The Vetiver System
The Vetiver System (VS) is dependent on the use of a very unique tropical plant, Vetiver grass – Vetiveria zizanioiodes. The grass can be grown over a very wide range of climatic and soil conditions, and if planted correctly can be used virtually anywhere under tropical, semi-tropical, and Mediterranean climates. It has characteristics that in totality are unique to a single species. When vetiver grass is grown in the form of a narrow self-sustaining hedgerow it exhibits special characteristics that are essential to the many different applications that comprise the Vetiver System.
The species of Chrysopogon zizanioides, that is promoted in nearly 100 countries for VS applications originates in south India, is sterile, non invasive and has to be propagated by clump subdivision. Generally nursery multiplication of bare rooted plants is the preferred method. The average multiplication rate varies but is normally about 1:30.
After about three months nursery clumps are divided into planting slips of about 3 tillers each. These are then planted 15 cm apart on the contour to create, when mature, a barrier of stiff grass that acts as a buffer and spreader of down slope water flow, and a filter to sediment. A good hedge will reduce rainfall run off by as much as 70% and sediment by as much as 90%. A hedgerow will stay where it is planted and the sediment that is spread out behind the hedgerow gradually accumulates to form a long lasting terrace with vetiver protection. It is a very low cost, labor intensive technology (linked to the cost of labor) with very high benefit: cost ratios). When used for civil works protection its cost is about 1/20 of traditional engineered systems and designs.
Vetiver grass can be used directly as a farm income product, or it can be used as an application that will protect river basins and watersheds against environmental damage particularly point source environmental problems relating to: (1) sediment flows (2) excess nutrients, heavy metals and pesticides in leachates from toxic sources. The two major uses are closely linked. Below are the main categories of application – each is linked to a group of photos demonstrating its application. All these applications can directly or indirectly impact on the rural poor through either protection of farm land and, where necessary its rehabilitation, provision of direct farm income, or indirectly improving the quality of life and resources available to the poor.
There are three questions that are always asked by agriculturists: (1) Does vetiver make a good fodder? The answer, supported by research, is yes, if cut and managed correctly. It also makes a good maintenance ration in the dry season when most other forage plants have either died or become unpalatable; (2) does it cause erosion problems when dug up for its roots? In our experience over the past 20 years this has never been a problem when framers are properly trained on its use. There have been cases in Haitii; and (3) is the plant invasive? The plant which is used in most countries has its origin in south India, andeither does not flower, or when it does its seeds are sterile. Its roots are not stoloniferous. It is not therefore invasive
Vetiver Systems can be used by most of the sectors involved in rural and community development. It should not just be left solely to the agricultural sector to promote, but should be incorporated, where appropriate, into the development plans for community, district or region. If all the sectors use it, there is then an opportunity for vetiver grass producers, both small and big to get involved with VS as an income generating enterprise, whether it be producing planting material, contracting as landscapers for slope stabilization and other needs, or selling vetiver byproducts such as handicrafts, mulch, thatch, forage and other material. Over and above this, of course is its use in on farm soil and water conservation, and the benefits that are derived from that application.
It is a technology common to so many different applications that if widely applied might be the kick start to a significant climb out of poverty for a large segment of the community.
Vetiver System and Its Applications can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/VetiverClients (short power point type presenations) and on our web site library at: http://www.vetiver.org/TVN_archive.htm
Vetiver System – An Overview
Vetiver System - The Plant
Vetiver System – Propagation and Planting
Vetiver System - Poverty Alleviation
Agricultural applications:
Soil and Water Conservation
On Farm Use and Products
Water and Water Quality applications
Flood Control
River Banks
Dams, Ponds and Lakes
Flash Flood Erosion Control and Sea Dykes
Mine and Quarry Rehabilitation
Effluent Disposal
Landfill
Constructed Slope Stabilization applications
Rural Roads
Highways - batter/ fill and drainage
Railroads
Land Rehabilitation
Pipeline and electricity utilities
Urban Landscaping
Other uses – handicrafts, aromatic oils, medicinal etc.
TVN(I) Website: http://www.vetiver.org/
Network News and Opinion
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Morocco - Vetiver Systems Conference/Workshops
CONFERENCE SUMMARY
Application of the Vetiver System for Environmental Protection: Prevention and Treatment of Contaminated Soil and Water.
Rabat, Morocco, 14 November 2006 Criss Juliard. The Vetiver Network (International) cjuliard@mtds.com
The objective of the conference was to provide a general introduction of the Vetiver System (VS) with emphasis on its use in treating liquid and solid wastes, decontaminating polluted soils, and as a soil conservation and reforestation technique. It is a first step to create a knowledge base in Morocco that can be transferred to applications, research and expansion of its use in the Mediterranean basin, Africa and elsewhere. The conference was by invitation for a targeted audience of decision makers in the public, private and civil sectors. The one day event was divided into three parts; power point presentations and papers, a demonstration site visit and a short workshop.
I. Presentation of papers/Power Points
Opening was by Professor Mohamed Badraoui, Director of the Program against Desertification and Natural Protection within the High Commission on Water and Forests. He stressed that the importance of the conference lied in our ability to test the application of the VS in Morocco and to identify appropriate uses within the varied Moroccan climate and soil
environment.
The opening was followed by five presentations;
1. A general introduction to the main uses of vetiver throughout the world by Criss Juliard (Morocco);
2. Application of the VS in phyto-remediation and an update of research in different parts of the world by Paul Truong (Australia).
3. Application of the VS in the rehabilitation of mine tailings by Paul Truong (Australia).
4. Results of the VS use to reduce advances of desertification and vetiver's resistance to drought Dale Rachmeler
5. Agricultural application of vetiver particularly in banana plantations by Charles Prins,
a local banana producer.
Presentations were followed by questions and a lively discussion period.
2. Site visit
A bus took participants to The Farm, a private 60 ha plant and tree farm near Ain El Aouda owned by Nabil and Luna El Shouk where we visited a waste disposal demonstration site, that was established June 30, 2006 and in which vetiver planted around and on top of a mound of solid waste.
Cut-away sections had been made on four sides that exposed the 5 month old
vetiver roots, penetrating plastics, styrofoam, and rubble to a depth of about 40-50 cm. The site was watered for the first three months after initial transplanting. Pictures of the before and after situations are shown above. Participants also visited The Farm’s vetiver nursery where vetiver
had been multiplied in hedgerow fashion and planted out in bare root form. A walk through the farm also allowed participants to witness the different types of tree crops, vegetables and flowers being grown on the grounds.
3. Workshop/Discussion
Participants had a chance to ask additional questions to conference speakers and The Farm owner related to the demonstration site, and to discuss what they would like to see as "next" steps. Questions raised included the aromatic application of vetiver, results of heavy metal absorption in the roots rather than in the leaves and possible use of vetiver to "mine" metals and minerals using vetiver, disposing of absorbed heavy metals, mycorrhiza role in vetiver's adaptation.
Regarding next steps, participants suggested:
• Move directly to implementation; for some this would be a personal action; for others, it would be a collective action, but each according to their field or personal interest.
• Organizing follow-on conferences in different parts of Morocco and one on valueadded aspects of vetiver; e.g.,medicinal, aromatic, essential oils
• Launch actual application sites of the VS in different parts of Morocco, in different soils, comparing results as a way to promote the VS;
• A proposal was made to include vetiver among plants in a rural development project in Errachidia. It was proposed that a vetiver project be established in northern Morocco under the Development Agency for the North; and
• Approach development projects and suggest they promote the VS by adding VS elements to their project activities thereby maintaining the momentum created by this conference.
• the need for coordination to launch a vetiver initiative in Morocco and participants were encouraged to send proposals to a coordinating group composed initially of three individuals, Hachim El Alaoui (h.elalaoui@iav.ac.ma), Abdelkader Allali(allali05@yahoo.fr) and Criss Juliard, (cjuliard@mtds.com);
A highlight of the afternoon site visit was the discovery of Doctoral dissertation that had been completed by one of the participants (Dr Nadia Saidi, of the Applied Geoscience Laboratory, Science Faculty, Kenitra) entitled "Le Bassin Versant de la Moulouya: Pollution par les metaux lourd st essais de Phytomremediation." This was a fascinating research conducted on local and non-indigenous plants’ capacity to survive and to remediate polluted soil from abandoned mineral mines in the North East part of Morocco. Vetiver was one of the four plants that survived and produced encouraging results. A summary of the Vetiver section was sent to us for our review. Below is Paul Truong’s summary of the document.
It was equally interesting to note that Dr. Paul Truong, a conference speaker, was cited many times in the thesis for his numerous research publications on the subject. The coordinating committee along with others will try to keep you informed regularly of developments of the VS in Morocco.
The following is a short summary of the results of Prof Nadia Saidi’s report: The region investigated is the Haut Moulouya, which sits between the Middle and High Atlas mountain range of Morocco. The area concerned is contaminated with heavy metals due to Pb and Zn mining in the past and is a watershed for one of Morocco’s heavily used water ways for agricultural irrigation. Heavy metal levels found in the soil and sediment are: Pb from 51 to 3 061ppm, Zn from 113 to 10 740ppm, Cu from 18 to 258ppm and Cd from 0.2 to 34ppm. In addition old foundry residues also left extremely high levels of these elements: Pb from 3 031 to 73 936ppm, Zn from 1 495 to 409 741ppm, Cu from 334 to 1 899ppm and Cd
from 21 to 1 046ppm.
Results indicated that vetiver successfully established on all 10 kinds of substrates, without any toxic symptoms despite their very high concentrations of Cd (1 046 mg kg-1), Cu (1 899 mg kg-1 ), Pb (73 936 mg kg-1) and Zn (40 9741 mg kg-1). These results show that vetiver has a good ability of establishing and developing in substrates contaminated by Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. In addition to its power of decontamination, a plant, considered to be a good candidate for phytoremediation works, must also have a good potential of soil stabilisation. The latter’s ability is subjected to the architecture of its root system. Vetiver grass has a massive root system, vigorous and fibrous in all substrates used in this study. It grows vertically and often down to 3m depth and is non-invasive. Dr Nadia Saidi concluded that vetiver grass has a good ability of establishing and developing in different substrates in Morocco. Its root system is well developed and good for the stabilisation of soil layers. Therefore the plant is a good candidate for use in the phytoremediation of regions contaminated by Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn.
