LAND IMPRINTING: DIMPLING AND IMPLODING
October 3, 2005
R.M. Dixon
The land imprinter was called the Dixon Dimpler by some of my coworkers. But unlike the infamous Florida ballots, dimples do count. They add up to 43,560 dimples per acre or one per square foot. Each imprint is V-shaped to funnel resources together (including seeds and rainwater) where they can work in concert to germinate seeds and establish seedlings. Just one seedling per dimple makes a population adequate for most soils and climates.
Unlike other tillage methods that are soil explosive in nature, imprinting is implosive like the demolition of obsolete buildings and the infamous collapse of the twin trade towers on 911. When tillage is explosive, organic matter is rapidly oxidized, CO 2 is added to the atmosphere, and global warming occurs due to the greenhouse effect. In contrast, when tillage is largely implosive, organic matter rises and soil becomes a carbon sink rather than releasing CO 2 into the air. More soil organic matter increases soil moisture, soil aeration and soil fertility, all of which increase biomass production.
Increasing soil aeration seems like an apparent contradiction in view of the foregoing statements regarding explosive tillage. Not really! Imprinting and organic matter buildup stabilizes soil aeration at the level required for rapid rainwater infiltration and root respiration. On the other hand, under explosive tillage soil aeration goes from one extreme to the other. Here's the sequence of events: (1) explosive tillage produces high aeration, (2) high aeration effects rapid oxidation of organic matter, (3) loss of organic matter cause destruction of soil structure (4), soil structure destruction decreases soil stability when wet (5) unstable soil collapses like a "house of cards" when saturated with water and (6) collapsed wet soil lacks adequate aeration for aerobic respiration and anaerobic conditions set in. Most plants hardly survive anaerobic conditions, let alone thrive. Not only does organic matter increase, but soil macroporosity increases as well greatly increasing rainwater infiltration with corresponding reductions in surface water runoff and soil erosion. Land imprinting for dimpling the face of mother earth to hold land resources in place.
Photo: Land imprinting holds resources in place like a
waffle holds condiments, Pearblossom , CA.
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