WO2008035964A1

WO2008035964A1 - Growing location, method and holder

Info

Publication number: WO2008035964A1
Application number: PCT/NL2007/000236
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rudolfus Johannes Maria Kempen
Original assignee: Bomen Service International B.V.
Priority date: 2006-09-21
Filing date: 2007-09-21
Publication date: 2008-03-27
Also published as: NL1032553C2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a growing location (1) for providing a below-grade living environment for a plant such as a tree, comprising: - a growth medium (10) for allowing growth therein of roots of the plant, and - a container which can be placed in or under the growth medium (10) for the purpose of providing a liquid buffer (1) for the growing location.

Description

Growing location, method and holder

The present invention relates to a growing location for providing an below-grade living environment for a plant such as a tree. The invention also relates to a method for providing a below-grade living environment for a plant such as a tree. The invention further relates to a container for providing a below-grade living environment for a plant such as a tree.

For the purpose of a pleasant living environment for humans and animals trees are generally planted at locations in cities or built-up areas. A problem here is that these environments are usually unsuitable for sustained growth of such trees. In their natural habitat trees obtain water from for instance rainfall, wherein the water can permeate directly into the ground around the tree over the whole area around the tree. This whole area or small area can hereby take advantage of the direct precipitation. In built-up areas a large part of the environment of a tree is usually built on or paved, or is otherwise unsuitable for receiving rainwater.

A significant part of the rainwater in urban environments is also drained directly from the buildings or paving, for instance to a sewer, in order to prevent flooding. This drained water can no longer be used in the ground in which the tree is living. The ground can hereby dry out and the tree can suffer a shortage of water.

In order to obviate or alleviate such drawbacks, the present invention provides a growing location for providing a below-grade living environment for a plant such as a tree, comprising:

- a growth medium for allowing growth therein of roots of the plant, and

- a container which can be placed in or under the growth medium for the puφose of providing a liquid buffer for the growing location.

Such a growing location provides the advantage that during dry periods the liquid buffer can be used from which the tree can take up liquid by means of its roots until the moisture deficiency in the other growth medium or the ground therearound is again made up with for instance rainwater. The tree can hereby survive long periods of dryness without water having to be supplied by active human intervention. This saves labour effort, particularly during the summer period, which is expensive and more difficult to provide in this period because of for instance holidays, also in the light oτ the unpredictability of the requirement due to the unpredictability of dry periods.

The provision of growing locations with a growth medium is known per se but, although these can provide a fertile substrate, they do not solve the above stated problems. Sprinkler installations are even applied in extreme situations, but this entails high costs and expensive and unexpected maintenance and repair work. Such installations are also susceptible to vandalism in urban environments.

In a first preferred embodiment according to the present invention the container in the growing location comprises an overflow for draining excess liquid. The container hereby provides water only up to a predetermined volume and for instance to below a determined level under the ground surface. Damage for instance to the roots of a tree by excess water is hereby prevented. This level is preferably adapted to the depth which the roots of a tree have to reach for the tree to grow to its full size.

In a further preferred embodiment the container comprises a deformable material such as a foil. The container can hereby be shaped on site, which provides advantages in respect of adjustment to the form of the growing location. The container can also be transported in compact form. It is emphasized here that the size of the container need not be related to the volume of for instance the growth medium of a growing location. A suitable size of the container can be chosen subject to for instance fluctuations in the natural liquid supply. The container can herein extend below surrounding objects or structures such as roads, car parks, buildings and so on. Alternatively, the container can comprise one or more form-retaining container bodies which can be mutually connected for liquids.

In order to prevent leakage or damage to the container, the latter is preferably embedded in one or more protective layers of for instance a geotextile or ground material such as clay or sand or other suitable material. Damage due to sharp parts present for instance below or above the container or by root growth of the tree can hereby be prevented.

In a further embodiment the growing location is provided with an overflow buffer for draining liquid above a quantity which can be received in the container. In the case of heavy rainfall excess water can still be drained quickly from the container or the growth medium by means of such a buffer. Such water can then be discharged via a drainage system and/or a sewer.