Application of the Vetiver System for Environmental Protection: Prevention and Treatment of Contaminated Soil and Water.
Rabat, Morocco, 14 November 2006 Criss Juliard. The Vetiver Network (International) cjuliard@mtds.com
The objective of the conference was to provide a general introduction of the Vetiver System (VS) with emphasis on its use in treating liquid and solid wastes, decontaminating polluted soils, and as a soil conservation and reforestation technique. It is a first step to create a knowledge base in Morocco that can be transferred to applications, research and expansion of its use in the Mediterranean basin, Africa and elsewhere. The conference was by invitation for a targeted audience of decision makers in the public, private and civil sectors. The one day event was divided into three parts; power point presentations and papers, a demonstration site visit and a short workshop.
I. Presentation of papers/Power Points
Opening was by Professor Mohamed Badraoui, Director of the Program against Desertification and Natural Protection within the High Commission on Water and Forests. He stressed that the importance of the conference lied in our ability to test the application of the VS in Morocco and to identify appropriate uses within the varied Moroccan climate and soil
environment.
The opening was followed by five presentations;
1. A general introduction to the main uses of vetiver throughout the world by Criss Juliard (Morocco);
2. Application of the VS in phyto-remediation and an update of research in different parts of the world by Paul Truong (Australia).
3. Application of the VS in the rehabilitation of mine tailings by Paul Truong (Australia).
4. Results of the VS use to reduce advances of desertification and vetiver's resistance to drought Dale Rachmeler
5. Agricultural application of vetiver particularly in banana plantations by Charles Prins,
a local banana producer.
Presentations were followed by questions and a lively discussion period.
2. Site visit
A bus took participants to The Farm, a private 60 ha plant and tree farm near Ain El Aouda owned by Nabil and Luna El Shouk where we visited a waste disposal demonstration site, that was established June 30, 2006 and in which vetiver planted around and on top of a mound of solid waste.
Cut-away sections had been made on four sides that exposed the 5 month old
vetiver roots, penetrating plastics, styrofoam, and rubble to a depth of about 40-50 cm. The site was watered for the first three months after initial transplanting. Pictures of the before and after situations are shown above. Participants also visited The Farm’s vetiver nursery where vetiver
had been multiplied in hedgerow fashion and planted out in bare root form. A walk through the farm also allowed participants to witness the different types of tree crops, vegetables and flowers being grown on the grounds.
3. Workshop/Discussion
Participants had a chance to ask additional questions to conference speakers and The Farm owner related to the demonstration site, and to discuss what they would like to see as "next" steps. Questions raised included the aromatic application of vetiver, results of heavy metal absorption in the roots rather than in the leaves and possible use of vetiver to "mine" metals and minerals using vetiver, disposing of absorbed heavy metals, mycorrhiza role in vetiver's adaptation.
Regarding next steps, participants suggested:
• Move directly to implementation; for some this would be a personal action; for others, it would be a collective action, but each according to their field or personal interest.
• Organizing follow-on conferences in different parts of Morocco and one on valueadded aspects of vetiver; e.g.,medicinal, aromatic, essential oils
• Launch actual application sites of the VS in different parts of Morocco, in different soils, comparing results as a way to promote the VS;
• A proposal was made to include vetiver among plants in a rural development project in Errachidia. It was proposed that a vetiver project be established in northern Morocco under the Development Agency for the North; and
• Approach development projects and suggest they promote the VS by adding VS elements to their project activities thereby maintaining the momentum created by this conference.
• the need for coordination to launch a vetiver initiative in Morocco and participants were encouraged to send proposals to a coordinating group composed initially of three individuals, Hachim El Alaoui (h.elalaoui@iav.ac.ma), Abdelkader Allali(allali05@yahoo.fr) and Criss Juliard, (cjuliard@mtds.com);
A highlight of the afternoon site visit was the discovery of Doctoral dissertation that had been completed by one of the participants (Dr Nadia Saidi, of the Applied Geoscience Laboratory, Science Faculty, Kenitra) entitled "Le Bassin Versant de la Moulouya: Pollution par les metaux lourd st essais de Phytomremediation." This was a fascinating research conducted on local and non-indigenous plants’ capacity to survive and to remediate polluted soil from abandoned mineral mines in the North East part of Morocco. Vetiver was one of the four plants that survived and produced encouraging results. A summary of the Vetiver section was sent to us for our review. Below is Paul Truong’s summary of the document.
It was equally interesting to note that Dr. Paul Truong, a conference speaker, was cited many times in the thesis for his numerous research publications on the subject. The coordinating committee along with others will try to keep you informed regularly of developments of the VS in Morocco.
The following is a short summary of the results of Prof Nadia Saidi’s report: The region investigated is the Haut Moulouya, which sits between the Middle and High Atlas mountain range of Morocco. The area concerned is contaminated with heavy metals due to Pb and Zn mining in the past and is a watershed for one of Morocco’s heavily used water ways for agricultural irrigation. Heavy metal levels found in the soil and sediment are: Pb from 51 to 3 061ppm, Zn from 113 to 10 740ppm, Cu from 18 to 258ppm and Cd from 0.2 to 34ppm. In addition old foundry residues also left extremely high levels of these elements: Pb from 3 031 to 73 936ppm, Zn from 1 495 to 409 741ppm, Cu from 334 to 1 899ppm and Cd
from 21 to 1 046ppm.
Results indicated that vetiver successfully established on all 10 kinds of substrates, without any toxic symptoms despite their very high concentrations of Cd (1 046 mg kg-1), Cu (1 899 mg kg-1 ), Pb (73 936 mg kg-1) and Zn (40 9741 mg kg-1). These results show that vetiver has a good ability of establishing and developing in substrates contaminated by Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. In addition to its power of decontamination, a plant, considered to be a good candidate for phytoremediation works, must also have a good potential of soil stabilisation. The latter’s ability is subjected to the architecture of its root system. Vetiver grass has a massive root system, vigorous and fibrous in all substrates used in this study. It grows vertically and often down to 3m depth and is non-invasive. Dr Nadia Saidi concluded that vetiver grass has a good ability of establishing and developing in different substrates in Morocco. Its root system is well developed and good for the stabilisation of soil layers. Therefore the plant is a good candidate for use in the phytoremediation of regions contaminated by Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn.
Friday, December 8, 2006
The Fourth International Conference on Vetiver (ICV4
In October 2006 ICV4 was hosted by Fundacion Polar in Caracas, Venezuela. The conference was graced with the presence of the Vetiver Network’s Patron, H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand. It was indeed a memorable conference, well attended and organized, and with more than100 papers and presentations made.
The conference theme was “Vetiver and People”, a theme truly demonstrated by the Venezuelans. Venezuela started working with Vetiver Systems (VS) some 10 years ago by approaching its introduction through community development as a handicraft for the rural poor. The impact is impressive and over 11,000 poor people have benefited from vetiver handicraft income. Many of these people have completely changed their lives and have a new sense of self-esteem. Soon some of the handicraft workers, mainly women and children, started using vetiver for on farm soil and water conservation with a result, for these families, that slash and burn agriculture is now a thing of the past. Fundacion Polar has nicely encapsulated the approach through a short documentary DVD “Una matica sagrada” (with English subtitles) that describes, in the words of the mother, how the life of her family has been changed forever with the introduction of the Vetiver System (contact for copies and other information: Graciela Pantin, General manager of Fundacion Polar, email: graciela.pantin@gmail.com).
The East Bali Poverty Alleviation Project has also demonstrated vetiver’s impact on improving nutrition, health and incomes. Just as has NOBS (El Slavador), Royal Development Project Board Thailand, PTT Thailand, China Vetiver Network, and others, have shown the importance of the community approach.
The presentations provided a good picture of how the Vetiver System is advancing. Soil and water conservation programs using vetiver are expanding across the regions and research and practice shows the impact on improved crop yields, income, and sustainable farming systems. It is quite clear that VS will significantly cut down or eradicate slash and burn agriculture, particularly if associated with other cultural practices. Thailand’s Land Development Department has amply demonstrated vetiver’s use for land stabilization, and was justly awarded one of this year’s King of Thailand prizes. Land reclamation – particularly in the mining sector – benefits greatly from VS – some great work by Venezuela’s Vetiver Antierosion CA (Rafael and Oswaldo Luque) amply demonstrated this in the reclamation of bauxite mine tailings. The expansion of VS application for highway, building site, and other structural stabilization underscores its effectiveness and low cost.
Climate change impacts on the severity of the weather. We see severe weather conditions in more frequent and stronger tropical storms. VS for disaster mitigation is clearly demonstrated by the excellent work of our new Vetiver Champion – Tran Tan Van – Vetiver Coordinator for Vietnam Vetiver Network. Through his and his colleagues efforts VS is now being used in more than 40 provinces in Vietnam for the protection of river levees and sea dykes against major storm damage. Landslides that impact on highways and villages are also a bi-product of severe rainfall events. Vetiver could do much to mitigate against the potential damage. Tran’s team is also about to publish the “Vetiver brown book” A manual for engineers. It will be published first in Vietnamese and then in English.
VS is now a very serious technology for water quality improvement, effluent and waste-water treatment, and the associated health and environmental benefits. VS programs in Australia, China, Vietnam, and Venezuela demonstrate its effectiveness.
Basic research continues in various important areas of VS including investigations into propagation methods, varietal differences and ecotype selection, and mechanisms in plant function. Some very interesting work is being carried out in China by Bingbing Yang, - a Vetiver Network Award recipient - at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Institute of Botany into developing cold tolerant varieties of vetiver in order to extend vetiver’s application to hot summer/cold winter climate locations – such as north China, the high Andes, and North America.
