30-ha irrigated pilot
Environmental information is generated, including topography, and physical and chemical characteristics of the soil, including salinity levels, hard pans in the underground and groundwater levels, to define the best site for the plantation. Based on this information a suitable project site of 30 ha is selected. The site is characteristic for the area: heavy clays and high salinities, ranging from as saline as seawater to salinities 1.5 times seawater.

The use of the brackish drainage water from the Dren Perimetral is secured by the facilitation of meetings between various potential users of the water. This also involves the repair of a number of leaks in the drain and the construction of gates and spillways. (The organizations involved are the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve, the Commission of Ecology and Sustainable Development of the State of Sonora [CEDES], and the Ministry of Agriculture of the State of Baja California.)

To be able to monitor the impact of the project activities, a salinity baseline has been established to measure the effects on soil salinity, a biodiversity baseline to monitor the changes in flora and fauna and an economic baseline to be able to observe the influence on the village economy.

One of the technical pillars of biosaline agriculture is the management of water and salinity by irrigation and drainage infrastructure. At the project site a total of 2,500 meters of irrigation canals and 8,400 meters of drains are constructed by a team of 20 to 30 people in the summer of 2005.

3-ha non-irrigated pole planting
This pilot is situated in Mesa Rica, near the discharge of the Welton-Mohawk Canal and the head of the Ciénega de Santa Clara. The soils are sand and sandy loam, with salinities between 5 and 20 dS/m. The groundwater is around 3 m below field level, with mild salinities. Most likely as a result of the leakage from the drain and possibly also because the groundwater here is fed by the fresher water from the Gran Desierto Mesa, groundwater salinities are much lower in this area and can therefore be used to let trees tap into it directly.

Stage 3