The growing location preferably also comprises a supply of liquid which is arranged such that liquid can be collected in the container. An advantage hereof is that scarce rainfall can be collected in the container during dry periods. Water can also be introduced into the growth medium using such a supply.

The supply can preferably be coupled to a rainwater collector. Such a rainwater collector can collect rainwater from pavings and/or buildings. This supply and/or the rainwater collector herein preferably comprises filter means for purifying rainwater, such as separating means for heavy metals or separating means and/or solvents for hydrocarbons. It hereby becomes possible to apply water which is contaminated by for instance the consequences of car traffic. Water recovered from the street or from car parks can thus be applied in the growing location and, in the case of plentiful supply, optionally flow along the container into the groundwater without the ground being contaminated by the contaminating substances.

In an embodiment where the container comprises a plurality of reservoirs it is possible to imitate a groundwater level at different heights and/or to connect for instance growing locations. The containers preferably comprise liquid connections.

In a further preferred embodiment the growth medium in the growing location comprises a granulate filling for the purpose of supporting a ground cover. A growing location according to the present invention can hereby extend below a heavily loaded surface, such as a street over which heavy vehicles can travel, without this surface being damaged. In alternative manner the growing location can comprise a sand filling for the purpose of supporting a ground cover, such as more lightly loaded pavings or shrub areas. Alternatively, a foundation member can be envisaged for supporting a ground cover, such as a structural element of concrete or built-up of stone.

In an alternative embodiment the water supply means comprise control means for controlling the supply per flow rate and/or time. Washing away of material can hereby be prevented. The supply can for instance also be controlled such that the supply stops when the container is full and/or at a determined moistness of the growth medium. Supply by means of a water mains can even be applied. Water can also be obtained from for instance ditchwater and/or groundwater.

A further aspect of the present invention relates to a method for controlling the living environment in a below-grade growth area for a plant such as a tree, comprising steps for:

- providing a growth medium for allowing growth therein of roots of the plant,

- providing a container which can be placed in or under the growth medium for the purpose of providing a liquid buffer for the growing location.

Such a method provides advantages as described in the foregoing with reference to the growing location according to the present invention, and advantages which are described hereinbelow with reference to the preferred embodiments.

A further aspect of the present invention relates to a container or material for constructing a container for use in a method according to one or more of the claims 17-18, and/or for use in a growing location according to one or more of the claims 1-16.

Further advantages and features of the present invention are described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

- Fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment according to the present invention in cross-section and in side view.

A preferred embodiment (Fig. 1 ) relates to a growing location 1. Growing in this growing location is a tree with a trunk, foliage and a root system. The root system is situated in a growth medium 10 comprising a granulate suitable for providing a living environment for the roots and for supporting the top surface heavily loaded by for instance car traffic. Such granulate comprises for instance a stone mixture of rubble of 16-40 mm with clay having for instance 10% of empty space suitable for holding the roots of the tree.

The tree stands in a surface where paving 8 is arranged, and only a small opening provided for the trunk. This paving allows through hardly any water to provide the ground with water. This is on the one hand to prevent contamination from the street, such as heavy metals and hydrocarbons and soot, getting into the ground. If such drawbacks are not important, channels allowing passage of water can be arranged between the paving stones. It may however also occur in such a case that a dry period occurs such that the growth medium dries up and/or the tree becomes dehydrated.

In order to prevent such moisture deficiency there is provided under the tree, or at least in the vicinity of the tree, a reservoir 2 for holding a quantity of water, such as for instance 1-50 cubic metres. More is possible if the tree has a large water requirement, prolonged dry periods occur or for instance many trees make use of the reservoir. The reservoir is constructed in cross- section from three wall parts, a side wall 5, a bottom wall 3 and a side wall 4. Side wall 5 is relatively high in order to prevent leakage on this side, which is also provided with a water supply. Side wall 4 is provided in cross-section with an overflow for discharging excess water therethrough in the direction of arrow A.

