Land imprinter

The land imprinter[1] is a no-till device for establishing grass cover in arid environments and deserts.

[3] During that time, imprints funnel water toward seedlings, protect them from wind, and concentrate nutrients for plant growth.

[6] Plants and their root systems increase the quantity and size of macropores in soil, allowing rainwater to infiltrate.

[7] Wind protection attenuates evaporation at the base of the seedling, maximizing water availability to the plant during the rainy season.

In the meantime, the stable imprint protects the seed from wind erosion and desiccation from exposure to the sun.

[2] The weight of the imprinter can be adjusted to be appropriate for various soils and planting conditions by filling the roller and ballast tanks with water.

The heavy roller and angled teeth crush weeds and brush into mulch, which remain as a nutrient base for new seedlings.

[2] Haferkamp and colleagues compared seed drill planting to imprinting on loose and firm seedbeds on a Wyoming big sagebrush and needlegrass habitat.

"Dixon land imprinter with seeder"
A land imprinter with seeder for planting grasses in rangeland and other desert environments.
"desertification diagram"
Plants create macropores that allow water to infiltrate (left), whereas desertification seals the surface, prohibiting infiltration and leading to rainwater runoff (right).
"land imprinter no-till grass seeding"
A land imprinter seeds grasses in the desert of the southwestern United States . The roller mulches existing ground cover and grass seed directly into the soil, without tilling.
"land imprinter teeth"
Land imprinter teeth are pressed into soil for infiltration imprint.
"land imprinter teeth"
Desertified soil has a sealed surface where rainwater cannot infiltrate, and air contained within soil macropores cannot escape (left). A soil imprint created by a land imprinter funnels water toward seedlings and provides a chimney for air to escape (right).