Dedicated to the development and extension of new technologies promoting
sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration
The conservation tillage innovation called land imprinting was invented in 1976 and then patented in
1980. This science-based innovation is uniquely capable of nearly total conservation of soil and water
resources to ensure successful re-vegetation even in arid land areas such as the Mojave Desert that
receives, on an average, 76 mm (3 inches) of rainfall, annually.
The science and technology of sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration are merging into a
single discipline with the passage of time. Agronomists are applying some ecology and ecologists are
applying agronomy in their sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration projects. This merger of
the two disciplines is being driven by a common concern over global land degradation or
desertification that threatens the welfare and even survival of all species, including our own.*
While world population of humans is growing rapidly, the acreage of productive land is shrinking and
we are now experiencing shortages of food and medicine worldwide. Agricultural lands are becoming
degraded or desertified and are thus less able to provide sustained production of food, feed, and
fiber, while becoming an increasing source of environmental pollution. Likewise natural lands are
becoming degraded and are thus less able to provide the services of healthy ecosystems such as
clean soil, water and air, pollination and abundant and diverse medicinal plants.**
Land degradation or desertification is caused by such human activities as livestock grazing, forest
and woodland logging, land tillage, outdoor recreation, urban and industrial development, and military
Barren Land
After imprinting
Results
4 Months Later
Who can benefit from this site?
activities. The foregoing activities cause well vegetated land to become
denuded, thereby decreasing rainwater infiltration and increasing water runoff,
erosion, sedimentation and flash flooding.*** The degraded land is less able to
infiltrate and hold soil moisture; consequently, plants experience a more arid
environment, especially during short term droughts. A vicious cycle of land
aridification and denudation forms the insidious process called desertification,
wherein the land dries out and many life forms die or flee.**** degraded and are
thus less able to provide the services of healthy ecosystems such as clean soil,
water and air, pollination and abundant and diverse medicinal plants.** To the
left is barren land prior to imprinting.
Land degradation or desertification is caused by such human activities as
livestock grazing, forest and woodland logging, land tillage, outdoor recreation,
urban and industrial development, and military activities. The foregoing activities
cause well vegetated land to become denuded, thereby decreasing rainwater
infiltration and increasing water runoff, erosion, sedimentation and flash
flooding.*** The degraded land is less able to infiltrate and hold soil moisture;
consequently, plants experience a more arid environment, especially during
short term droughts. A vicious cycle of land aridification and denudation forms
the insidious process called desertification, wherein the land dries out and many
life forms die or flee.****
The no-till method for seeding, called land imprinting, has been under
development in Tucson, Arizona since 1976. Ranchers have applied imprinting
to restore perennial grasses on their degraded range land for erosion control
and forage production. The degradation has been due to a variety of reasons:
overgrazing, fires, over farming, and relatively recently discovered/publicized
global warming. The second picture shows land "imprinted" in order to collect
moisture and nutrients/resources where the climate produces very little
precipitation. More and more lands are facing droughts and low moisture levels
due to global warming. Click on the Barren Land picture to learn more about this
very serious problem. Click on the Imprint picture for one solution re:soil.
The Dixon Land Imprinter, shown above right, has been used to inter-seed
100,000 acres with grasses in southern Arizona since 1980. Early imprinters
were massive machines with large diameter rollers that were designed to
operate on rocky, brushy terrain of the south-western deserts. The Dixon Land
Imprinter is a very simple machine consisting of only two moving parts--the
imprinting roller and the seed-box agitator. Click on the picture for specifications.
This machine was invented by Dr. Robert Dixon, internationally known soil
scientist, leading authority on sustainable agriculture, re-vegetation, inter-
seeding, reclamation seeding, and erosion control (to list just a few of the topics
on which he has lectured/published scientific writings). Click on the menu or the
Results picture on the left for more details on the uses of this agricultural
breakthrough technology and how imprinting works. Click on the menu at left or
the Imprinter picture above right to learn about the machine specifications.
The Imprinting Machine
Developed by Dr. Dixon
THE IMPRINTING FOUNDATION:
New Hope for Damaged Lands
*(Lowdermilk, 1935; Dregne, 1978; Wolf, 1987) **(Buckman and Nabhan, 1996; Chevallier, 1996; Daily, 1997; Duke, 1998) ***(Dixon,
1995; Dixon and Carr, 1997) ****( Dregne , 1978)
Farmer, scientist, contractor,
large agricultural concerns,
government agency, anyone
open to learning about the
newest technology used to
transform barren soil into
fertile crop-producing land.
In this age of food shortages
with mass starvation, the
world leaders need the
information contained in this
site. Through networking,
we can get the information
out that there is a machine
which enables the earth to
extract moisture/resources
from the smallest amount of
precipitation.
Imprinting machines can be
manufactured large enough
to transform thousands of
acres or small enough to
work for the average farmer.
With a united effort, we can
change the current self
destructive path of mankind
by cooperating with nature
to maximize our natural
resources.
This is an exciting time.
More and more people are
waking up to the food crisis
we are currently facing and
are stepping up to the plate
to do what they can to save
our planet -- save ourselves!
Come Join Us!!!
A Non-Profit Organization
The Imprinting Foundation
1616 E. Lind Road
Tucson, Arizona 85719
We invite you to join us!
©2000 All rights reserved.
