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DeepDrop® as an irrigation system for reforestation: LIFE NIEBLAS and experimental farm in the Balearic Islands.
In 2022, DeepDrop® System was incorporated into the LIFE NIEBLAS project to be tested as an irrigation system for reforestation. This European project, which had started in 2020, has carried out, during 4 years, an environmental rehabilitation project for the recovery of soils at risk of desertification and their reforestation in order to contribute to the mitigation of the effects of climate change through the recovery of fog water together with the incorporation of other methodologies. Pilot tests of the project have been carried out in the Canary Islands and Portugal.
The voracity of forest fires in Gran Canaria, especially those that took place in 2017 and 2019, in addition to the anthropological influence on the natural environment, as well as the advance of climate change were criteria for choosing the places to carry out the pilot tests of the project. To all this, obviously, it was necessary to add a place where there was potential for the collection of fog water, which led to the choice of the Barranco de la Virgen de Gran Canaria area as the ideal location for the development of the European Life Nieblas project.
The application of the DeepDrop® subway irrigation system started at the end of 2022 in LIFE Nieblas. At the end of the project in 2024, some interesting results could be extracted to be able to make a projection of this system in the field of reforestation. Specifically, 50 DeepDrop® units were installed in an extension of plantations located in the aforementioned area of Barranco de la Virgen, which is characterized by a sea of clouds formation that has allowed the collection of water that has been used to feed the irrigation systems analyzed.
Methodologies and technologies used in the LIFE NIEBLAS project
To carry out the fog water harvesting, an innovative methodology of fog water catchers is used, which supplies water for irrigation to the areas where reforestation is being carried out.
From these collectors, different technologies were used to irrigate the seedlings that would repopulate the areas to be reforested, all of them tested in an experimental plot. These technologies are:
- Individual collectors as an independent reforestation system.
- Degradable Cocoon irrigation tanks.
- Water tanks with an autonomous discharge system (AFDS) and irrigation network.
- Traditional reforestation as a control group.
- DeepDrop® System.
The application of these planting and irrigation systems with highly efficient innovative methods sought to measure the survival and growth of the planted trees, as well as to reduce the water and carbon footprint. In this article, we will focus on the water impacts of the different types of irrigation. The data obtained shed light on this irrigation system as a more than valid irrigation system for reforestation.
Why DeepDrop® System at LIFE NIEBLAS
The decision to test DeepDrop® in LIFE NIEBLAS came from its scientific director, Dr. Vicenç Carabassa, CREAF researcher and scientific supervisor of the LIFE Nieblas project. He decided to incorporate this irrigation system considering that “by installing the DeepDrop® System it is expected to reduce evaporation losses and improve the survival, physiological state and growth of the seedlings“. This system converts surface drip irrigation into localized subway irrigation. In addition, DeepDrop® devices make it possible to guide water directly to the root system of trees and shrubs. Another of its advantages is that it allows to control from the surface and at a glance if there are problems of obturation.
Results of LIFE Nieblas
In the areas of Gran Canaria where LIFE NIEBLAS was carried out, 20,000 trees and shrubs were planted, which has increased the biodiversity of the region. The collection of seeds and seedlings was carried out for the benefit of local nurseries that reproduce the seedlings collected. After collection, the seedlings underwent an adaptation phase in an area designed to function as a nursery.
In terms of results, the focus of the project has been on comparing the effectiveness of all the water collectors and irrigation systems used in the project in order to obtain a picture of which are the most effective methods against desertification and reforestation of areas that have been hard hit by the arguments mentioned above.
Results of irrigation technologies in the experimentation area.
At LIFE NIEBLAS, an experimental plot was earmarked, at which time the DeepDrop® System was introduced into the project.
On the other hand, there are the other irrigation technologies:
- Degradable Cocoon irrigation tanks.
- Water tanks with an autonomous discharge system (AFDS) and irrigation network.
- DeepDrop® System.
- Traditional reforestation as a control group.
