We all love and need trees. They give us apples, rubber, medicines, wood, fresh air and much more!
But why do we need to wait so long for a tree to grow?
Can we somehow make the trees grow faster (not just the height, but also the mass)?
Do you have an idea of how to make any step of the forestation faster (from seeding to the growth itself)?
The idea behind
Pelješac is a beautiful peninsula on the Croatian south. It is known for the nicest wines, olive oil, and beautiful untouched nature. Sadly, five years ago almost a third of the peninsula was devastated by the wildfires. Hills covered with giant pine trees became the graveyard of thousands of dead logs, leaving the people and nature in shock. To make the peninsula beautiful again, it will take years for new pine trees to grow.
The (partial) solutions
One solution to make this process faster could be to seed/plant some other plant species that grow faster. This option could bring nature back to life much faster but could encounter problems of growing in conditions different from the optimal ones.
The other solution could be to prepare and optimize the soil for the fast and unobstructed growth of the trees that grew there before (pine trees) and then plant millions of trees using drones (video)! But that tree is still not going to grow big in a couple of years, but the process will take at least 20.
The ask
Is there a way how we can make the process of pine tree reforestation of the Pelješac penisula faster?
Is there a fast way how we can seed/plant/grow the trees since the rate of deforestation by lumbering and wildfires is increasing rapidly?
Can we grow them in optimized and controlled conditions and then plant them? How to do that efficiently?
Can we genetically engineer and "force" pine to grow faster?
Blankets made of coconut fibre are popularly used for erosion control. They are biodegradable and should last long enough to provide wind erosion cover to the substrate and possibly aid in moisture retention. This could improve growth conditions for the new forest.
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Juran4 months ago
Darko Savic4 months ago
Create fire-resistant trees and plants
Jamila Jan 25, 2021
I wonder if we could create fire-resistant trees and plants using gene-editing methods. I know that gene-editing methods have successfully produced drought-resistant and disease-resistant crops in the past. I guess the ultimate question would be whether we can make fire-resistant trees and plants using gene-editing?
If we can make fire-resistant trees and plants, it would directly prevent the devastation caused by wildfires. Wildfires are becoming more common nowadays. So, we must find ways to preserve the environment around us.
Hypothetically speaking, the pine trees could be gene-edited to become fire resistant, or specialist, “fire safety trees” could be planted around the vulnerable plants and trees to prevent wildfires from spreading, subsequently giving plants protection from wildfires.
The research studies so far have shown that some plants can become tolerant to 45ºC for a limited time, like 1 or 2 hours. Plants become somewhat heat-tolerant by impacting the plant’s thermotolerance. This can be done in several ways, such as increasing the levels of heat shock proteins, altering osmolytes, or manipulating the membrane fluidity. However, wildfires are really hot. It’s been estimated that they reach 800 °C and higher! So, the heat resistant plants engineered in previous studies can’t tolerate anywhere near the temperature needed for wildfires at the moment!
Positives
+ Prevent damage: we might be able to prevent damage to the environment caused by wildfires if we can successfully create fire-resistant plants.
+ Time: you won’t need to regrow the plants and trees after wildfires, and thus, you’ll save time.
Negatives
- Unintended problems: there might be unintended side effects of gene-editing.
- Expense: it would be expensive to conduct the research and then produce these plants and trees on a mass scale.
- Feasibility: could we even make a plant tolerant to such a high temperature?
[1]Singh, Amanjot, and Anil Grover. "Genetic engineering for heat tolerance in plants." Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 14.1 (2008): 155-166.
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Juran4 months ago
Jamila 4 months ago
Manipulating PXY and CLE gene expressions can lead to a 2-fold increase in wood formation
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JuranApr 06, 2021
In 2018 paper , scientists manipulated the expression of two genes, PXY and CLE, involved in cambial cell division and woody tissue organization. They engineered four plasmids constructs with the inserted genes: one with 35S promoter (known to give widespread expression) and the other three with tissue-specific promoters (ANT, PP2, and both combined).
The results showed that:
ectopic manipulation of expression resulted in vascular tissue abnormalities and poor plant growth
precise tissue-specific PtPP2::PttCLE41-PttANT::PttPXY double overexpression plants exhibited a 2-fold increase in the rate of wood formation, were taller, and possessed larger leaves compared to the controls
Famous horses to enrich the substrate for the forest
Darko SavicJan 20, 2021
Some areas are famous for a local breed of horses , bearing the area's name. For example Holsteiner, Hanoverian, Lipizzaner, and so on. Such horses are bred in luxurious stables surrounded by large pastures. The stables themselves are frequently visited by tourists and sustain their operations by certifying and selling expensive horses.