We believe that the conference will greatly influence and expand the use of Vetiver Systems in Latin America. The next conference ICV5 is planned for South Africa in 2010. All this adds up to an exciting time for Vetiver Systems and for the many people around the world involved with the technology. Details of the ICV4 papers and power point presentations can be found at: http://www.vetiver.org/ICV4pdfs/ICV4-PROG-IN.htm
One last word - the Vetiver Network has established a very large Vetiver picture gallery on Google at: http://picasaweb.google.com/VetiverNetwork
We would like to invite people world wide who work with vetiver to establish their own vetiver picture gallery (it costs nothing - http://picasaweb.google.com ) and link them to TVN’s. This would give people the opportunity to show what they are doing and share with others this great technology. TVN will award annually, for the next three years, a US$ 500 prize to the best (quality and content) vetiver picture gallery. This should be a great way of showing the world what vetiver is all about and what it can do to improve people’s lives and the environment at this difficult time when we are facing severe climate change and other disruptions. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Dick Grimshaw
The conference theme was “Vetiver and People”, a theme truly demonstrated by the Venezuelans. Venezuela started working with Vetiver Systems (VS) some 10 years ago by approaching its introduction through community development as a handicraft for the rural poor. The impact is impressive and over 11,000 poor people have benefited from vetiver handicraft income. Many of these people have completely changed their lives and have a new sense of self-esteem. Soon some of the handicraft workers, mainly women and children, started using vetiver for on farm soil and water conservation with a result, for these families, that slash and burn agriculture is now a thing of the past. Fundacion Polar has nicely encapsulated the approach through a short documentary DVD “Una matica sagrada” (with English subtitles) that describes, in the words of the mother, how the life of her family has been changed forever with the introduction of the Vetiver System (contact for copies and other information: Graciela Pantin, General manager of Fundacion Polar, email: graciela.pantin@gmail.com).
The East Bali Poverty Alleviation Project has also demonstrated vetiver’s impact on improving nutrition, health and incomes. Just as has NOBS (El Slavador), Royal Development Project Board Thailand, PTT Thailand, China Vetiver Network, and others, have shown the importance of the community approach.
The presentations provided a good picture of how the Vetiver System is advancing. Soil and water conservation programs using vetiver are expanding across the regions and research and practice shows the impact on improved crop yields, income, and sustainable farming systems. It is quite clear that VS will significantly cut down or eradicate slash and burn agriculture, particularly if associated with other cultural practices. Thailand’s Land Development Department has amply demonstrated vetiver’s use for land stabilization, and was justly awarded one of this year’s King of Thailand prizes. Land reclamation – particularly in the mining sector – benefits greatly from VS – some great work by Venezuela’s Vetiver Antierosion CA (Rafael and Oswaldo Luque) amply demonstrated this in the reclamation of bauxite mine tailings. The expansion of VS application for highway, building site, and other structural stabilization underscores its effectiveness and low cost.
Climate change impacts on the severity of the weather. We see severe weather conditions in more frequent and stronger tropical storms. VS for disaster mitigation is clearly demonstrated by the excellent work of our new Vetiver Champion – Tran Tan Van – Vetiver Coordinator for Vietnam Vetiver Network. Through his and his colleagues efforts VS is now being used in more than 40 provinces in Vietnam for the protection of river levees and sea dykes against major storm damage. Landslides that impact on highways and villages are also a bi-product of severe rainfall events. Vetiver could do much to mitigate against the potential damage. Tran’s team is also about to publish the “Vetiver brown book” A manual for engineers. It will be published first in Vietnamese and then in English.
VS is now a very serious technology for water quality improvement, effluent and waste-water treatment, and the associated health and environmental benefits. VS programs in Australia, China, Vietnam, and Venezuela demonstrate its effectiveness.
Basic research continues in various important areas of VS including investigations into propagation methods, varietal differences and ecotype selection, and mechanisms in plant function. Some very interesting work is being carried out in China by Bingbing Yang, - a Vetiver Network Award recipient - at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Institute of Botany into developing cold tolerant varieties of vetiver in order to extend vetiver’s application to hot summer/cold winter climate locations – such as north China, the high Andes, and North America.
We believe that the conference will greatly influence and expand the use of Vetiver Systems in Latin America. The next conference ICV5 is planned for South Africa in 2010. All this adds up to an exciting time for Vetiver Systems and for the many people around the world involved with the technology. Details of the ICV4 papers and power point presentations can be found at: http://www.vetiver.org/ICV4pdfs/ICV4-PROG-IN.htm
One last word - the Vetiver Network has established a very large Vetiver picture gallery on Google at: http://picasaweb.google.com/VetiverNetwork
We would like to invite people world wide who work with vetiver to establish their own vetiver picture gallery (it costs nothing - http://picasaweb.google.com ) and link them to TVN’s. This would give people the opportunity to show what they are doing and share with others this great technology. TVN will award annually, for the next three years, a US$ 500 prize to the best (quality and content) vetiver picture gallery. This should be a great way of showing the world what vetiver is all about and what it can do to improve people’s lives and the environment at this difficult time when we are facing severe climate change and other disruptions. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Dick Grimshaw
Vetiver Grass – The Community “Glue” Pot.
Looking back some 20 years when John Greenfield (this years Norman Hudson Award winner) first introduced vetiver grass technology to India, and thereby initiating the renaissance of the technology, its use and application has far exceeded our original hopes and aspirations. As its use for protection of infrastructure and for improving water quality expands, it would seem that soil and water conservation applications are not accelerating fast enough.
Recently I was looking at some present day images of cassava related erosion problems in Vietnam – horrendous! They reminded me of scenes I had seen in northern Thailand some 15 years ago. In both instances large areas of cassava were under cultivation without any protective conservation work. There is clear research evidence that vetiver grass hedgerows are a very effective means of controlling erosion in cassava fields (generally acidic and infertile soils) and at the same time improve crop yields substantially. I give two examples: (1) Experimentation carried out by CIAT (Colombia – rainfall 1240 mm) in 1991 showed that with cassava, planted on the flat in association with vetiver hedgerows, yielded 34 tons per ha, and compared to bare earth soil loss was reduced from 142 tons per ha to 1.3 tons and rainfall runoff was reduced to 3.6% of total; and (2) the National Institute of Soils, Vietnam undertook, over three years, extensive trials and concluded: “Vetiver grass exists in Viet Nam. It can be used as one of the species in hedgerow farming systems on sloping lands for erosion control together with Tephrosia candida and other hedgerow species. It can decrease soil erosion by 50-90 % and increase crop yields by 15-30 %. There is no competition of water, nutrient and light in the vetiver hedgerow farming systems, and no negative effect in alley crops. Combination of vetiver grass and Tephrosia candida is best for soil conservation, increased crop production and higher economic return. Farmers on sloping lands are interested in applying vetiver grass on their household farm to protect their soil, especially after land allocation to the farmers for long-term land-use right”.
Of course vetiver grass technology is effective on most other soil types, and the Vetiver Network receives research and reports from many parts of the world indicating that increasing number of farmers are successfully using the technology. Sadly the uptake of vetiver grass erosion control technology and other conservation technologies continues to be slow, and erosion and water conservation continues to be a major problem worldwide.
Land ownership is one of the keys to advancing the uptake of on-farm conservation. I have seen in China how farmers respond to improved “rental” agreements that give them land tenure rights of 30 years or more – conservation is an important part of that package. We have learned from Madagascar how farmers have very effectively used vetiver grass technology when given proper rights to farm the Fianarantsoa railroad right of way (see http://www.vetiver.org/ICV3-Proceedings/MAD_rail_stab.pdf2.pdf).
It also seems that in some countries that there is an absence of soil conservation policy and that government services are not very good promoters of conservation technology. Instead there is a need to rely more on the private sector, communities, and non government organizations (although often the latter are not that good either). The example of the East Bali Poverty Project in Indonesia (http://www.vetiver.org/INR_East%20Bali%202006.pdf) gives one hope that community involvement and improved education can go a long way in the introduction of better conservation.
The Vetiver Network supports soil and water conservation – period – whatever the technology maybe. However, it promotes the Vetiver grass technology for soil and water conservation because it is low cost, simple and effective. Further when promoted as part of the Vetiver System the users have the unbelievable opportunity to use the grass for a wide range of uses and applications. It is this wide range of uses see (http://www.vetiver.org) that makes it so attractive, and it is important that promoters of vetiver for soil and water conservation should make users aware of these other uses. Vetiver grass is indeed the “glue” that can hold a community and its environmental assets
together.
Dick Grimshaw.
Recently I was looking at some present day images of cassava related erosion problems in Vietnam – horrendous! They reminded me of scenes I had seen in northern Thailand some 15 years ago. In both instances large areas of cassava were under cultivation without any protective conservation work. There is clear research evidence that vetiver grass hedgerows are a very effective means of controlling erosion in cassava fields (generally acidic and infertile soils) and at the same time improve crop yields substantially. I give two examples: (1) Experimentation carried out by CIAT (Colombia – rainfall 1240 mm) in 1991 showed that with cassava, planted on the flat in association with vetiver hedgerows, yielded 34 tons per ha, and compared to bare earth soil loss was reduced from 142 tons per ha to 1.3 tons and rainfall runoff was reduced to 3.6% of total; and (2) the National Institute of Soils, Vietnam undertook, over three years, extensive trials and concluded: “Vetiver grass exists in Viet Nam. It can be used as one of the species in hedgerow farming systems on sloping lands for erosion control together with Tephrosia candida and other hedgerow species. It can decrease soil erosion by 50-90 % and increase crop yields by 15-30 %. There is no competition of water, nutrient and light in the vetiver hedgerow farming systems, and no negative effect in alley crops. Combination of vetiver grass and Tephrosia candida is best for soil conservation, increased crop production and higher economic return. Farmers on sloping lands are interested in applying vetiver grass on their household farm to protect their soil, especially after land allocation to the farmers for long-term land-use right”.
