The puzzle we are trying to solve in planning for restoration is understanding both above and below ground structure and function. Water and nutrient limited arid and semi-arid ecosystems tend to be very brittle and easily damaged, and even minor disturbance can lead to profound and long lasting changes. Understanding the changes that have occurred is essential to plan a successful restoration project. Fan Sheng-chih Shu describes the use of buried clay pot irrigation in China more than 2,000 years ago. It is likely buried clay pot irrigation had been used for many years before this description was published.
Current practices remain much the same.
Deep Pipe Irrigation Deep pipe irrigation can be especially useful on slopes and in crusty soils where surface applied water will run off. It increases the ease of watering remote sites and has been very effective in land restoration projects. Microcatchment Water Harvesting Microcatchment systems provide many advantages over alternative irrigation schemes. They are simple and inexpensive to construct and can be built rapidly using local materials and manpower. Soil Pitting to Improve Arid Land Revegetation Soil pitting is a practical and proven surface modification treatment to improve water infiltration and retention and reduces evaporation and increases surface storage and the time available for infiltration to occur.