The excess water can be drained directly into the surrounding ground. For rapid drainage of water in the case of heavy rainfall a buffer 14 is optionally provided which is bounded by walls 15,16,17. The buffer is filled with a material which can absorb a great deal of water and provides a certain strength. Depending on the requirements and the purity of the water supply, the water can be discharged through a porous bottom wall 17 in the direction of arrows D, or the water is drained via a pipe or hose 18 and a sewer 19.

The growing location is provided with a water-collecting provision 20, comprising a water-permeable paving 9 on the top side. This paving collects rain in the direction of arrow C. Situated under the paving is a collector 11 for collecting heavy metals. The water will permeate therethrough and enter a road foundation which forms a water buffer comprising microbes suitable for breaking down hydrocarbons. Situated at the bottom of this buffer is a filter connected to a tube 6. A hose leads from the tube in the direction of growth medium 10 and reservoir 2 for collecting the water and use by the tree. By means of this described feature of the growing location it is possible to apply in the growing location rainwater which falls in contaminated streets and even allow it to enter the groundwater. It hereby also becomes possible to cause the general groundwater level to rise while using a growing location according to the present invention. If the desirable groundwater level at a location is regularly found to be too low, control means can then be added for controlling the quantity of water that is introduced into the ground and how much is drained to the sewer.

The reservoir can be constructed from a foil which can be protected by means of one or more layers of geotextile or sand or clay. The reservoir can further be formed from a hard shell, or be constructed from a plurality of hard shells which can optionally be mutually connected by means of for instance hoses or pipes. A further alternative for the construction of the reservoir is the use of bentonite shells. The skilled person is further able to conceive of further suitable constructions within the scope of the present invention.

Using a system according to the present invention it is possible for a growing location without separate water supply or manual control of a water supply to provide in reliable manner a healthy living environment for a tree during dry periods. After installation no maintenance is required in respect of the water supply. In environments where costly control systems are otherwise required, this therefore provides the advantage, among others, that the water supply costs are low, and these are incurred during installation and do not involve further annual costs.

The present invention is described in the foregoing on the basis of several preferred embodiments. Different aspects of different embodiments are deemed described in combination thereof, wherein all combinations which can be made by a skilled person on the basis of this document should be included. These preferred embodiments are not limitative for the scope of protection of this text. The rights sought are defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. Growing location for providing a below-grade living environment for a plant such as a tree, comprising:

- a growth medium for allowing growth therein of roots of the plant, and

2. Growing location as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the container comprises an overflow for draining excess liquid.

3. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the container comprises a deformable material such as a foil.

4. Growing location as claimed in claim 2, wherein the container comprises a substantially form-retaining container body.

5. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the container comprises at least one protective layer for protecting the container.

6. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, comprising an overflow buffer for draining liquid above a quantity which can be received in the container.

7. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, comprising a supply of liquid which is arranged such that liquid can be collected in the container.

8. Growing location as claimed in claim 7, wherein the supply can be coupled to a rainwater collector.

9. Growing location as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein the supply arid/or the rainwater collector comprise filter means for purifying rainwater, such as separating means for heavy metals or separating means and/or solvents for hydrocarbons.

10. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, comprising a discharge or drainage for discharge of excess liquid, wherein the discharge can optionally be connected to a sewer.

11. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the container comprises a plurality of reservoirs.

12. Growing location as claimed in claim 11 , comprising liquid connections between the reservoirs.

13. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the growth medium comprises a granulate filling for the purpose of supporting a ground cover.

14. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the growth medium comprises a sand filling for the purpose of supporting a ground cover.

15. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the growth medium comprises a foundation member for the purpose of supporting a ground cover.

16. Growing location as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims 7-15, wherein the water supply means comprise control means for controlling the supply per flow rate and/or time.

17. Method for controlling the living environment in a below-grade growth area for a plant such as a tree, comprising steps for:

- providing a growth medium for allowing growth therein of roots of the plant,

18. Method as claimed in claim 17, comprising steps for applying measures included in one or more of the claims 1-16.

19. Container or material for constructing a container for use in a method as claimed in one or more of the claims 17-18, and/or for use in a growing location as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-16.