Of course vetiver grass technology is effective on most other soil types, and the Vetiver Network receives research and reports from many parts of the world indicating that increasing number of farmers are successfully using the technology. Sadly the uptake of vetiver grass erosion control technology and other conservation technologies continues to be slow, and erosion and water conservation continues to be a major problem worldwide.
Land ownership is one of the keys to advancing the uptake of on-farm conservation. I have seen in China how farmers respond to improved “rental” agreements that give them land tenure rights of 30 years or more – conservation is an important part of that package. We have learned from Madagascar how farmers have very effectively used vetiver grass technology when given proper rights to farm the Fianarantsoa railroad right of way (see http://www.vetiver.org/ICV3-Proceedings/MAD_rail_stab.pdf2.pdf).
It also seems that in some countries that there is an absence of soil conservation policy and that government services are not very good promoters of conservation technology. Instead there is a need to rely more on the private sector, communities, and non government organizations (although often the latter are not that good either). The example of the East Bali Poverty Project in Indonesia (http://www.vetiver.org/INR_East%20Bali%202006.pdf) gives one hope that community involvement and improved education can go a long way in the introduction of better conservation.
The Vetiver Network supports soil and water conservation – period – whatever the technology maybe. However, it promotes the Vetiver grass technology for soil and water conservation because it is low cost, simple and effective. Further when promoted as part of the Vetiver System the users have the unbelievable opportunity to use the grass for a wide range of uses and applications. It is this wide range of uses see (http://www.vetiver.org) that makes it so attractive, and it is important that promoters of vetiver for soil and water conservation should make users aware of these other uses. Vetiver grass is indeed the “glue” that can hold a community and its environmental assets
together.
Dick Grimshaw.
Black Cotton Soils and the Vetiver System
I was faced with the problems of managing black cotton soils in the early 50s in Australia while working with the Soil Conservation Service. Overnight, a heavy storm had wiped out a large area of a farmers wheat crop and fence line leaving gullies several meters deep. With heavy earthmoving equipment, we filled in the gullies and built contour banks and a waterway leading to a disposal area, but knew that the next storm would just wipe them out again. Since then I have worked with these exceptionally difficult but potentially productive soils in many countries and have tried to find a way to come to terms with their problems.
First let me name these soils so that we all know we are talking about the same thing. They are known as Vertisols; Chernozems; Gilgais; self mulching soils; self swallowing soils; black cotton soils; black cracking clays; vleis; wadi soils.
Global extent and location:
Vertisols occur principally in hot environments, in the semi arid tropics with marked alternating wet and dry seasons; they are generally found on sedimentary plains as the result of thousands of years eroding the clay content out of the surrounding hills. They can also be found on level land and in depressions. Smaller areas of vertisols are found on hill slopes and piedmont plains. Their natural climax vegetation is savannah grassland.
Vertisols cover an estimated 340 million hectares, or about 3% of the world’s cultivatable soils, and are found mainly in Africa; in the Sudan’s Gezira cotton fields and Southern black soil plains; in South Africa; Ethiopia; and Tanzania. In Asia; they are found extensively in the Indian Deccan Plateau; Vertisols cover large areas of Australia. There are vast areas of Vertisols in Russia, which are outside our area of interest being too cold for vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides).
Definition:
Vertisols owe their specific properties to the presence of swelling clay minerals, mainly montmorillonite. As a result of wetting and drying, massive expansion and contraction of the clay minerals takes place. Contraction leads to the formation of the wide and deep cracks that can be wide enough to make the terrain treacherous for animals. Surface material accumulates in these cracks during the dry season and is “swallowed” by the soil in the wet season, creating the ‘self mixing’ or ‘self mulching’ action of the vertisols.
The cracks close after rain when the clay minerals swell. During expansion of the clay minerals high pressures are developed within these soils, causing a characteristic soil structure with wedge shaped aggregates in the surface soil and ‘planar’ soil blocks in the subsoil. The slippage of one soil block over the other leads to the formation of typical polished surfaces known as “slickensides’ on the blocks’
This massive expansion and contraction can cause the formation of micro-topographic features known as “Gilgai”, a distinctive micro-relief of knolls and basins that develop by internal mass movements in the soil and heaving of the underlying material to the surface.
Main Production Constraints:
Vertisols are difficult to work, have a very hard consistency when dry, and very plastic and sticky when wet. Therefore the workability of the soil is often limited to very short periods of medium (optimal) water status.
Vertisols are imperfectly to poorly drained, leaching of soluble weathering products is limited, the contents of available calcium and magnesium are high and the pH is usually above 7. Once they have reached their field capacity, practically no water movement occurs, this is due to the very low hydraulic conductivity of a Vertisol. Flooding leading to crop damage can be a major problem in areas with higher rainfall. Surface water may be drained by open drains, but ‘mole’ drainage is virtually impossible. ‘Flash flood’ waters can cause irreversible crop lodging leading to rotting of the lodged crop.
Vertisols are chemically rich and are capable of sustaining continuous cropping. They do not necessarily require a rest period (fallow) for recovery because their self-mulching characteristics (pedoturbation) continuously brings subsoil to the surface. Nitrogen is normally deficient as well as phosphorus. Potassium content is variable.
The Vetiver System Compared with Banks, Waterways, and Static Measures of Stabilization.
Because these soils present unique engineering difficulties, due to their high linear extensibility, special designs for structures and buildings are necessary, but these generally fail to prevent structural damage to buildings, roads and irrigation schemes even when designed and implemented at great cost.
A small amount of rainfall as little as 6mm can make these soils impassable to all traffic. The sticky plastic nature of the soils causes them to pack up under wheels, animals feet, clog cultivation implements, once ‘adhered’ the clay is extremely difficult to dislodge.
Because of their high production potential much work has been done in the past to make better use of them, to control soil loss and runoff and the prevention of gullying, This effort has concentrated on static measures, soil banks (bunds), concrete, soil and wood structures or wide (10m) grass strips paired up with crop residues to prevent erosion. Most eventually fail, as static measures cannot withstand the heaving cracking, shrinking nature of these soils – houses have been destroyed, concrete irrigation turnouts and culverts have been upended, needing continual major maintenance at great cost, There seemed to be no answer to these problems until in the 1980’s we used the vetiver system on The World Bank funded Indian watershed projects.
The main reason vetiver hedges work for Vertisols, where bunds do not, is that the hedges move with the soil - their roots prevent breaching. They slow the runoff down, spread it out and give it a chance to soak in to the ground, conserving massive amounts of moisture essential for crop production. Bunds, if they don’t breach, pond the water in patches, and wet the field unevenly,
If one accesses http://www.vetiver.org/TVN_black_vertisols/index.htm one can make some comparisons that will bring home my point that vetiver hedges can enable the protection and better use of Vertisols including: increasing their cropping potential and crop yields in times of good rains and even poorly distributed rainfall; preventing crop loss due to lodging from flash floods; enabling double cropping with out the necessity of fallowing. Vetiver hedges require little to no costly maintenance and last for decades. Conservation banks on the other hand will not last for more than five years, and on black cotton soils, often not for more than one season if that long, before they need to be repaired or completely reconstructed at great cost.
Conclusions:
Vetiver hedges strategically placed on the Vertisol plains will make it possible to cultivate more land in these areas because of reduced ‘conservation’ needs. Vetiver hedges will strengthen drainage and irrigation ditches when planted along their banks. They will allow farmers to get on to their lands sooner after a rainfall event by spreading the runoff out giving it a chance to soak in to the ground and not ponding it.
The Vetiver System when applied to vertisols is cheap, dependable, sustainable. It enables the farmers on the black soil plains to prevent unnecessary runoff, store soil moisture and do away with fallow periods, and for the first time makes double cropping possible.
In the semi-arid tropics, vetiver hedges planted across the slope on the black soil plains is the best answer to bringing these soils under some means of control. Until now, the black soils have defied engineers and agriculturalists to the point where they have virtually given up on them. The area and production potential of these soils is too great to ignore.
John Greenfield
First let me name these soils so that we all know we are talking about the same thing. They are known as Vertisols; Chernozems; Gilgais; self mulching soils; self swallowing soils; black cotton soils; black cracking clays; vleis; wadi soils.
Global extent and location:
Vertisols occur principally in hot environments, in the semi arid tropics with marked alternating wet and dry seasons; they are generally found on sedimentary plains as the result of thousands of years eroding the clay content out of the surrounding hills. They can also be found on level land and in depressions. Smaller areas of vertisols are found on hill slopes and piedmont plains. Their natural climax vegetation is savannah grassland.
Vertisols cover an estimated 340 million hectares, or about 3% of the world’s cultivatable soils, and are found mainly in Africa; in the Sudan’s Gezira cotton fields and Southern black soil plains; in South Africa; Ethiopia; and Tanzania. In Asia; they are found extensively in the Indian Deccan Plateau; Vertisols cover large areas of Australia. There are vast areas of Vertisols in Russia, which are outside our area of interest being too cold for vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides).
Definition:
Vertisols owe their specific properties to the presence of swelling clay minerals, mainly montmorillonite. As a result of wetting and drying, massive expansion and contraction of the clay minerals takes place. Contraction leads to the formation of the wide and deep cracks that can be wide enough to make the terrain treacherous for animals. Surface material accumulates in these cracks during the dry season and is “swallowed” by the soil in the wet season, creating the ‘self mixing’ or ‘self mulching’ action of the vertisols.
The cracks close after rain when the clay minerals swell. During expansion of the clay minerals high pressures are developed within these soils, causing a characteristic soil structure with wedge shaped aggregates in the surface soil and ‘planar’ soil blocks in the subsoil. The slippage of one soil block over the other leads to the formation of typical polished surfaces known as “slickensides’ on the blocks’
This massive expansion and contraction can cause the formation of micro-topographic features known as “Gilgai”, a distinctive micro-relief of knolls and basins that develop by internal mass movements in the soil and heaving of the underlying material to the surface.
