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.
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.
The Orchard of Flavours experimented successfully with the Miyawaki method in their botanical garden located in Algarve, Portugal, with a Koppen climate classified as temperate but with hot and dry summer periods, see https://www.orchardofflavours.com/miyawaki-experiment-1-wild.... They grow plenty of tropical trees like feijoa, guava, papaya, etc.
From the examples, it looks like the age-old distinction between process and results: do you want to/get rewarded for having a forest after some years, or do you just want to plant some trees as cheaply as possible to tick a box?
Getting good results costs more because it requires caring about what you're doing and putting in extra effort to ensure success.
I think it's less that Japan is famous for its climate zones and more that it's a safe, comfortable topic of conversation that Japanese people use - the whole "Did you know Japan has four seasons?" question that every foreigner hears. It's generally considered polite to respond with surprised interest rather than "yeah, so does most of the temperate part of the world."
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.
“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.”
Yeah I don't understand why these are posted on here, it's not like people will stop what they're doing and listen to a half hour podcast or however long it is before replying. And you can see it in the comments, it's a lot of knee-jerk responses to the headline and links to related content.
For accessibility and personal preferences reasons, I wouldn't object to a HN policy change where podcasts are only allowed if they're accompanied by a readable transcript. Personally I still wouldn't read it because I don't like reading transcripts of podcasts that could be articles.
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.
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.
Readit News
- 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.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44013933
(2 months ago, only 4 comments)
Getting good results costs more because it requires caring about what you're doing and putting in extra effort to ensure success.
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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Japan
except for some small islands like
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamitorishima
There's a lot of concern that tree-planting projects wind up like this
https://e360.yale.edu/features/phantom-forests-tree-planting...
* Secure the large area of land
* If your budget is limited, plant a few small areas in the Miyawaki Method to get healthy ecosystems started
* In future years, as you get more money, plant more areas, or just wait for the forest to spread from the Miyawaki areas.
Deleted Comment
In this episode, we debate the legacy of Dr. Akira Miyawaki: the man, the myth, and the method.”
For accessibility and personal preferences reasons, I wouldn't object to a HN policy change where podcasts are only allowed if they're accompanied by a readable transcript. Personally I still wouldn't read it because I don't like reading transcripts of podcasts that could be articles.
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.
(and the erratum for the 2019 potential paper https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abc8905)