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The no-till method for seeding called land imprinting has been under development in Tucson, Arizona, since 1976. Ranchers have applied imprinting to restoring perennial grasses on their degraded rangeland for erosion control and forage production. Since 1980 some 20,000 hectares have been interseeded with grasses in southern Arizona. Early imprinters were massive machines with large diameter milers that were designed to operate on rocky, brushy terrain of the southwestern deserts. Imprinters are now being designed for ecological restoration and the establishment of cover crops. They have smaller diameter rollers and are easier to transport. Some can work on 2:1 slopes and even steeper. Simple seeders, directly driven from the imprinting roller, can deliver complex mixes of native seeds to the roller top where they are carried forward, dropped on the soil surface and then imbedded in the imprint su rf aces. V-shaped imprints fun nel resources downward where they can work in concert to germinate seeds and establish seedlings.

Based on more than 2 decades of field experience, land imprinting specifications have been developed for ecological restoration and sustainable agriculture. These include general imprinter and seeder design specifications that will help to insure success of revegetation projects. Also experienced fabricators can use these specifications as a guide for constructing state-of-the-art seeding imprinters.