Main Production Constraints:
Vertisols are difficult to work, have a very hard consistency when dry, and very plastic and sticky when wet. Therefore the workability of the soil is often limited to very short periods of medium (optimal) water status.
Vertisols are imperfectly to poorly drained, leaching of soluble weathering products is limited, the contents of available calcium and magnesium are high and the pH is usually above 7. Once they have reached their field capacity, practically no water movement occurs, this is due to the very low hydraulic conductivity of a Vertisol. Flooding leading to crop damage can be a major problem in areas with higher rainfall. Surface water may be drained by open drains, but ‘mole’ drainage is virtually impossible. ‘Flash flood’ waters can cause irreversible crop lodging leading to rotting of the lodged crop.
Vertisols are chemically rich and are capable of sustaining continuous cropping. They do not necessarily require a rest period (fallow) for recovery because their self-mulching characteristics (pedoturbation) continuously brings subsoil to the surface. Nitrogen is normally deficient as well as phosphorus. Potassium content is variable.
The Vetiver System Compared with Banks, Waterways, and Static Measures of Stabilization.
Because these soils present unique engineering difficulties, due to their high linear extensibility, special designs for structures and buildings are necessary, but these generally fail to prevent structural damage to buildings, roads and irrigation schemes even when designed and implemented at great cost.
A small amount of rainfall as little as 6mm can make these soils impassable to all traffic. The sticky plastic nature of the soils causes them to pack up under wheels, animals feet, clog cultivation implements, once ‘adhered’ the clay is extremely difficult to dislodge.
Because of their high production potential much work has been done in the past to make better use of them, to control soil loss and runoff and the prevention of gullying, This effort has concentrated on static measures, soil banks (bunds), concrete, soil and wood structures or wide (10m) grass strips paired up with crop residues to prevent erosion. Most eventually fail, as static measures cannot withstand the heaving cracking, shrinking nature of these soils – houses have been destroyed, concrete irrigation turnouts and culverts have been upended, needing continual major maintenance at great cost, There seemed to be no answer to these problems until in the 1980’s we used the vetiver system on The World Bank funded Indian watershed projects.
The main reason vetiver hedges work for Vertisols, where bunds do not, is that the hedges move with the soil - their roots prevent breaching. They slow the runoff down, spread it out and give it a chance to soak in to the ground, conserving massive amounts of moisture essential for crop production. Bunds, if they don’t breach, pond the water in patches, and wet the field unevenly,
If one accesses http://www.vetiver.org/TVN_black_vertisols/index.htm one can make some comparisons that will bring home my point that vetiver hedges can enable the protection and better use of Vertisols including: increasing their cropping potential and crop yields in times of good rains and even poorly distributed rainfall; preventing crop loss due to lodging from flash floods; enabling double cropping with out the necessity of fallowing. Vetiver hedges require little to no costly maintenance and last for decades. Conservation banks on the other hand will not last for more than five years, and on black cotton soils, often not for more than one season if that long, before they need to be repaired or completely reconstructed at great cost.
Conclusions:
Vetiver hedges strategically placed on the Vertisol plains will make it possible to cultivate more land in these areas because of reduced ‘conservation’ needs. Vetiver hedges will strengthen drainage and irrigation ditches when planted along their banks. They will allow farmers to get on to their lands sooner after a rainfall event by spreading the runoff out giving it a chance to soak in to the ground and not ponding it.
The Vetiver System when applied to vertisols is cheap, dependable, sustainable. It enables the farmers on the black soil plains to prevent unnecessary runoff, store soil moisture and do away with fallow periods, and for the first time makes double cropping possible.
In the semi-arid tropics, vetiver hedges planted across the slope on the black soil plains is the best answer to bringing these soils under some means of control. Until now, the black soils have defied engineers and agriculturalists to the point where they have virtually given up on them. The area and production potential of these soils is too great to ignore.
John Greenfield
Vetiver Grass and Pest Control
We know that vetiver hedges are one of the most effective measures for reducing sediment flows from leaving farm land and other areas. These same hedgerows also effectively act as rainfall run off “spreaders”, spreading out concentrated water flows, thus acting as a form of “irrigation” to plants that otherwise might not get their fair share of water. However most small farmers don’t often see the economic connections from these benefits. Now we have rediscovered an old attribute of vetiver, long forgotten, that could have real and visible economic benefits to farmers – vetiver’s ability to interact with pests.
In the C19th growers of vetiver in St. Tammany Parish of Louisana, USA used it as a hedge and would dig the root for use in sachets as a moth repellant; also when the leaves and roots were ground up and used as a mulch for strawberries the mulch effectively controlled incidence of white fly. More recently a commercial farmer from Zambia, Dereck Jacobi wrote :
“We have noted the control of maize stalkborer in fields of Baby Corn as well as control of leafminers in peas and in our coffee blocks. Vetiver acts as a trap crop for the stalkborer moth when it lays its eggs, whereas with the leafminer it seems that the beneficial wasp population takes care of the leafminers.” The kill rate in coffee was almost 100%, and in the peas out of a sample of 50 infected leaves they found only 2 live leaf miners.
Dereck Jacobi has been working with Professor Johnnie van den Berg of the School of Environmental Sciences and Development, North West University (Potchefstroom Campus), South Africa. Prof. Van den Berg has undertaken serious research on vetiver’s impact on stalk borer (Chilo partellus) and has now confirmed and quantified Jacobi’s observations. Studies were conducted to determine preference of female moths for vetiver
grass compared to maize and to determine the suitability of vetiver, Napier grass and maize for survival of stem borer larvae. Results indicated that vetiver grass was highly preferred for oviposition, but that larval survival on vetiver grass was extremely low. Thus, vetiver has potential as trap crop component of an overall “push-pull” strategy to concentrate C. partellus oviposition away from the maize crop and reduce subsequent population development. This technology may also have application in rice pest management. (Currently controlled observations of the impact of stem borer in rice are about to commence in Vietnam.)
In subsequent field scale studies van den Berg reports “Large scale field experiments showed that vetiver really does work as trap crop for Chilo partellus under field conditions. Other field work showed that the vetiver barrier around the maize acts as a reservoir for beneficial insects that attack crop pests in maize. We observed a move of beneficial insects (predators and parasites of pests) from maize towards vetiver when it became winter and the maize crop died. We are now waiting for spring to monitor if and when they move back. We will then be able to see if vetiver can be said to be a reservoir and refuge for beneficial insects. We have done many surveys and samples here and have not come across any pests of vetiver. One unidentified stem borer was found where vetiver was used for soil stabilization in a mountain pass but it was not important”.
These results have tremendous implication for farmers and the environment. Vetiver Systems with one stroke can, on a farm, reduce crop damage, reduce the use and cost of pesticides, and do its basic job of soil erosion control. In addition the bi-product use of vetiver for handicrafts, mulch, thatch, fodder, and fuel are all there for the taking! What a plant!
If readers want to contact Prof Van den Berg he is available at: DRKJVDB@puknet.puk.ac.za.
Dick Grimshaw.
In the C19th growers of vetiver in St. Tammany Parish of Louisana, USA used it as a hedge and would dig the root for use in sachets as a moth repellant; also when the leaves and roots were ground up and used as a mulch for strawberries the mulch effectively controlled incidence of white fly. More recently a commercial farmer from Zambia, Dereck Jacobi wrote :
“We have noted the control of maize stalkborer in fields of Baby Corn as well as control of leafminers in peas and in our coffee blocks. Vetiver acts as a trap crop for the stalkborer moth when it lays its eggs, whereas with the leafminer it seems that the beneficial wasp population takes care of the leafminers.” The kill rate in coffee was almost 100%, and in the peas out of a sample of 50 infected leaves they found only 2 live leaf miners.
Dereck Jacobi has been working with Professor Johnnie van den Berg of the School of Environmental Sciences and Development, North West University (Potchefstroom Campus), South Africa. Prof. Van den Berg has undertaken serious research on vetiver’s impact on stalk borer (Chilo partellus) and has now confirmed and quantified Jacobi’s observations. Studies were conducted to determine preference of female moths for vetiver
grass compared to maize and to determine the suitability of vetiver, Napier grass and maize for survival of stem borer larvae. Results indicated that vetiver grass was highly preferred for oviposition, but that larval survival on vetiver grass was extremely low. Thus, vetiver has potential as trap crop component of an overall “push-pull” strategy to concentrate C. partellus oviposition away from the maize crop and reduce subsequent population development. This technology may also have application in rice pest management. (Currently controlled observations of the impact of stem borer in rice are about to commence in Vietnam.)
In subsequent field scale studies van den Berg reports “Large scale field experiments showed that vetiver really does work as trap crop for Chilo partellus under field conditions. Other field work showed that the vetiver barrier around the maize acts as a reservoir for beneficial insects that attack crop pests in maize. We observed a move of beneficial insects (predators and parasites of pests) from maize towards vetiver when it became winter and the maize crop died. We are now waiting for spring to monitor if and when they move back. We will then be able to see if vetiver can be said to be a reservoir and refuge for beneficial insects. We have done many surveys and samples here and have not come across any pests of vetiver. One unidentified stem borer was found where vetiver was used for soil stabilization in a mountain pass but it was not important”.
These results have tremendous implication for farmers and the environment. Vetiver Systems with one stroke can, on a farm, reduce crop damage, reduce the use and cost of pesticides, and do its basic job of soil erosion control. In addition the bi-product use of vetiver for handicrafts, mulch, thatch, fodder, and fuel are all there for the taking! What a plant!
If readers want to contact Prof Van den Berg he is available at: DRKJVDB@puknet.puk.ac.za.
Dick Grimshaw.
