“The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry is a viral sensation: sprouting tiny, dense, native tree cover in neighbourhoods all around the world. With the promise of afforestation at a revolutionary speed, this planting technique has become the darling of green-space enthusiasts, industry, and governments alike — yet few professional or academic ecologists have commented on its efficacy, or even seem to have heard of it!
In this episode, we debate the legacy of Dr. Akira Miyawaki: the man, the myth, and the method.”
I have seen a couple of these in Berkeley. They were all the rage and still are in some ways.
I personally was initially enthusiastic. However, I think there is much easier ways to get the benefits. For example, by adding trees and landscaping in Parks, medians and other public spaces.
Once a forest is added to an area, it becomes completely inaccessible because of how dense it grows. All of the ones I have seen are completely fenced off.
Works well in some ecosystems when people choose the right plant material. With the wrong ecosystem and the wrong plant material it's one of those ideas from the temperate core that fails in the tropical periphery.
Just saw a really interesting Nova centering on Crowther Labs at ETH (recently disbanded). https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aax0848 was held up as encouraging unsustainable reforestation for greenwashing PR.
But the most interesting part was a segment covering how tree roots engage in aggressive recruitment and exchange of resources with an underground biome of bacteria and fungi.
Afforestation of any kind is good, but we can't forget the importance of large, contiguous forest ecosystems too. Segmentation of forest can threaten some species that rely on not being near the edge.
If anyone enjoyed this feature, you might also want to check out The One Straw Revolution, which is about permaculture and its philosophy. It's one of the few books I've read.
Interesting, there's some re-greening projects in Canada that do something similar with planting a shrub/forest floor layer. Apparently the trick for doing it at scale is to cut up and transplant sections from the space beside highways that would be cleared anyways.
It's the density that is counter intuitive for me and the key takeaway. The others aspects of the method seem pretty intutive.
It's counter intutitive because a lot of gardening or agriculture or artificial horticulture in general is very spaced out intentionally for access for humans to care and maintain.
In hindsight though it does make sense, the density stops certain fauna and flora from competing making the ring fenced area immediatley established.
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[ 5.4 ms ] story [ 43.1 ms ] threadIn this episode, we debate the legacy of Dr. Akira Miyawaki: the man, the myth, and the method.”
I personally was initially enthusiastic. However, I think there is much easier ways to get the benefits. For example, by adding trees and landscaping in Parks, medians and other public spaces.
Once a forest is added to an area, it becomes completely inaccessible because of how dense it grows. All of the ones I have seen are completely fenced off.
It sounds like your describing parkland, which is a different beast entirely
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XfnDAEi4JY
This location is as tropical as it gets - 8 degrees north of the equator.
Now these mini forests are coming up everywhere in this city.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44013933
(2 months ago, only 4 comments)
Not to excuse poor web design practices, but this is what CTRL+ or ⌘+ is for in most modern browsers.
But the most interesting part was a segment covering how tree roots engage in aggressive recruitment and exchange of resources with an underground biome of bacteria and fungi.
- heavily pre-treat soil with organic matter (simulating forest floor)
- plant a mix of native plants that will make up canopy, tree, sub-tree, and shrub layers
- densely planting plants (3-5 saplings / m^2)
- heavy mulching after planting (weed suppression, moisture control, nutrients)
This encourages rapid growth into a biodiverse dense forest much faster than standard planting techniques.
It's counter intutitive because a lot of gardening or agriculture or artificial horticulture in general is very spaced out intentionally for access for humans to care and maintain.
In hindsight though it does make sense, the density stops certain fauna and flora from competing making the ring fenced area immediatley established.