SUPPORTED

BY SCIENCE!

OUR LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT – WATER-RETAINING, ROOT SLEAVE TUBE (RST)

OUR LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT – WATER-RETAINING, ROOT SLEAVE TUBE (RST)

There is a way to permanently restore and preserve forest areas that are increasingly drying out due to climate change.

With the support of Berlin’s Humboldt University, we have developed compostable tubes made of biodegradable thermoplastics for use in forestry to produce seedlings and to help in planting trees.

These water-retaining, roots sleave tube (RST) have already been sold to tree nurseries Thuringia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein and France for use in trial areas.

A root sleave is a compostable tube around the root, filled with water-storing substrate, which is placed in the soil with the tree when it is planted in order to improve growth. (Sinn??) Second-generation root sleaves are now being produced using the spiral wound extrusion process (Begriff korrekt??) and are usually 30 cm long and 5 cm in diameter. They consist of completely biodegradable materials in various thicknesses and, depending on material and thickness, they are degraded completely in the soil by microbial enzymes in a relatively short time without leaving any persistent microplastic particles behind.

All raw material partners must confirm that the building blocks used for the “compounds” consist of 100% certified biodegradable materials (statement on biodegradation).

THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF FULLY BIODEGRADABLE ROOT SLEAVE TUBE (RST) INCLUDE:

THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF FULLY BIODEGRADABLE ROOT SLEAVE TUBE (RST) INCLUDE:

  • STRESS-FREE PLANTING PROCESS

    The roots are not damaged before planting and are placed in the soil with a moist, fertilised substrate, making the planting process stress-free.

  • NO DELAY IN SPROUTING

    In contrast to bare-root seedlings and containerised seedlings, there is no delay in the roots sprouting after planting.

  • UTILISES RETAINED WATER

    From the already deep position of the lower tube opening, the root system can grow deeper into the ground without delay, utilising a large amount of the water stored in the substrate.

  • NO CAPILLARY SUCTION FROM THE SOIL

    After planting, the moisture in the root ball is not exposed to capillary suction from the soil due to the intact pipe wall, even if the soil’s upper layers dry out after a period of low precipitation.

Compostable tree guards made of biodegradable thermoplastic were developed for the forestry sector to protect young trees. They were first used in May 2024 in Pritzwalk in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania with young poplars on a short rotation plantation.

Our sales partner for the Mecklenburg and Brandenburg regions is the company Preußen-Forst.

SUPPORTED BY SCIENCE

SUPPORTED BY SCIENCE

LTS is supported by researchers from the Department of Urban Ecophysiology at Berlin’s Humboldt University, together with the company WaldWieseHolz GmbH (WWH) and in cooperation with the Eberswalde State Competence Centre for Forestry.

In the following videos, you will get to know our scientists Dr Matthias Zander and Prof Dr Rudolf Ehwald from Berlin.

SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH PROJECTS

SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH PROJECTS

At the end of 2021, scientists from the Department of Urban Ecophysiology at Berlin’s Humboldt University in Berlin carried out an FNR project under practical conditions in cooperation with WaldWieseHolz GmbH (WWH) and the Eberswalde State Competence Centre for Forestry. The project focused on developing an innovative cultivation method for oaks to improve root development using compostable root sleeves. The project was completed successfully.