Vetiver Grass – “The Community Plant”
This year, from October 22 – 26, the Fourth International Conference on Vetiver (ICV4) will be held in Caracas, Venezuela, and will have the theme “Vetiver and People”. This is actually a rather good name as Vetiver Grass is the “People’s Grass”, and has found to be very acceptable to communities when the latter have been properly educated about its application and uses. In particular rural communities can use vetiver for, amongst other purposes: soil and water conservation, house plot protection, village road stabilization, village land reclamation, land slip prevention, boundary markers and dividers between closely spaced houses, water supply protection and water quality improvement, village pond purifier, house by house sewage treatment, mulch, thatch, medicinal application, drinking water purifier, termite excluder, livestock forage, and material for handicrafts. A pretty good list – a plant of many purposes for all people at a very low cost, and basically an easy to understand technology.
A couple of soil related examples came to my attention recently that I would like to share with you.
Gulley – ravine rehabilitation and control. There are many parts of the tropics where gullies are so large that they consume houses in the relentless erosion process that creates them. There are huge gullies in eastern Nigeria, Cameroon and the Congo, particular where the soils are of light and alluvial origin. These gullies that destroy property and result in loss of land can be rehabilitated and stabilized by the Vetiver System. Recent experience under a USAID development project in the Congo (DR) is a good example. A very large gully was cutting back into a Kikwit Town, houses were at risk and following meetings with the villagers the community as a whole took action. The community created its own vetiver nursery, reshaped the gully and then planted vetiver grass. Two months after planting the vetiver is growing well. The Vetiver Network was actively involved with this project
Community Rehabilitation in East Bali, Indonesia. The Vetiver System has been instrumental in changing the lives of 11,500 impoverished, undernourished, illiterate adults and children in the barren mountains of East Bali over the past 8 years. The main thrust was to educate children through better schools to go back to their parents and teach them what they had learned at school about vetiver and other agricultural and health issues and remedies. Working with these communities the NGO responsible for the project used vetiver for a wide range of uses:
Organic gardens protected by well managed vetiver (left), a spring head stabilized with vetiver (center), children and their families compete to see who can plant the best “technical” row of vetiver (right).
As a result of this program by the Ekoturin Foundation, Bali, Indonesia, 20 km of roads were community constructed and stabilized with vetiver allowing 2500 familes to travel for the first time to markets and other services including health; 600 children attended the schools and were educated in organic farming and the use of the Vetiver System; the Vetiver System enabled nutrious organic vegetables to be grown by 2500 familes – malnutrition almost eliminated; child mortality (before 1 year old) was reduced from 25% to near 0%; palpable goitre in children reduced from 84% to less than 20%; and 1,300 families have safe and clean drinking water. The power of Vetiver!! There are many other examples of communities being involved with the Vetiver System. I believe it provides a technical focus for the community, each person being able to use vetiver for the purpose best suited to his or her needs; it is easy to understand, it is low cost, and does not need government support or sanction.
Dick Grimshaw
A couple of soil related examples came to my attention recently that I would like to share with you.
Gulley – ravine rehabilitation and control. There are many parts of the tropics where gullies are so large that they consume houses in the relentless erosion process that creates them. There are huge gullies in eastern Nigeria, Cameroon and the Congo, particular where the soils are of light and alluvial origin. These gullies that destroy property and result in loss of land can be rehabilitated and stabilized by the Vetiver System. Recent experience under a USAID development project in the Congo (DR) is a good example. A very large gully was cutting back into a Kikwit Town, houses were at risk and following meetings with the villagers the community as a whole took action. The community created its own vetiver nursery, reshaped the gully and then planted vetiver grass. Two months after planting the vetiver is growing well. The Vetiver Network was actively involved with this project
Community Rehabilitation in East Bali, Indonesia. The Vetiver System has been instrumental in changing the lives of 11,500 impoverished, undernourished, illiterate adults and children in the barren mountains of East Bali over the past 8 years. The main thrust was to educate children through better schools to go back to their parents and teach them what they had learned at school about vetiver and other agricultural and health issues and remedies. Working with these communities the NGO responsible for the project used vetiver for a wide range of uses:
Organic gardens protected by well managed vetiver (left), a spring head stabilized with vetiver (center), children and their families compete to see who can plant the best “technical” row of vetiver (right).
As a result of this program by the Ekoturin Foundation, Bali, Indonesia, 20 km of roads were community constructed and stabilized with vetiver allowing 2500 familes to travel for the first time to markets and other services including health; 600 children attended the schools and were educated in organic farming and the use of the Vetiver System; the Vetiver System enabled nutrious organic vegetables to be grown by 2500 familes – malnutrition almost eliminated; child mortality (before 1 year old) was reduced from 25% to near 0%; palpable goitre in children reduced from 84% to less than 20%; and 1,300 families have safe and clean drinking water. The power of Vetiver!! There are many other examples of communities being involved with the Vetiver System. I believe it provides a technical focus for the community, each person being able to use vetiver for the purpose best suited to his or her needs; it is easy to understand, it is low cost, and does not need government support or sanction.
Dick Grimshaw
Vetiver and its Mitigation of the Impact of Storms.
I intended to write about vetiver and its use in pest control, but with the havoc caused by the recent hurricanes and tropical storms along the US Gulf Coast and the less news worthy typhoons that have walloped Vietnam (the worst in 60 years), China and other parts of south east Asia this year, I thought I would once again bring to your attention vetiver’s unique ability to substantially reduce the damage to land and structures caused by these extreme events before the disasters fade from short term memory!
Here is a quote from Tran Tan Van of Vietnam “We have just received a letter from Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien, Chairman of the District, praising the use of Vetiver System. He confirmed that the sea dyke system of the district was heavily damaged, broken at six sections, totaling 1750 m. Due to water over topping many sections that even though well protected with rock wall on the outside were heavily damaged on the unprotected inner side. Mr. Hien, however, confirmed that those sections with VS planted on the inner face of the dyke remained stable. Mr. Hien, has asked for more planting material for the inner face of the dykes”.
The damage to the sea dykes in Vietnam sounds uncannily like what we understood happened to some of the levees at New Orleans.
Also from Vietnam we have seen the impact of vetiver for stabilizing embankments and river banks against flood erosion.
Below: flooding river creates no damage to river bank planted with vetiver
Vetiver works well in mitigating the impact of large quantities of moving water because (a) it absorbs the shock and pounding of wave action (b) it significantly reduces the impact of the erosive power of storm water, and (c) its roots increase the shear strength of soil and therefore reduces the chance of slippage.
Recently I received from Claudio Zarotti of Italy an interesting interactive model that calculates (using different variables – soil type, slope, climate) improved shear strength of soil when protected by vetiver. The Italian version is downloadable from http://www.vetiver.it/. An English version can be obtained via email to: info@vetiver.it
An interesting aspect from Vietnam experience is that where vetiver has been planted for more than 3 years on dykes and embankments it has also acted as a pioneer plant that has allowed the introduction of bamboo and other trees and shrubs that were impossible to establish in the absence of vetiver. This confirms similar experience elsewhere in China and Thailand.
I continue to be amazed at what the Vetiver System can do to help mitigate damage by extreme storms, and I continue to be just as much amazed by the fact that many national and local authorities either know nothing about the technology, or if they do know about it make no effort to use it. Regretfully the latter is often due to inaction by the scientific community. The facts are published (http://www.vetiver.org); those of you who read this newsletter would help reduce the terrible damage inflicted by extreme weather events if you notified your colleagues and local/national authorities and encourage them to test and use VS under local conditions. This is particularly important in those areas of the world subject to tropical storms, cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons. We are told that these extreme events will become more frequent and violent – more reason to promote vetiver!
Dick Grimshaw.
Here is a quote from Tran Tan Van of Vietnam “We have just received a letter from Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien, Chairman of the District, praising the use of Vetiver System. He confirmed that the sea dyke system of the district was heavily damaged, broken at six sections, totaling 1750 m. Due to water over topping many sections that even though well protected with rock wall on the outside were heavily damaged on the unprotected inner side. Mr. Hien, however, confirmed that those sections with VS planted on the inner face of the dyke remained stable. Mr. Hien, has asked for more planting material for the inner face of the dykes”.
The damage to the sea dykes in Vietnam sounds uncannily like what we understood happened to some of the levees at New Orleans.
Also from Vietnam we have seen the impact of vetiver for stabilizing embankments and river banks against flood erosion.
Below: flooding river creates no damage to river bank planted with vetiver
Vetiver works well in mitigating the impact of large quantities of moving water because (a) it absorbs the shock and pounding of wave action (b) it significantly reduces the impact of the erosive power of storm water, and (c) its roots increase the shear strength of soil and therefore reduces the chance of slippage.
Recently I received from Claudio Zarotti of Italy an interesting interactive model that calculates (using different variables – soil type, slope, climate) improved shear strength of soil when protected by vetiver. The Italian version is downloadable from http://www.vetiver.it/. An English version can be obtained via email to: info@vetiver.it
An interesting aspect from Vietnam experience is that where vetiver has been planted for more than 3 years on dykes and embankments it has also acted as a pioneer plant that has allowed the introduction of bamboo and other trees and shrubs that were impossible to establish in the absence of vetiver. This confirms similar experience elsewhere in China and Thailand.
I continue to be amazed at what the Vetiver System can do to help mitigate damage by extreme storms, and I continue to be just as much amazed by the fact that many national and local authorities either know nothing about the technology, or if they do know about it make no effort to use it. Regretfully the latter is often due to inaction by the scientific community. The facts are published (http://www.vetiver.org); those of you who read this newsletter would help reduce the terrible damage inflicted by extreme weather events if you notified your colleagues and local/national authorities and encourage them to test and use VS under local conditions. This is particularly important in those areas of the world subject to tropical storms, cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons. We are told that these extreme events will become more frequent and violent – more reason to promote vetiver!
Dick Grimshaw.
Vetiver for the Mitigation of Disaster Impacts from Storm Events.
“Catastrophic floods and landslides occurred throughout the region. When it was over, some 9,200 people had died; almost 270,000 homes were lost; 21,325 miles of roads and 335 bridges were destroyed. Immediately after the storm, some 2,000,000 people were pushed out of their homes. Economic losses were estimated at US$ 6 billion”.
