With smoke technology, many more species can now be returned to the mined site. Before the development of smoke technology, nurseries and mining companies had to rely on complex, and costly, methods for germinating the seeds of many plant species. These methods involved the application of heat, plant hormones, nitrates, complex nutrient additives or cold treatments. In the last decade, sophisticated in vitro procedures have been developed to break the dormancy of seeds where no other method has succeeded. This has made effective rehabilitation a very expensive exercise.
Smoke however changes that.
While visiting South Africa, Dr Dixon recognised the significance of this work and its likely relevance to Australian plants. After a number of unsuccessful trials and modifications to the smoke process, Dr Dixon succeeded in germinating 25 species which were previously difficult, or impossible, to germinate. With the help of a number of mining companies, Dr Dixon has gone on to show that nearly 250 species from key ecological zones, representing forests, bushland, heathlands, wetlands, coastal communities and desert and tropical savannah are highly responsive to the application of smoke. With the assistance of companies such as Alcoa of Australia, RGC Minerals Sands and Argyle Diamonds, smoke technology has been successfully trialed in Western Australia at minesites operating in a range of species rich zones. There have also been successful trials in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.