The great tree wall

[DavidDvorkin]

African leaders are meeting in Chad to push the idea of planting a tree belt across Africa from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east.

The Great Green Wall project is backed by the African Union and is aimed at halting the advancing Sahara Desert.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10344622.stm

Interesting idea. I wonder if it would work.

[RT Atlanta]

1. Sounds like an exciting project

and something that can hopefully generate trust and cooperation across borders.

[patrice]

2. Beautiful concept. Will it work? It would be something for them to work TOGETHER on. nt

[formercia]

3. It worked in the Dust Bowl

Removing hedgerows to increase grain production was one of the reason for the Dust Bowl after WWI. Restoration reversed the cycle .

[jwirr]

4. I hope that happens. Trees hold the water table up and that would

help. I would be nice if they could make those drought resistant trees be some kind of food baring trees also. There is so much to be done and so few who want to help doing it.

[Oregone]

5. Why trees?

Is there nothing else more hardy that will take a foothold more quickly? Or a combination?

How about canals for irrigating. That would be an incredible engineering feat.

[DavidDvorkin]

6. Trees are sexier

But that's a good point. There might be various kinds of bushes and ground cover that would work better and be hardier.

[Oregone]

9. Maybe hemp

Im not a horticulturist/botanist though so what would I know. Hemp now maybe while trees are growing?

[MineralMan]

10. °¿°

Ah, yes. Hemp is the solution for it all, eh? You'd love me, then. I was deeply involved in the Johnny Dopeseed project in California in the early 1970s. My prime achievement was the establishment of a thriving planting on the grounds of the Sheriff's Department in my county. Before the plants were cut down, they had reached an average height of six feet.

Then there was the border planting around the county courthouse, amidst the other border plants. The gardening crew took very good care of those plants and they grew to maturity, with excellent buds.

If you want the dope to grow, you have to plant the seeds. It's easy.

[Oregone]

11. Sounds awesome

That must of been fun


Problem is that its an annual unless you found some that revegged easily. I guess you need something hardy that takes a foothold perm.


But it couldn't hurt.

[MineralMan]

13. Oh, between me and my friends at the time, we always had an

ample supply of seeds. We couldn't afford sensemilla. So, we could plant every year.

Besides, in many areas, like ditches, creek banks and roadsides, the plots reseeded themselves just fine.

We perfected seed bombs, made with steer manure, seeds, and a clay coating. We always had a box of them in our cars, and kept our eyes open for likely areas. You'd just slow down and toss a few seed bombs.

The area in California where I lived had lots and lots of wild hemp growing in it after a couple of years. In some places, where agricultural runoff fertilized the plantings, harvesting was very rewarding, yielding some excellent product for our personal use.

Naturally, though, we passed on the location of the plantings to many others. We were not greedy. We also taught many people how to make the seed bombs.

Still, organization of the project was spotty, at best. We were a little unmotivated, due to our own consumption of the product, I guess. :rofl:

[Oregone]

15. We have Jonny Pot Seed here

A true hero! You need to write a book or something. Oh, how the world could change

Yeah, I never have enough seeds. Im a male killer. Shame on me.

[MineralMan]

17. No need to write a book. People are doing this all over the place.

Have been for years. Every day, we drive by hemp plants and don't even see them. I gave up smoking it in the mid 1970s, so I gave up on the project, too. But not before teaching many people how to make the seed bombs and how to choose the best places to throw them.

If people only knew how much hemp was growing wild around the country, they'd be shocked. But, we drive past them in our air-conditioned cars and don't see them at all. It's funny, really.

I visited my old home grounds a couple of years ago. There are still hemp plants growing in some of the places where I planted them in the early 70s. I drove around with my wife and showed her some of the spots. I knew the plants would still be there.

Lots of people are still doing this. Seeds are less common in the dope people consume, of course, but there are always seeds around. They should be planted. It's a no-brainer.

As Freewheelin' Franklin said so many years ago: "Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope." Words to live by.

[MineralMan]

14. Seed Bomb Instructions - Step by Step

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Seed-Bomb/

[Xithras]

16. The Sahel was originally a forested area.

People cut down the trees, which meant that the ground held less water. Overgrazing further exposed the topsoil, which lead to desertification.

By replanting the trees, you encourage the rain that DOES fall to remain in the soil, which stimulates the growth of grasses and bushes. Tree forests also reduce ground level wind speeds, which lowers rates of windborne topsoil erosion.

It's an attempt to re-establish the original ecosystem of the region. Rather than trying to come up with a "better" human engineered solution, they're looking at the "natural" solution that has kept the region in an ecological balance since the end of the last ice age.

Here is a picture of a section of the Sahel that was never deforested. This thin dryland forest once stretched across Africa and acted as a transitional "boundary" between the dry Saharan desert and grasslands to the north, and the wetter rainforest regions to the south. Much of this forest has been removed today, leading to desertification and the southward march of the Sahara.

[Oregone]

18. Thanks for info

Regardless...if no one will listen to me here, can we please at least plant that shit all over Mars? Interplanetary tourism would be through the roof

[arcadian]

8. Trees attract moisture.

[mike_c]

7. kudzu....

If desertification can get through kudzu, it's unstoppable.... :rofl:

[AnArmyVeteran]

12. But conservative god Reagan said trees cause pollution...

And Reagan's interior secretary, James Watt, would have mowed down every tree in our country if it meant one of his corporate masters would make a dime.