Except for the lower fatalities this sounds like the impact of the notorious December 2004 tsunami. It was not - it was 1998’s Hurricane MITCH – a bad one
Tsunamis are relatively rare, cyclones/typhoons/hurricanes and other major rainfall storms are not. These heavy and intense rainfall occurrences cause significant and costly damage to land, water, infrastructure and people. They are nearly always catastrophic, and become more so as population and landuse pressures increase. Unlike tsunamis damage from such storms is not just confined to the near sea shore areas, but also far inland where the heavy rain damages watersheds and infrastructure, and concentrated water flows pour down into lower catchments and eventually the sea bringing damage and powerful water and sediment flows. There are many measures that can be used to mitigate such damage in advance, however the Vetiver System, based on the use of vetiver grass hedgerows, is an increasingly important and documented technology that is well suited for the purpose.
To reduce future damage from extreme flooding planners and administrators should give special attention to: (i) ensuring proper design and construction of transportation infrastructure; (ii) ensuring the adequate protection and proper maintenance of key roads and access points; (iii) assisting rural households to adequately protect their production systems and housing sites and (iv) in coastal and low lying areas of countries such as India and Bangladesh stabilize and protect flood embankments and irrigation and drainage systems from extreme flooding events. Vetiver grass technology could be applied to all of the above including:
(i) stabilizing soil and slopes. vetiver’s root system is excellent for stabilizing soils. Because of its huge deeply penetrating root mass (particularly in the first meter) and high root tensile strength (1/6 the strength of mild steel – 75Mpa) greatly increases soil shear strength (by as much as 40%). Vetiver has the added advantage of light weight and low wind profile thus avoiding problems associated with greater stress loading on an unstable slope;
(ii) trapping sediments – evidence from many countries all concur on the effectiveness of vetiver hedges to trap sediments. Recent studies in Honduras showed that traditional slash-and-burn sites average 92 tons/ha/year of soil loss compared to 43 tons/ha/yr with crop residues and a "green mulch" cover crop compared to 0.9 tons/ha/year on sites with vetiver grass barriers and the crop residue/mulch. In Colombia soil loss was reduced from 143 tons per ha on bare land to 1.3 tons when protected by vetiver;
(iii) reducing runoff velocities - flume studies in the USA and Australia have shown vetiver hedges to be very effective at reducing total head (flow depth and velocity) of water flows. The hedge’s effectiveness at doing so increases with hedge thickness (maturity). It appears that mature hedges can be quite effective at reducing runoff velocities of flows less than 20cm in depth, moderately effective with flows up to 35 or 40 cm, and have some impact on flows up to possibly 60 to 80cm; and
(iv) protecting hard structure/soil interface interfaces - experience has shown that vetiver hedges are excellent at protecting the often vulnerable interface between soil and hard structures. It is here that runoff is concentrated, causing soil to be scoured away. Oftentimes, this is how structures begin to be undermined, leading to the eventual failure of the structure (e.g., gabions along stream channels, bridge footings and ’wings’ of approaches, concrete drainage channels along roads, etc.).
A 2 meter flow of flood water passed over this “Irish Crossing’ on a farm in Australia. Vetiver hedgerows were planted upstream and adjacent to the crossing, and as a result the high velocity flood water was unable to undercut and break up the concrete (in previous floods, without vetiver protection the crossing was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. Photo by Paul Truong
Although vetiver has been termed by some as a ‘miracle grass’ it will not save or protect a bad design, and it has to be applied correctly or it will not work. In the latter case the design of layout and purpose of use has to be carefully considered and applied. Because of vetiver’s many different applications over a wide range of uses we now refer to the combined applications as the Vetiver System.
Following Hurricane Mitch the Vetiver System has been used extensively in Central America for infrastructure and farm land rehabilitation. It is also being used in many other countries including the US – southern California - for the stabilization of slipping slopes.
It has also been used for disaster mitigation in many other countries where extreme storm events occur including: Bangladesh, China, Madagascar, Philippines, and Vietnam
The above and more related information is documented at http://www.vetiver.org. My next article, I promise, will be pure erosion control – how vetiver can be used to protect the tropical black cotton soils.
Dick Grimshaw
Except for the lower fatalities this sounds like the impact of the notorious December 2004 tsunami. It was not - it was 1998’s Hurricane MITCH – a bad one
Tsunamis are relatively rare, cyclones/typhoons/hurricanes and other major rainfall storms are not. These heavy and intense rainfall occurrences cause significant and costly damage to land, water, infrastructure and people. They are nearly always catastrophic, and become more so as population and landuse pressures increase. Unlike tsunamis damage from such storms is not just confined to the near sea shore areas, but also far inland where the heavy rain damages watersheds and infrastructure, and concentrated water flows pour down into lower catchments and eventually the sea bringing damage and powerful water and sediment flows. There are many measures that can be used to mitigate such damage in advance, however the Vetiver System, based on the use of vetiver grass hedgerows, is an increasingly important and documented technology that is well suited for the purpose.
To reduce future damage from extreme flooding planners and administrators should give special attention to: (i) ensuring proper design and construction of transportation infrastructure; (ii) ensuring the adequate protection and proper maintenance of key roads and access points; (iii) assisting rural households to adequately protect their production systems and housing sites and (iv) in coastal and low lying areas of countries such as India and Bangladesh stabilize and protect flood embankments and irrigation and drainage systems from extreme flooding events. Vetiver grass technology could be applied to all of the above including:
(i) stabilizing soil and slopes. vetiver’s root system is excellent for stabilizing soils. Because of its huge deeply penetrating root mass (particularly in the first meter) and high root tensile strength (1/6 the strength of mild steel – 75Mpa) greatly increases soil shear strength (by as much as 40%). Vetiver has the added advantage of light weight and low wind profile thus avoiding problems associated with greater stress loading on an unstable slope;
(ii) trapping sediments – evidence from many countries all concur on the effectiveness of vetiver hedges to trap sediments. Recent studies in Honduras showed that traditional slash-and-burn sites average 92 tons/ha/year of soil loss compared to 43 tons/ha/yr with crop residues and a "green mulch" cover crop compared to 0.9 tons/ha/year on sites with vetiver grass barriers and the crop residue/mulch. In Colombia soil loss was reduced from 143 tons per ha on bare land to 1.3 tons when protected by vetiver;
(iii) reducing runoff velocities - flume studies in the USA and Australia have shown vetiver hedges to be very effective at reducing total head (flow depth and velocity) of water flows. The hedge’s effectiveness at doing so increases with hedge thickness (maturity). It appears that mature hedges can be quite effective at reducing runoff velocities of flows less than 20cm in depth, moderately effective with flows up to 35 or 40 cm, and have some impact on flows up to possibly 60 to 80cm; and
(iv) protecting hard structure/soil interface interfaces - experience has shown that vetiver hedges are excellent at protecting the often vulnerable interface between soil and hard structures. It is here that runoff is concentrated, causing soil to be scoured away. Oftentimes, this is how structures begin to be undermined, leading to the eventual failure of the structure (e.g., gabions along stream channels, bridge footings and ’wings’ of approaches, concrete drainage channels along roads, etc.).
A 2 meter flow of flood water passed over this “Irish Crossing’ on a farm in Australia. Vetiver hedgerows were planted upstream and adjacent to the crossing, and as a result the high velocity flood water was unable to undercut and break up the concrete (in previous floods, without vetiver protection the crossing was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. Photo by Paul Truong
Although vetiver has been termed by some as a ‘miracle grass’ it will not save or protect a bad design, and it has to be applied correctly or it will not work. In the latter case the design of layout and purpose of use has to be carefully considered and applied. Because of vetiver’s many different applications over a wide range of uses we now refer to the combined applications as the Vetiver System.
Following Hurricane Mitch the Vetiver System has been used extensively in Central America for infrastructure and farm land rehabilitation. It is also being used in many other countries including the US – southern California - for the stabilization of slipping slopes.
It has also been used for disaster mitigation in many other countries where extreme storm events occur including: Bangladesh, China, Madagascar, Philippines, and Vietnam
The above and more related information is documented at http://www.vetiver.org. My next article, I promise, will be pure erosion control – how vetiver can be used to protect the tropical black cotton soils.
Dick Grimshaw
Vetiver System And Its Application For Treatment Of Sewage Effluent
I participate in a number of Internet discussion groups. Recently questions were raised as to the problems caused by seepage from overfull household sewage tanks polluting the adjacent beaches on Caribbean Islands. Raw sewage on the rampage, whether from overfull sewage tanks, improperly operated public sewage systems, or from sewage filled drains is often a problem in poorer countries and contributes to health and other problems. Vetiver grass, can in some instances be used, very effectively as a mitigation technology. In its most simplest form it can be planted as a mini wetland at the outlet end of a private household sewage tank to dry up excess seepage, and on a larger and more complex scale it can form the basis of for a constructed wetland as a means to finally “clean” the output of public sewage plants.
In Australia practical demonstration of both has shown very good results.
It has been used at Beelarong, Queensland, to “dry up” seepage and remove pollutants from small septic systems (documented at: http://www.vetiver.com/AUS-Beelarong.pdf). In summary: "Results demonstrated that "Monto" Vetiver grass is very effective in treating Beelarong blackwater in an evapotranspiration bed. Total nitrogen pre-treatment was 95 mg/L compared to 16 mg/L after two rows of Vetiver and 1.2 mg/L after five rows of Vetiver. Faecal coliforms pre-treatment were 500 organisms/100mL and post-treatment approximately 50 organisms/ 100 mL in both wells. Total phosphorus was low pre-Vetiver treatment at 1.3 mg/L but declined further with Vetiver treatment." This was achieved with only 200 plants.
Another paper, http://www.vetiver.com/AUS_ekeshire01.pdf describes how vetiver has been used for larger sewage treatment programs. In all cases vetiver reduces the levels of nitrates, phosphates and BODs very significantly. Note how as vetiver continues to develop its root system in the second year its pollution mitigation impact more than doubles.
