TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

168 IMPROVEMENT OF TROPIOAL AND SUBTROPIOAL RANGELANDS
FIGUR& 7-9
BI'OWIe Meder. (U.S. Fo~' Service)
Land imprinter
Rangeland revegetation often requires removing brulh, preparing
the soil, and sowing the seed in separate operations. If all three
could be done in some simple mechanized operation, then large-eca1e
rangeland renovation would be pOl8ible. The land imprinter i8 an
innovative mechani8m that attempts tw.
The land imprinter i8 a simple cylinder 1 m in diameter and
2 m in length, and is pulled by an ordinary farm tractor (figure
7-10). The surface of the cylinder has V-shaped ridges that, under
appropriate soil conditions, leave imprints of up to 10 cm deep in a
furrow providing an indentation pattern that retains rainwater where
it falls. These imprints provide a IID&1l water and litter catchment
capable of storing sparse rainfall.
The imprinter is a hollow metal cylinder that can be filled with
up to 2 tons of water to increase the imprinting preaure when
used on more resistant soils. A variety of imprinting patterns are
available offering flexibility for working with different soils, terrains,
[ 1.)ltIZ ,d byCoogIe