Aerial Seed Planting: The Future of Global Restoration
About 15 billion trees are cut down every year to satisfy various industries. Such deforestation has paved the way for global warming and has jeopardized the lives of millions of species. Luckily, innovative entrepreneurs have created a high-tech solution to save the planet: aerial seed planting. Aerial seed planting uses drones to spread thousands of biodegradable pods over fertile land. Each of these pods contain seeds and nutrients that could aid the growth of the seed. This mind-blowing idea has helped to plant over 1 billion trees per year.
Aerial seed planting has a complex process: Engineers have combined automation with artificial intelligence to aid global restoration. First, a drone flies over the land and analyzes the terrain. With this data, engineers create an algorithm for a customized planting pattern that contains the plant species that are suitable for the landscape and the topography of the terrain. Then, a firing drone carries out the seeds and uses the algorithm to inject biodegradable pods into the soil. Each firing drone flies approximately 10 feet above ground and is controlled by an operator who is able to control 6 drones at once. In one day, about 100,000 pods are planted through this method.
This new agricultural method has multiple benefits. First of all, it’s the safest, fastest, and most economically beneficial method for global restoration. These drones are able to plant trees 10 times faster than humans for 85% less money. In addition, drones are able to reach places that are inaccessible to humans. To add on, drones plant trees without disrupting other crops in the area which has resulted in higher crop yields per year. Sometimes wet soil conditions or dense plant foliage prevent humans from planting, these situations can be avoided by utilizing aerial seed planting. Moreover, a drone can accomplish more in an hour than land equipment can in a day, this means that less fuel is used which causes less air pollution.
Over the last five years, countries such as India, Thailand, Kenya, and Russia have implemented this idea to regenerate plant density and reduce global warming. The modern idea has been gaining popularity over the course of the last decade and continues to grow.
The long-term effects of aerial planting have not been observed yet. However, many aerial planting companies have claimed that the trees planted by drones will significantly help to reduce global warming and minimize the effects of catastrophic climate calamities.