Such stables produce large quantities of horse manure. The idea is to establish a local breed, spin a story around it, make it popular as "Pelješac savior horse", use 100% of the produced manure to aid reforestation. The hey for the horses would, of course, have to be transported in from other areas of the country.
Something similar could be done to aid the forestation of bigger rocky islands.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warmblood
Povilas S4 months ago
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Juran4 months ago
Darko Savic4 months ago
Things go faster when your mind is slower
Povilas SJan 20, 2021
I don't mean to tease with that kind of title, it's just that there are two sides to this problem. On one hand, it's good to seek progress and ways how to improve things, but fast doesn't always equal good. And the second part is what I would like to expand on.
The important thing to consider is this - people first devastate their environment and then are trying to come up with ways how to regenerate it as fast as possible so that they could keep consuming as much or even more. Nature has its pace and it's perhaps for a reason. You talk about trees that have been destroyed due to wildfires - seems like a natural cause at first, but wildfires are closely linked with climate change, which is in turn linked with human activity. So in a sense that urge to speed up things that drives human progress killed the trees in the first place and now the same urge wants to regenerate the trees faster than usual. This is not how nature works.
There's beauty and value in letting nature do its job and the apple that has ripen naturally over time is more appealing than the one sprayed with plant hormones and forced to ripen quickly. Unfortunately, that's the kind of food most people eat in a contemporary world. Waiting also gives a virtue of patience and gratitude and thus makes the end result more valuable.
Sure, we could force trees to grow fast with genetic engineering, but I don't think that's the right approach, it would only add to the "humans replacing nature" process. I'd much prefer wild forests rather than GMO forests. I think what we need is to allow more wild nature to regenerate in places with extensive agriculture, and, where possible, urbanized territories, replace monocultural crops with ecosystems with greater biodiversity, wild or semi-wild food gardens, etc. This requires a certain, more harmonious, non-rushing mindset.
Using more nutrient-rich soil or faster-growing tree species is a more natural approach, but still, the question remains - do we really need this? Once again - the things that are harder to obtain are more appreciated and better taken care of - maybe next time more efforts would be put in trying to protect naturally regrown forest in the first place.
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Juran4 months ago
Povilas S4 months ago
A breakdown of associated problems
Darko SavicJan 20, 2021
This is a worthy problem, pestering many similar areas worldwide. Let's put together a list of all problems that aggregate into the big picture. To get the list of problems started I will take a few guesses (please correct me if I'm mistaking):
rocky land with little organic matter on the ground - poor substrate for the forest
regular strong winds
a high concentration of sea salt in the air (and ground via rain?)
regular periods of drought
what else?
Shubhankar Kulkarni4 months ago
Darko Savic4 months ago
Non-invasive, resilient tree species that provide temporary cover from the wind
Darko SavicJan 20, 2021
Strong winds in the area are one of the problems that make it difficult for the burnt down forest to recover. With no trees, the existing soil is blown away and young plants are trying to survive in a much harsher environment.
The idea here is what you initially mentioned in your session description - to find the fastest-growing, non-invasive, resilient tree species that could be trucked in already several meters tall. The trees would be propped up with support to withstand the winds while the roots take hold. The adult trees would be planted so that they provide wind cover for the rest of the would-be forest.
The support providing. non-native species could either be cut down after they have served their purpose or let them be if there are no negative consequences due to their presence.
So, can we find some suitable tree species?
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Juran4 months ago
Povilas S4 months ago
Helicopter irrigation system
Darko SavicJan 20, 2021
People on the Spanish Canary islands sustain their agriculture during periods of drought by stockpiling rainwater in large basins. The basins are dug into the ground in optimal locations that then allow irrigation of the surrounding area without the need for pumps. They just open the valves when needed and let the gravity take care of the rest.
A well-placed basin near the top of the hill can have a network of pipes or small creeks reach every part of the reforestation area. If the basin is dry during periods of drought, a helicopter could drop in a few rounds of water. A firefighting plane would also be an option, with a bit less precision but bigger load capacity.
The water can trickle out of the main tank into the irrigation system just enough to provide the optimal growing conditions. Place humidity sensors into the ground at various locations.
Darko Savic Jan 20, 2021
Jamila Jan 25, 2021
