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A听诲谤辞苍别听drops a small wooden projectile with three spiral tails听补苍诲听a seed mounted on the tip. It gently lands on the bare ground听补苍诲听sits there, exposed to the elements, until it rains. Then, the moisture penetrates the wood fibers,听补苍诲听the spiral tails start twisting, slowly pushing the seed into the ground, where it will germinate.
The design of this incredible depth-seeking seed carrier, recently published in Nature, was inspired by the self-burying mechanism of a few grass species, such as those of the genus Erodium.
According to the authors, these seed carriers, also known as E-seeds, can be built in various sizes for different species听补苍诲听dropped by airplanes or听诲谤辞苍别s to restore degraded听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘s.
This bio-inspired engineering marvel has received a vast听补苍诲听well-deserved share of attention听补苍诲听praise.
But, from a听谤别蝉迟辞谤补迟颈辞苍听practitioner鈥檚 point of view, it has logistical issues that can greatly limit its application at scale.
E-蝉别别诲蝉听are the latest of many technologies presented as听谤别蝉迟辞谤补迟颈辞苍听鈥済补尘别-肠丑补苍驳别谤蝉鈥.
Numerous private companies have entered the market with revolutionary devices (mostly听诲谤辞苍别s), claiming to restore听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘s by planting billions of trees. Yet, to date, there is little evidence of their efficacy.
This fascination with shiny technological gadgets might divert scarce resources from听辫谤补肠迟颈肠补濒, on-the-ground听蝉辞濒耻迟颈辞苍蝉听that will seriously affect our ability to restore degraded听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘s globally.
A vast portion of the world鈥檚听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘聽has been damaged or destroyed due to human activities. Global initiatives, such as the UN Decade for听贰肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘听Restoration听补苍诲听the Bonn Challenge, promote international cooperation to restore 350 million hectares by 2030.
For decades, scientists听补苍诲听practitioners have been working on听蝉辞濒耻迟颈辞苍蝉听to support听补苍诲听accelerate the recovery of degraded听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘s.
Often, the first step for initiating the natural recovery of terrestrial听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘s is to establish native vegetation. Tree planting is a common approach, but it can be expensive on a large scale. Direct听蝉别别诲颈苍驳听is faster听补苍诲听cheaper, but also riskier.
For a start,聽蝉别别诲蝉听need to reach the right place in the soil to germinate听补苍诲听grow.
If聽蝉别别诲蝉听are scattered (seed broadcasting) on the soil surface by hand, tractor or听诲谤辞苍别, they can be blown off by the wind or eaten by animals. Even if they germinate, the seedling can dry up听补苍诲听die. As a result, most聽蝉别别诲蝉听will not become a plant.
This is why seed penetration in the soil is the key to improving a seed鈥檚 chance of success. Generally, the bigger a seed is, the deeper it can go. This is often achieved using precision seeders, similar to those used in agriculture. These machines open up the soil, deposit the seed at a precise depth,听补苍诲听cover it. The E-seed can achieve a similar result, ideally making seed broadcasting as effective as precision听蝉别别诲颈苍驳.
Unfortunately, this approach presents two problems: scalability听补苍诲听logistics. First, it鈥檚 unlikely that the multi-step process needed to manufacture E-蝉别别诲蝉听can be scaled to the many billions of聽蝉别别诲蝉听across thousands of species we need to restore entire听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘s.
Second, the tails of the E-蝉别别诲蝉听could easily get tangled with each other, either clogging the seed delivery mechanism or being released in clumps. The authors solved this problem by dividing the听蝉别别诲颈苍驳听box into compartments containing a single E-seed. This stopped the seed from clumping but greatly reduced the number of聽蝉别别诲蝉听that could be delivered on each听诲谤辞苍别听flight.
This clumping聽蝉别别诲蝉听issue is also common when dealing with native species, such as the grasses that inspired the design of the E-seed. A simpler, less technological solution currently used in听谤别蝉迟辞谤补迟颈辞苍听is to actually remove the tails.
This reduces the seed volume for storage听补苍诲听delivery,听补苍诲听improves the seed flow through听蝉别别诲颈苍驳听equipment. In some cases, the removal of appendages could also improve seed germination.
Such approaches are not as spectacular as E-蝉别别诲蝉听dropped from听诲谤辞苍别s. Still, in most scenarios, they are the most cost-effective way to reintroduce native vegetation to a degraded site at scale.
Ecological听谤别蝉迟辞谤补迟颈辞苍听is an incredibly complex activity that goes beyond vegetation establishment.
It must consider the complex听补苍诲听dynamic interactions of organisms听补苍诲听their environment, while accounting for social听补苍诲听economic implications for local communities. Therefore, we must approach听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘聽谤别蝉迟辞谤补迟颈辞苍听holistically听补苍诲听not get carried away by the lure of shiny technologies.
Funders with limited appreciation of听谤别蝉迟辞谤补迟颈辞苍鈥檚 ecological听补苍诲听辫谤补肠迟颈肠补濒听complexities are keen to embrace听补苍诲听invest in charismatic, yet often unproven technologies.
For example, a start-up focused on听诲谤辞苍别听蝉别别诲颈苍驳听raised a A$200 million investment, double the amount the Australian federal government has dedicated to the environmental听谤别蝉迟辞谤补迟颈辞苍听fund over four years. But science is yet to demonstrate if听诲谤辞苍别听蝉别别诲颈苍驳听can work at scale to rebuild Australia鈥檚 degraded landscapes听补苍诲听ecosystems.
We should welcome any attempt to improve the success of ecological听谤别蝉迟辞谤补迟颈辞苍,听补苍诲听promote the implementation of novel technologies.
But new technologies must prove their worth听补苍诲听practicality. We should focus on the most effective ways to restore native听别肠辞蝉测蝉迟别尘s, not the most flamboyant. – Reuters
