THE SOLUTION...  PAM-12™ is a cost effective, post-fire stabilization mulch treatment designed to solve the post-fire problems that impact restoration and rehabilitation efforts.

THE USES...  PAM-12™ should be used on any post-fire suppression restoration, emergency stabilization and long term rehabilitation activities requiring:

• Plant-life regeneration
• Dust abatement
• Surface stabilization strategy for erosion control due to water, wind and gravity

• Seed establishment
• Water infiltration
• Watershed stabilization

PAM-12™ and PAM-12™ plus Turf Seed: Erosion Control Granules

PAM-12™ is a combination of proven soil-stabilizing polymers known as linear anionic water-soluble polyacrylamides (WSPAM) that have been impregnated into a recycled office paper mulch. These soil-stabilizing polymers are released from the paper at varying rates when moisture is applied. The paper serves as the carrier, delivery system, and tracer for the polymers in PAM-12. In addition to the polymers, PAM-12 contains calcium and a physical tackifier in order to ensure performance in a variety of soils and conditions.

PAM-12 vs Straw

Better Performance. Better Application...means MORE Value

PAM-12™ is the most cost effective post-fire stabilization and rehabilitation product available. Product and application costs thereof are minimal, reasonable, practical, cost-effective and provide improvement over natural recovery.

Comparative Application Analysis: Straw Bales to PAM-12

Do More With Less...How to Stretch Your Budget

The Technology

ENCAP® has developed and patented The Next Generation in Mulch Technology™. The patented product and process are designed to improve the physical characteristics of the soil with our highly researched Advanced Soil Technology™, also referred to as AST™ and BioAST™ (a new highly researched biopolymer made from potato starch).

Where other technologies require a significant amount of inert matter to be used as a cover (i.e. straw or paper), ENCAP®'s AST™ and BioAST™ technologies engage the soil to do the work. For forest fire rehabilitation, AST™ and BioAST™ is a proven technology designed to reduce erosion, improve water penetration and retention by improving the Hydrophobicity of the soil, and improve seed germination.

The Problems

After a fire, there are so many devastating issues that must be dealt with to protect human life, property, and critical cultural and natural resources. These issues include the destruction in the physical soil structure creating an extremely difficult medium for plant roots to grow through, reduction in soil porosity making oxygen and water less available for root growth, and decrease in organic matter reducing the soils ability to hold nutrients in the top layer of the soil for plant growth. These problems lead to increased soil erosion especially on any sort of slopes leading to intensified water turbidity and also increased Hydrophobicity or water repellency of the soil decreasing the chances of the seed being applied at rehab to germinate properly. Hydrophobicity of the soil is increased after a fire because a charred soil forms a crust on the top of the soil destroying the aggregate structure thus eliminating the important pore spaces used for water infiltration.

In the past, to rehab these devastated areas and manage these problems, it was believed that a "blanket" cover of the soil was needed. A standard treatment would include 3000 lbs of straw per acre to achieve this blanket cover. This treatment is difficult to apply evenly, is blown away in high winds, has a percentage of weed seed in it, and above all does nothing to remedy the Hydrophobicity of the soil. All these above problems make it difficult to establish seed and get proper plant life reestablished the ultimate goal in restoration.

The Solution

From the emergency stabilization to the short and long-term rehabilitation needs, PAM-12™ with AST™ and BioAST™ is designed to be a cost effective, post-fire stabilization mulch treatment to solve those above problems. AST™ BioAST™ is the solution no matter what type of soil you need to stabilize. Specifically, each problem is addressed below and what AST™ and BioAST™ do to solve these post-fire problems.

Erosion Control: To reduce in clay based soils AST™ steps up to the plate by binding to the large number of charge sites forming a matrix or a net in the soil to keep it in place. In sandy soils or granitic soils with low charge sites, BioAST™ steps in by increasing the viscosity of water and increasing the water holding capacity of the soil. The increased viscosity of the water has a stickiness to it that "glues" these sand particles together. For loamy soils, both AST™ and BioAST™ kick in to keep the soil in place.

Hydrophobicity: To increase water infiltration into the crust that's formed in charred soils, AST™'s binding properties restore the original aggregate structure of the soil and pore spaces used for water infiltration and improved root growth. BioAST™ also works to counteract Hydrophobicity with its ability to increase the water holding capacity of the soil to keep water in the top layer of the soil for a longer period of time.

Plant Establishment / Seed Germination: Because of the detrimental effects of wildfire on soils, establishing seed can be a challenge. The beneficial properties of AST™ and Bio™ (reducing erosion and increasing the water infiltration rate and water holding capacity of the soil) help keep nutrients and organic matter in the top layer of the soil where the seed needs it. AST™'s negative charges chemically latch on to all the positive charged nutrients in the soil reducing leaching and runoff while BioAST™ physically will hold the remaining nutrients in place with the increased viscosity of the water.

Due to the technology involved in maximizing the soils potential through engagement, much less material needs to be applied of PAM-12™ is only 300 - 900 lbs / acre! PAM-12™ also spreads very evenly over the soil regardless of the application method, and is 100% weed free.