Eco-Flakes to green the desert
Trials carried out in Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates, have demonstrated the potential of biodegradable 'Eco-Flakes' to retain water, promote plant growth and potentially help in 'greening' the desert.
The flakes
Eco-Flakes are the result of a collaborative research programme between
scientists at the University of Kaiserslauten and the Agricultural Institute of
Speyer in Germany, together with colleagues at the Federal Institute of
Technology in Switzerland and the Agricultural Centre of Houten in the
Netherlands. The flakes, which are based on a polymer of urea, are 100%
biodegradable and are manufactured to different pore sizes depending on the
final use of the product. In dry soils, for example, smaller pores are required
for optimal water absorption and retention, whereas in the more humid
environment of glasshouses, flakes with larger pore sizes can be used. When
incorporated into soils, Eco-Flakes also improve the soil structure and help
provide oxygen to roots, which have been shown to produce more root hairs when
grown in Eco-Flake enhanced soils.
Grass trials
Scientists from the United Arab Emirates have shown that greening arid and
semi-arid areas has led to a 2 to 3°C reduction in temperature. The
governments of these countries, therefore, have proposed that up to 10% of
their region should be planted up, with the ambitious aim of reducing the
ambient temperature by 8 to 12°C. In fact, a "Green Belt Project"
sponsored by Abu Dhabi and Dubai, whereby all major cities will be planted with
a perimeter of trees, shrubs and grass, has already been initiated.
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| Credit: EcoSchaum |
As part of their efforts to green their country, the Municipality of Abu Dhabi recently teamed up with the Agricultural University of Abu Dhabi and the University of Kaiserslauten to test the use of Eco-Flakes. Two 180m2 plots were prepared. The first was divided into two parts, including areas with and without Eco-Flakes, and then planted with grass seed. Watering regimes were equal between the two treatments for the first 18 days, but even by the ninth day after sowing, the grass in the Eco-Flake-treated area was denser and more developed than in the control plot mixed with sand rather than the flakes.
After 18 days, the trial area was sub-divided into different watering regimes and plots received either 10%, 20%, 50% or 100% of the original volume of irrigation water. Twenty days later, Eco-Flake grown plants receiving the full water allowance were 100% taller than the plants growing in the control plots and had 50% longer roots. After 41 days, the grass from each plot was mown for the first time. When the weights of grass from the individual plots were compared, it was demonstrated that, depending on the watering regime, grass from the Eco-Flake-treated plots was between 3 to 13 times heavier than the grass cut from the control plots.
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| Credit:EcoSchaum |
Bush trial
Another area of 180m2 was set aside for assessing how bushes and shrubs
would grow in a mixture of 25% Eco-Flakes / 75% sand compared to 100% sand.
Among the plants tested were ornamentals such as bougainvillea, ficus,
hibiscus, jatropha and ticona. The results for the ticona were most dramatic.
Just 36 days after transplanting, the shrubs growing in sand only were
struggling to survive despite receiving 10 litres of water a day, whilst ticona
planted with 25% Eco-Flakes in the substrate remained green and had even put on
vigorous new growth.
Into the field
According to FAO figures, 5 to 7 million hectares of farmland are lost each
year to desertification, causing an estimated US$ 40 billion-worth of lost
production. The novel project envisaged by the governments of the UAE is one
initiative that should help reverse this trend. Andreas Ehrbar, the general
manager Eco-Schaum Gmbh, a spin-off company from the University of
Kaiserslauten, also hopes to use Eco-Flakes to plant 10 million trees each
year, enough to cover 30 sq. km
However, although attempts are being made to raise the capital required to build full-size production units in the Middle East, Eco-Flakes are currently being produced only on a demonstration scale. Once in production, plans to help the re-greening of the UAE as well as other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Morocco and even parts of China should be able to move ahead. To achieve these goals, though, Eco-Schaum are desperately in need of investors, with US$5 million bridge financing needed immediately, and a further US$ 22 million required to set up the first production unit. With the aid of the EU sponsored European Network of the Innovation Relay Centres (www.eic-trier.de) they are widening their search for likely partners.
Article submitted by Peter McGrath
