Land restoration
Encyclopedia
Land restoration, also known as land reclamation is the process to restore an area to a more natural state. It is usually the consequences of pollution
, deforestation
or salination that have made land unusable.
, such as those by natural cause (desertification, ...) and those caused by human activity (strip mining, ...). Land reclamation is often done in these sites to allow for some form of human use (such as a housing development) or to restore that area back to its natural state as a wildlife habitat home.
Stabilizing and fixating the soil is usually done in several phases.
The first phase is fixating the soil to such extent that dune movement is ceased. This is done by grasses, and plants providing wind protection such as shelterbelts, windbreak
s and woodlot
s. Shelterbelts are wind protections composed of rows of trees, arranged perpendicular to the prevailing wind, while woodlots are more extensive areas of woodland.
The second phase involves improving/enriching the soil by planting nitrogen-fixating plants and using the soil immediately to grow crops. Nitrogen fixating plants used include clover
, yellow mustard, beans, ... and food crops include wheat
, barley
, beans, peas
, sweet potatoes, date, olive
s, limes
, fig
s, apricot
, guave, tomato
, certain herb
s, ... Regardless of the cover crop used, the crops (not including any trees) are each year harvested and/or plowed into the soil (e.g. with clover, ...); in addition each year the plots are used for another type of crop (known as crop rotation
) to prevent depleting the soil on specific trace elements.
A recent development is the Seawater Greenhouse
and Seawater Forest. This proposal is to construct these devices on coastal deserts in order to create freshwater and grow food
A similar approach is the Desert Rose concept
These approaches are of widespread applicability, since the relative costs of pumping large quantities of seawater inland are low.
Another related concept is ADRECS - a proposed system for rapidly delivering soil stabilisation and re forestation techniques coupled with renewable energy generation.
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
or salination that have made land unusable.
Repairing damaged land
Land reclamation or Land rehabilitation is also the process of cleaning up a site that has sustained environmental degradationEnvironmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
, such as those by natural cause (desertification, ...) and those caused by human activity (strip mining, ...). Land reclamation is often done in these sites to allow for some form of human use (such as a housing development) or to restore that area back to its natural state as a wildlife habitat home.
Reclaiming desert land
Land reclamation in deserts involves- setting-up reliable water provisioning (e.g. by digging wellWater wellA water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
s or placing long-distance water pipes) - stabilizing and fixating the soil
Stabilizing and fixating the soil is usually done in several phases.
The first phase is fixating the soil to such extent that dune movement is ceased. This is done by grasses, and plants providing wind protection such as shelterbelts, windbreak
Windbreak
A windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a...
s and woodlot
Woodlot
A woodlot is a term used in North America to refer to a segment of a woodland or forest capable of small-scale production of forest products such as wood fuel, sap for maple syrup, sawlogs, as well as recreational uses like bird watching, bushwalking, and wildflower appreciation...
s. Shelterbelts are wind protections composed of rows of trees, arranged perpendicular to the prevailing wind, while woodlots are more extensive areas of woodland.
The second phase involves improving/enriching the soil by planting nitrogen-fixating plants and using the soil immediately to grow crops. Nitrogen fixating plants used include clover
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
, yellow mustard, beans, ... and food crops include wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, beans, peas
PEAS
P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....
, sweet potatoes, date, olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s, limes
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
, fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s, apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
, guave, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, certain herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s, ... Regardless of the cover crop used, the crops (not including any trees) are each year harvested and/or plowed into the soil (e.g. with clover, ...); in addition each year the plots are used for another type of crop (known as crop rotation
Crop rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons.Crop rotation confers various benefits to the soil. A traditional element of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals...
) to prevent depleting the soil on specific trace elements.
A recent development is the Seawater Greenhouse
Seawater Greenhouse
The Seawater Greenhouse is a technology that enables the growth of crops in arid regions, using a greenhouse structure, seawater and solar energy...
and Seawater Forest. This proposal is to construct these devices on coastal deserts in order to create freshwater and grow food
A similar approach is the Desert Rose concept
These approaches are of widespread applicability, since the relative costs of pumping large quantities of seawater inland are low.
Another related concept is ADRECS - a proposed system for rapidly delivering soil stabilisation and re forestation techniques coupled with renewable energy generation.
See also
- United States Bureau of ReclamationUnited States Bureau of ReclamationThe United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...
- Land reclamations of the People's Republic of ChinaLand reclamations of the People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China is rather active in land reclamation. Since the establishment of the PRC in 1949, a large amount of artificial land has been reclaimed, mainly on its coastlines...
- Land rehabilitationLand rehabilitationLand rehabilitation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process has resulted in its damage...
- Soil salinity control - reclamation of saline land
- Watertable controlWatertable controlWatertable control is the practice of controlling the water table in agricultural land by subsurface drainage with proper criteria to improve the crop production.- Description and definitions :...
- reclamation of waterlogged landWaterloggingWaterlogging or water logging may refer to:* Waterlogging , saturation of the soil by groundwater sufficient to prevent or hinder agriculture...
External links
- Reclamation of waterlogged and saline soils: http://www.waterlog.info , free downloads of software and articles on land drainage.
- Youcanchangetheplanet.org - A non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable conservation and the rehabilitation of damaged ecosystems.