Mini-Forests To Aid Biodiversity

 Mini-Forests To Aid Biodiversity

Fast-growing mini-forests are catching the imagination of people to aid biodiversity.

Mini forest are based on the work of the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, who has planted more than 1,000 such forests in Japan, Malaysia and elsewhere. Miyawaki forests are denser and said to be more biodiverse than other kinds of woods.

The Miyawaki method, also called the Potted Seedling Method, is an afforestation technique that uses native species to create dense, multilayered forests. A central tenet in creating these forests is its use of indigenous species for plantations. The overall density of the forest is beneficial in lowering temperature, making soil nutritious, supporting local wildlife and sequestration of carbon.

Mini forests can be as small as a tennis court. Advocates for the method say the miniature forests grow 10 times faster and become 30 times denser and 100 times more biodiverse than those planted by conventional methods. This result is achieved by planting saplings close together, three per square meter, using native varieties adapted to local conditions. A wide variety of species – ideally 30 or more – are planted to recreate the layers of a natural forest.

Natural forests can store 40 times more carbon than single-species plantations. They regenerate land in far less time than the 70-plus years.

The mini-forests could attract migratory songbirds. “Songbirds are made from caterpillars and adult insects, and even small pockets of forests, if planted with native species, could become a nutritious fast-food fly-in site for hungry birds.”

The higher biodiversity is due partly to the forests’ young age and openness. This allows more sunlight to reach flowering plants that attract pollinators. Diversity is also boosted by planting multiple species, which “provide more variety in food and shelter for a higher diversity of animals like insects, snails, butterflies, amphibians, bugs, grasshoppers”,.

Tiny, dense forests are springing up around Netherlands, France & Belgium as part of a movement aimed at restoring biodiversity and fighting the climate crisis.

Miyawaki Forest Bangaluru