree Growth in Dry Regions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nIn 2003, Dutch businessman Pieter Hoff formed AquaPro, a firm which launched the “Groasis Waterboxx<\/a>,” a device\u00a0designed to enable\u00a0trees and crops to grow in the driest parts of the earth. According to The New York Times’ Green Inc<\/em> blog, the waterboxx, a kind of tree “water battery,”\u00a0is about the size of a car tire and\u00a0made from polypropylene. An opening at the center of the box provides a space for a plant or tree to germinate and grow.<\/p>\n

The box captures both rainwater and condensation. Water is then collected in a space under the cover, preventing evaporation. The system\u00a0is designed to help\u00a0younger vulnerable\u00a0seedlings get started in harsh growing environments. The box can then\u00a0be picked up and applied elsewhere. “A wick inside taps into the ground beneath the box and drips a small amount of water to the plant\u2019s root system each day. Once the plant or tree has taken root on its own, reaching a water source sometimes several meters below, the box can then\u00a0be removed and used again to start another plant or tree.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

AquaPro says their\u00a0device enables farmers to plant trees or\u00a0bushes in eroded areas, deserts, or other places\u00a0where irrigation is impossible.\u00a0”In moderate climates the Groasis waterboxx causes 15 to 30% faster growth and thus more biomass.”<\/p>\n

Hoff tested the device in the Sahara\u00a0desert in Morocco for three years. Trees planted during the summer survived, demonstrating average growth of more than 90 percent in their first year.\u00a0\u00a0AquaPro says “tests have shown that the trees, after the Groasis waterboxx is removed, continue to survive.” Just\u00a010 percent\u00a0of a small test group planted without the boxes\u00a0lived on.\u00a0Green Inc.<\/em> adds that more trials are planned for\u00a025 sites in eight countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With water scarce in many of the driest\u00a0areas of the world, tapping groundwater\u00a0to irrigate young trees can\u00a0create\u00a0major consequences for\u00a0communities\u00a0who rely on\u00a0small amounts of\u00a0water.\u00a0Hoff told Green Inc<\/em> using groundwater to\u00a0grow crops and trees doesn’t make sense. “Not only are traditional irrigation techniques inefficient because most of the water is lost to evaporation, […]\u00a0but water can be easily captured from the atmosphere to grow just about anything.”<\/p>\n

The boxes are designed to be environmentally and economically sustainable. Under development are new prototypes that will decompose over time, releasing nutrients into the soil. To create a sustainable business model,\u00a0Hoff plans to\u00a0offer a\u00a0”nonexclusive, free license” \u00a0to anyone who wants to build and distribute the\u00a0device, asking for a royalty in\u00a0return.\u00a0To ensure his target audience — the world’s poorest, can afford the box, he wants to keep\u00a0costs at a minimum and make the devices available through microfinance plans. Hoff told Green Inc<\/em>: \u201cMy ideal is that the device is available to everybody, everywhere and my focus is to create a business model that enables the world\u2019s poor to buy the box.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0ultimate motivation for the device: worldwide reforestation, even in the most difficult and driest terrains. Planting trees can help create jobs, combat erosion, and mitigate the effects of climate change in developing countries.<\/p>\n

Read the article<\/a> and learn more about “Waterboxx”
\n<\/a>
\nImage credit: AquaPro<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2003, Dutch businessman Pieter Hoff formed AquaPro, a firm which launched the “Groasis Waterboxx,” a device\u00a0designed to enable\u00a0trees and crops to grow in the driest parts of the earth. According to The New York Times’ Green Inc blog, the waterboxx, a kind of tree “water battery,”\u00a0is about the size of a car tire and\u00a0made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-542123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}