Some of you may be asking why introduce this topic to this newsletter. There are three good reasons: (1) vetiver hedgerows apart from reducing sewage pollution is reducing the erosive force of outflows from these dysfunctional sewage systems and at the same time stabilizing the area of use; (2) vetiver is removing pollutants before they can pollute downs stream resources; and (3) it is my firm belief that as soil conservationists we need to look beyond the narrowness of our science and utilize good soil conservation practice techniques for other purposes when and where applicable.
The Vetiver System is in many ways unique in that it has such a wide range of applications across many sectors.
Dick Grimshaw
In Australia practical demonstration of both has shown very good results.
It has been used at Beelarong, Queensland, to “dry up” seepage and remove pollutants from small septic systems (documented at: http://www.vetiver.com/AUS-Beelarong.pdf). In summary: "Results demonstrated that "Monto" Vetiver grass is very effective in treating Beelarong blackwater in an evapotranspiration bed. Total nitrogen pre-treatment was 95 mg/L compared to 16 mg/L after two rows of Vetiver and 1.2 mg/L after five rows of Vetiver. Faecal coliforms pre-treatment were 500 organisms/100mL and post-treatment approximately 50 organisms/ 100 mL in both wells. Total phosphorus was low pre-Vetiver treatment at 1.3 mg/L but declined further with Vetiver treatment." This was achieved with only 200 plants.
Another paper, http://www.vetiver.com/AUS_ekeshire01.pdf describes how vetiver has been used for larger sewage treatment programs. In all cases vetiver reduces the levels of nitrates, phosphates and BODs very significantly. Note how as vetiver continues to develop its root system in the second year its pollution mitigation impact more than doubles.
Some of you may be asking why introduce this topic to this newsletter. There are three good reasons: (1) vetiver hedgerows apart from reducing sewage pollution is reducing the erosive force of outflows from these dysfunctional sewage systems and at the same time stabilizing the area of use; (2) vetiver is removing pollutants before they can pollute downs stream resources; and (3) it is my firm belief that as soil conservationists we need to look beyond the narrowness of our science and utilize good soil conservation practice techniques for other purposes when and where applicable.
The Vetiver System is in many ways unique in that it has such a wide range of applications across many sectors.
Dick Grimshaw
The Vetiver System – Land Stabilization and Energy Production
Late this summer two events are impressed on my mind – the series of catastrophic hurricanes that have severely damaged many Caribbean islands and some of the Gulf states of the USA, and the high price of oil. Both phenomena appear to stay. There are many small tropical nations, particularly island nations, whose infrastructure and social fabric will be severely affected by future storms and floods; and whose economies will be imperiled by high energy costs. The Vetiver System could be used to mitigate against both of these problems.
Severe tropical storms and hurricanes destroy infrastructure, induce landslides and other mass sediment flows; resulting in human misery, soil loss, water pollution and damage to coastal marine life. The Vetiver System has proven its ability to significantly lessen tropical storm impact. The most telling evidence was recorded in El Salvador, at the time of Hurricane Mitch (1998), where hundreds of kilometers of roads protected by the Vetiver System were undamaged, and in Honduras vetiver protected farmland survived with minimum soil loss. Since that time most Central American countries are starting to protect their infrastructure and farm lands using the Vetiver System. Relevant papers can be found at: http://www.vetiver.com/LAVN_disaster.htm and http://www.vetiver.com/HON_mitch1.htm.
Elsewhere in Thailand, south China, Philippines, Madagascar (see http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0831_040831_supergrass.html) and Malaysia, where hurricanes (typhoons) and tropical storms are a fairly frequent occurrence, major infrastructure has been very effectively protected, and at low cost, by the Vetiver System. This is because vetiver grass increases the shear strength of soil. Research by Diti Hengchaovanich and others demonstrates a mean vetiver root tensile strength of 75 Mpa (equivalent to 1/6 of the tensile strength of mild steel), compared to say willow (Salix sp) roots of the same size at 9-36 Mpa. As a result, the shear strength of soil is improved, quote: ”Moreover, because of its dense and massive root system, underground, it offers better shear strength increase per unit fibre concentration (i.e. 6 ~19 kPa per kg of root per m3 of soil) compared to 3.2 ~3.7 kPa/kg per m3 of soil for tree roots”. I recommend you read “15 Years Of Bio Engineering In The Wet Tropics” at: http://www.vetiver.com/ENG_bioengineeringmal.htm for further information relating to the impact of vetiver grass on slope stabilization.
The high cost of crude oil, currently near US$50 per barrel, is likely to have a profound impact on small nations. The “poor” are likely to accelerate the removal of trees and shrubs for fuel purposes unless some alternative energy source can be created. In the hot wet tropics vetiver grass biomass production is extremely high. Yields of 80 –100 tons /ha of dry matter per year have been recorded. Research in Queensland, Australia supports this potential yield data. See “Modelling Monto Vetiver Growth and Nutrient Uptake for Effluent Irrigation Schemes” by Alison Vieritz, Paul Truong, Ted Gardner, and Cameron Smeal at www.vetiver.com/ICV3-Proceedings/AUS_MEDLI.pdf. Vetiver grass, a C4, has a high Radiation Use Efficiency in the order of 18Kg/ha per MJ/m2. This is comparable to that of sugar cane, and is four times higher than C3 grasses such as Bermuda grass.
The calorific value of fuel oil is about 43 GJ per tonne, four times that of vetiver grass. The energy from an average of 70 tonnes of vetiver dry matter/ha/year would be equivalent to 17.5 tons of crude oil, at US$40 per barrel (6.3 barrels per tonne) the per ha value would be $4410 - - Certainly worth investigating. The technology for biomass conversion to electrical energy is well known.
Many of the worlds degenerated land areas, particularly saline areas caused by bad irrigation and drainage practices could be used for vetiver production, thus not only could vetiver produce energy, but it could also be used for land reclamation (desalinization). Note that because of vetiver’s massive root system it could take advantage of the high water tables often associated with salinization and would also be able to tap, at depth, nutrients that are generally not available to shallower rooted plants. Finally the vetiver root mass is an ideal CO2 sink and any large “vetiver for energy program” might be able to take advantage of current “Carbon exchange schemes”. See The Global Hub for Carbon Commerce at http://www.co2e.com/trading/MarketHistory.asp.
Dick Grimshaw
Severe tropical storms and hurricanes destroy infrastructure, induce landslides and other mass sediment flows; resulting in human misery, soil loss, water pollution and damage to coastal marine life. The Vetiver System has proven its ability to significantly lessen tropical storm impact. The most telling evidence was recorded in El Salvador, at the time of Hurricane Mitch (1998), where hundreds of kilometers of roads protected by the Vetiver System were undamaged, and in Honduras vetiver protected farmland survived with minimum soil loss. Since that time most Central American countries are starting to protect their infrastructure and farm lands using the Vetiver System. Relevant papers can be found at: http://www.vetiver.com/LAVN_disaster.htm and http://www.vetiver.com/HON_mitch1.htm.
Elsewhere in Thailand, south China, Philippines, Madagascar (see http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0831_040831_supergrass.html) and Malaysia, where hurricanes (typhoons) and tropical storms are a fairly frequent occurrence, major infrastructure has been very effectively protected, and at low cost, by the Vetiver System. This is because vetiver grass increases the shear strength of soil. Research by Diti Hengchaovanich and others demonstrates a mean vetiver root tensile strength of 75 Mpa (equivalent to 1/6 of the tensile strength of mild steel), compared to say willow (Salix sp) roots of the same size at 9-36 Mpa. As a result, the shear strength of soil is improved, quote: ”Moreover, because of its dense and massive root system, underground, it offers better shear strength increase per unit fibre concentration (i.e. 6 ~19 kPa per kg of root per m3 of soil) compared to 3.2 ~3.7 kPa/kg per m3 of soil for tree roots”. I recommend you read “15 Years Of Bio Engineering In The Wet Tropics” at: http://www.vetiver.com/ENG_bioengineeringmal.htm for further information relating to the impact of vetiver grass on slope stabilization.
The high cost of crude oil, currently near US$50 per barrel, is likely to have a profound impact on small nations. The “poor” are likely to accelerate the removal of trees and shrubs for fuel purposes unless some alternative energy source can be created. In the hot wet tropics vetiver grass biomass production is extremely high. Yields of 80 –100 tons /ha of dry matter per year have been recorded. Research in Queensland, Australia supports this potential yield data. See “Modelling Monto Vetiver Growth and Nutrient Uptake for Effluent Irrigation Schemes” by Alison Vieritz, Paul Truong, Ted Gardner, and Cameron Smeal at www.vetiver.com/ICV3-Proceedings/AUS_MEDLI.pdf. Vetiver grass, a C4, has a high Radiation Use Efficiency in the order of 18Kg/ha per MJ/m2. This is comparable to that of sugar cane, and is four times higher than C3 grasses such as Bermuda grass.
The calorific value of fuel oil is about 43 GJ per tonne, four times that of vetiver grass. The energy from an average of 70 tonnes of vetiver dry matter/ha/year would be equivalent to 17.5 tons of crude oil, at US$40 per barrel (6.3 barrels per tonne) the per ha value would be $4410 - - Certainly worth investigating. The technology for biomass conversion to electrical energy is well known.
Many of the worlds degenerated land areas, particularly saline areas caused by bad irrigation and drainage practices could be used for vetiver production, thus not only could vetiver produce energy, but it could also be used for land reclamation (desalinization). Note that because of vetiver’s massive root system it could take advantage of the high water tables often associated with salinization and would also be able to tap, at depth, nutrients that are generally not available to shallower rooted plants. Finally the vetiver root mass is an ideal CO2 sink and any large “vetiver for energy program” might be able to take advantage of current “Carbon exchange schemes”. See The Global Hub for Carbon Commerce at http://www.co2e.com/trading/MarketHistory.asp.
Dick Grimshaw
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