At first glance, in terms of water requirements and seedling survival, the results obtained are as follows:
*Settlement water consumption: Water received by the seedlings at the time of planting.
*Maintenance water consumption: For all irrigation systems: 10L per plant, twice a month from July to September (both inclusive) (60L per plant), with the exception of the Cocoon system method which requires the refilling of two tanks during the summer (50L per plant). This water consumption refers to the surviving trees.
Another indicator worth taking into account is the growth of the shoots. In this regard, the shoots to which the DeepDrop® subsurface and localized drip irrigation system was applied have grown the most in relation to other systems, although they are in a similar range.
If we look at how the scions of the fayas morella species responded to the different types of irrigation systems used, we see that the ability to adapt to survival and to the environment with DeepDrop® appears in second place in terms of efficacy.
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Thus, DeepDrop® System also achieves a high percentage of tree survival which makes it a good irrigation system to consider for reforestation in addition to its already proven uses in agriculture and gardening.
If we look at how the scions of the fayas morella species responded to the different types of irrigation systems used, we see that the ability to adapt to survival and to the environment with DeepDrop® appears in second place in terms of efficacy.
Thus, the DeepDrop® system is a good alternative as an irrigation system for as a good alternative as an irrigation system for reforestation and for a quick recovery for its regrowth. Moreover, as it allows moisture to be retained underground for a longer period of time, it is a particularly interesting system in areas affected by desertification.
We thank Vicenç Carabassa, scientific supervisor of the LIFE Nieblas project as well as Gesplan and the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, coordinators of the project in Gran Canaria, for their interest in testing DeepDrop® for this study since it is the first to demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency as a reforestation system.
DeepDrop® helps reforest an oak forest in the Balearic Islands
Pedro Carlos Coll has decided to use DeepDrop® as an irrigation system for reforestation because the fact that the water goes directly to the roots favors its pivotal development, as well as the deepening of the plants. Pedro Carlos has two small extensions of forest in Mallorca and has incorporated the subway and localized irrigation system in an experimental plantation for the recovery of the holm oaks.
Like many of our customers, he has started testing the system in a small sector. He purchased the DeepDrop® devices in May last year and installed them in July. During this time he encountered some difficulties in the terrain when inserting the pipe underground, but it was precisely the DeepDrop® system itself and the flexibility of movement that the hose allows that allowed him to move them until he found the right place where he did not run into rock, which was what prevented him from being able to place them in certain places.
As of July 2024 he has 50 DeepDrop® units in place and is very happy with them, so much so that in the future he wants to place other devices so that he can maintain his beloved woods where he played and grew up as a child.
So, Pedro Carlos carries out this reforestation from the heart and without many means, but even so he is clear about how to carry out his project. In addition, he counts on his experience as a gardener, which helps his forests a lot.
Pedro Carlos has, in one of the plots, a fixed tank of 250 liters that he refills with a mobile one that he takes in his van when he runs out of water. On the other plot he has a 1000L tank that he fills with the help of a tractor.
The holm oak is a very slow-growing tree. In addition, the sites of Pedro Carlos’ forests have a rather low rainfall and degraded soil, which hinders the development of the trees. The DeepDrop® devices were placed on trees that had been planted two or three years ago, as well as on some newly planted trees. All in all, what can be observed is that the trees with this irrigation system look very healthy.
Pedro Carlos’ objective is that these trees can become “independent” of any external help and subsist on their own. It is for this reason that his irrigation is not focused on production, which requires continuous and constant irrigation, but he uses it as an aid when the weather is very unfavorable. And DeepDrop® allows you to have a type of irrigation that does not require large infrastructures and, at the same time, reduce water consumption by strengthening the roots of your early oaks.
In this case DeepDrop® is being used for reforestation to allow for the regeneration and maintenance of biodiversity, making it possible to regenerate green water on their plots.
We are happy to be a small part of this type of project where we help to sustain seeds of sustainability that help us to continue to maintain the environment that gives us life and allows us to breathe.
