6th ISF

ENVI012 - A Novel Aerial Planting Material for Burnt Forest Restoration inspired by Kadsura coccinea

Wildfires are a crucial problem that greatly affects with many living things especially the loss of many plant species. Over the years there have been frequent wildfires. As a result, the forest cannot be restored on its own. Traditional restoration method must use the staff to hardly transport the saplings with difficultly. In this work, we therefore present an innovation to restore the burnt forest by utilizing aerial planting material by using unmanned aerial vehicle for accessing the area after wildfires. Firstly, we used clay as the main material and mixed it with coconut flakes (C) and rice husk ash (R) to provide food for the saplings and protect the seeds from being damaged. Our prototype configuration was inspired by the structure of Kadsura coccinea with 24 carpels in each unit. For optimization, different ratios of the mixture were investigated. The results showed that the C3R1 formula gave the best performance in the molding and durability with 10.37±0.11 g per carpel. After that, the aerial planting material was tested and released at different heights. Found that 40 m was the most suitable height for release planting material with dispersion up to 89.17±2.28%. Thirty days after planting Yang Hiang seeds, Rang seeds, and Ma Kha Mong seeds were able to grow after release from 40 meters height and the seed was more than 90% survival rate from both in experimental area and in field.

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