Company Says Its Drones Will Plant 1B Trees by 2028

Robert59 said:
...tech can plant trees 10 times faster than humans...
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I would like to see this drone in action and know more about the technology - I can see how useful it would be for more challenging environments. I found this: https://www.boldbusiness.com/transportation/tree-planting-drones/

Okay, now I am a believer in the potential to offset deforestation and global climate change!

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"How Does the Tree-Planting Drone Works?
The introduction of the tree-planting drones has definitely turned heads. And a lot of people and businesses want to know more, like how it works? The tree-planting activity of the drones is separated into two stages; surveying and planting.

SURVEYING
BioCarbon Engineering has a surveying drone that can fly over the desired planting area in order to scan the terrain. The surveying drones will map the area’s soil type, topology, moisture, composition, and physical obstructions. Surveying is going to help BioCarbon Engineering to know what seed to plant.

PLANTING
The tree-planting drones then do the job. They fly autonomously over the surveyed area and plant the biodegradable seedpods.

The planting process can be done in two ways. Drones could either shoot one seedpod into the ground every six seconds or they could sprinkle the seedpods in different directions in order for them to have a natural regrowth.

A tree-planting drone can have at least 300 seedpods and it can also cover one hectare for as fast as 18 minutes. This process will surely help the farmers in the society and so is the environment.

Tree-Planting Drones Are Tested and Proven
Since 2015, BioCarbon Engineering has been doing its best to serve the community. It first used the tree-planting drone technology in a program in Myanmar last September 2017. The British startup worked together with the Worldview International Foundation, a nonprofit company that guides local tree-planting projects.

Both companies were able to plant Mangrove trees in an area of 750 hectares. The tree-planting drones have also covered another 250 hectares with 1 million additional trees.

BioCarbon Engineering has also tested their tree-planting drone activity in Australia and U.K. The tests were both deemed successful."
 

Robert59 said:
Canadians say their tech can plant trees 10 times faster than humans
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Interesting concept....and increasingly important. Trees and other major forms of vegetation have kept the planets atmosphere clean for millions of years...with only major volcanic eruptions temporarily fouling the air. However, with the huge increases in human generated pollution, in the past couple of centuries, And the ravaging of areas like the Amazon rainforest, we are facing a serious risk of creating environmental problems that will prove devastating if action isn't taken to reverse these trends.

When forest fires burn major areas, this looks like a good technique for re-seeding those areas....I hope it works. The combination of Climate Change and increasing human population is going to create some serious problems for our future generations. Anyone who cares what kind of life our great grandkids, and beyond, might face, should be supportive of measures we can take, now, to insure that they don't have to deal with such a crisis.
 
Don M. said:
Interesting concept....and increasingly important. Trees and other major forms of vegetation have kept the planets atmosphere clean for millions of years...with only major volcanic eruptions temporarily fouling the air. However, with the huge increases in human generated pollution, in the past couple of centuries, And the ravaging of areas like the Amazon rainforest, we are facing a serious risk of creating environmental problems that will prove devastating if action isn't taken to reverse these trends.

When forest fires burn major areas, this looks like a good technique for re-seeding those areas....I hope it works. The combination of Climate Change and increasing human population is going to create some serious problems for our future generations. Anyone who cares what kind of life our great grandkids, and beyond, might face, should be supportive of measures we can take, now, to insure that they don't have to deal with such a crisis.
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Well said, Don.
 
Don M. said:
Interesting concept....and increasingly important. Trees and other major forms of vegetation have kept the planets atmosphere clean for millions of years...with only major volcanic eruptions temporarily fouling the air. However, with the huge increases in human generated pollution, in the past couple of centuries, And the ravaging of areas like the Amazon rainforest, we are facing a serious risk of creating environmental problems that will prove devastating if action isn't taken to reverse these trends.

When forest fires burn major areas, this looks like a good technique for re-seeding those areas....I hope it works. The combination of Climate Change and increasing human population is going to create some serious problems for our future generations. Anyone who cares what kind of life our great grandkids, and beyond, might face, should be supportive of measures we can take, now, to insure that they don't have to deal with such a crisis.
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Absolutely true and well-said! Unfortunately, as far as the Amazon deforestation goes, this technology will probably be banned in the name of the almighty buck. It really is short-sighted and potentially devastating to the planet. /-;
 
I found a reference to drones being trialled to restore land after open cut mining in New South Wales, near Dungog.
Tree planting with drones already in Australia
19 October 2017

...

“It’s not just trees — a healthy ecosystem has a variety of species that have to be planted,” he said. Then, a planting drone is loaded with biodegradable “pods” that contain seeds and a nutritional mixture to help them germinate.

Flying 10 feet above the ground, the drone fires the pods at the ground with enough force to penetrate the soil.

This approach isn’t theoretical – it’s being used today.

The company completed a planting project in Australia in May and is “pretty much oversubscribed for the next year,” Mr Fletcher said, with projects in Myanmar, the Philippines and the UK.

Re-foresting efforts in Canada, Brazil and the Us are on the horizon.

“With our system, two people will be operating a small swarm of drones, and they will be able to plant 100,000 trees a day,” he said.

“If you get 600 teams working around the world, we will be able to plant a billion trees a year — and that’s a scale that makes a difference.”

Not all the seedlings survive, but Fletcher said his method has comparable survival rates to hand-planting seeds, which vary from 20% to 70%, depending on the species.

Mainly, it’s cheaper and faster, which allows for many more trees to planted in a given time period. And speed and scale could be a game-changer for temperate areas.

“Planting trees has a very limited season, depending on where you are in the world,” Mr Fletcher said.

“If you’re in the northern hemisphere, the Canadian Rockies, you’re lucky to get a couple of months.”

Drones also have the advantage of access: Unlike humans, they can plant on dangerously steep inclines or at forbidding altitudes.

“If you could plant 60 times what you’re doing today at five times cheaper, you can imagine how much restoration work you could do,” Mr Fletcher said.
…
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/tree-planting-with-drones-already-in-australia/
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Warrigal said:
I found a reference to drones being trialled to restore land after open cut mining in New South Wales, near Dungog.
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Thanks, Warrigal! That's great news! I don't really see how this mitigation effort to reduce carbon emissions by reforestation can't help. It is (according to your link) the most efficient and economical method.

It always awes me when I hear of forest fires devastating hundreds of thousands of acres in California. Those are numbers that I can't even wrap my head around. I liked this reference from your link: “(Worldwise) Trees are being lost at the rate of about a football field a second,” said David Skole, professor of forestry at Michigan State University. “If you’re watching the Michigan Wolverines play Michigan State and they go into overtime, every time the clock ticks down, a forest the size of that field disappears.” - That is something that I can grasp!
 

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