The Groasis Waterboxx is a device designed to help in growing

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s in dry areas. It was invented and developed by Dutch former flower exporter Pieter Hoff,Witkin, Jim
Developing a ‘Water Battery’ for trees
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New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 9 April 2010. Accessed: 5 December 2010. and won the

Popular Science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

Green Tech Best of What’s New Innovation of the year award for 2010.Jannot, Mark
Best of What's New 2010: Our 100 Innovations of the Year
''

'', 16 November 2010. Accessed: 5 November 2010.AquaPro Holland Groasis Waterboxx
''

''. Accessed: 5 December 2010. The word "Groasis" is a

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

formed as a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the words "grow" and "oasis".

Background

Large land areas in the world are too dry for trees to survive. Although water may be present in the ground, it is often too deep for small trees to develop a root structure to reach. The Groasing Technology employs

biomimicry Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. The terms "biomimetics" and "biomimicry" are derived from (''bios''), life, and μίμησις ('' mīm ...

to solve the problem of growing plants in

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

areas, badlands and on rocks. The purpose of this technology is to replant such areas, restore the vegetation cover, and make them productive with fruit trees and vegetables.

Design

The Groasis Waterboxx is a

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

bucket A bucket is typically a watertight, vertical Cylinder (geometry), cylinder or Truncation (geometry), truncated Cone (geometry), cone or square, with an open top and a flat bottom that is attached to a semicircular carrying handle (grip), handle ...

with a

lid A lid or cover is part of a container, and serves as the closure (container), closure or Seal (mechanical), seal, usually one that completely closes the object. Lids can be placed on small containers such as Tub (container), tubs as well as large ...

.Parsons, Sarah
Groasis Waterboxx can grow trees in any climate – even the desert
''Inhabitat'', 4 December 2010. Accessed: 5 December 2010. It has a vertical

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

in the middle for two plants. A wick allows water from inside the box to trickle into the ground via

capillary action Capillary action (sometimes called capillarity, capillary motion, capillary rise, capillary effect, or wicking) is the process of a liquid flowing in a narrow space without the assistance of external forces like Gravitation, gravity. The effe ...

. The device mimics the insulating effect bird feces provide to germinating seeds.Buczynski, Beth
New tree-growing device inspired by bird poop
''Care2'', 30 November 2010. Accessed: 5 December 2010.Coxworth, Ben
Groasis Waterboxx lets trees grow up in unfriendly places
'' GizMag'', 18 November 2010. Accessed: 5 December 2010. The box's lid is covered by tiny papillae, which create a superhydrophobic surface due to the

lotus effect The lotus effect refers to self-cleaning properties that are a result of ultrahydrophobicity as exhibited by the leaves of ''Nelumbo'', the lotus flower. Dirt particles are picked up by water droplets due to the micro- and nanoscopic architect ...

. The lid serves to funnel even the smallest amount of water down siphons into the box's central reservoir. The product functions as a plant incubator, sheltering both a newly planted sapling and the ground around it from the heat of the sun, while providing water for the plant. The lid collects water from rain and nighttime

condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor ...

, which is then stored in the bucket. The water-filled reservoir releases small amounts (around 50 ml per day) of water into the ground by a wick to water the tree and to encourage the tree to develop a root structure. The box acts as a shield for the water in the upper ground, and this water then spreads down and out instead of being drawn to the surface and evaporated. Both

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

and

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

beneath and inside the box are more stable night and day than without. From 2003 to 2010, the development of the Groasis Waterboxx has cost $7.1 million.Binns, Corey
Invention Awards: A box that keeps plants hydrated in the desert
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'', 25 May 2010. Accessed: 6 December 2010.

Installation

Use of the box initially involves digging a hole in the ground by a human or a machine. One to three plants are planted in the hole, and a

cardboard Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. Their construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard, made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light brown ...

panel is placed around the plants. In dry areas, the soil around the plants is inoculated with

mycorrhizae A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

to release nutrients in the soil that would otherwise be chemically inaccessible to the growing plants. A wick is inserted in the bottom of the Groasis which is then lowered over the plants and filled with water. Two lids are put on, funnels inserted and a cap plugs the top lid.A'Hearn, Peter
Groasis Waterbox tree planting demo
(Video) '' TeacherTube'', 20 September 2010. Accessed: 5 December 2010.

Testing

The box has been testing for the 3 years at Mohamed Premier University in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

where nearly 90% of plants survived with the box compared to 10% without.Fernandes; Sunil
Oil & Gas
page 34-36 ''Oil & Gas Review'', May 2010. Accessed: 5 December 2010.Growing trees in the desert, with the aid of a 'Waterboxx'
''

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

'', 12 August 2010. Accessed: 5 December 2010. Apart from projects in warm arid areas, the box is being tested in

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

and cold mountain regions.

Growboxx

Another version is called Growboxx. It is a recycled paper bucket and should not be removed after a year. The bucket itself becomes food for the tree.

References

External links

* * *
The Arid Arborist: A blog about results with Groasis Waterboxx
{{Deforestation and desertification Water conservation tools Conservation projects Dutch inventions Earthworks (engineering) Reforestation