Background

"The three dimensional green environment".

 
 The MIYAWAKI METHOD OF FOREST CREATION is one, if not the best, of the pioneering methods of forest creation in the world. Based on the principals of the legendary Japanese ecologist Dr Akira Miyawaki the method copies nature but speeds up the process rapidly.  Dr Miyawaki has so far planted around 40 million trees using the method. Below is a background explanation from the great man himself.
  • Created 30 years ago by Japanese ecologist Dr Akira Miyawaki.
  • Responsible for the planting of over 40 million trees so far worldwide.
  • The method was created to start reforesting barren and depleted land and former forests rapidly.
  • Dr Miyawai studied the ‘laws of the forest’ and ancient trees growing at Japanese shrines to create the methods used.
  • These methods apply to any environment, climate or space.
“Protecting the environment means protecting life. Why is it that while we are blessed with such an environment, there exists a great many people who feel vague unease about the future? Perhaps it may come from some basic, animal instinct within us human beings who have been made to dwell in an unliving, uniform urban environment from which the greenery and the indigenous forests that once covered the land have almost all been lost.
”The role of forests are in protecting life. Among the different types of greenery, real forests made up of trees native to the area are three-dimensional, multi-layered communities, having 30 times the surface area of greenery of single-layered lawns, and having more than 30 times the ability to protect against natural disasters as well as  conserving the  environment.These forests are completely unyielding to natural disasters such as fires, earthquakes, typhoons, or tsunamis.
 
So the greenery that is most important to us now is the greenery of native forests made up of trees native to the area, as symbolised by the groves of village shrines. Native forests protect life and protect the environment.I have been working on creating forests of indigenous trees in their native habitat for over 30 years, together with people of foresight from the government, private companies and the general public. Rather than simply restoring forests that were there before, this work involves creating genuine native forests through rigorous field surveys and research into the ecology of the vegetation in order to ensure a future without making mistakes that have been made so far. Forests that have been regenerated on the basis of potential natural vegetation cost nothing to maintain, are long lasting, and carry out a diverse range of functions. Native forests protect the lives of all the people born and raised in the area, and the people who go to school or work there. They sharpen the senses of the people for the creation of culture and give rise to their intellect for new developments. I became wholly engrossed in regenerating this three-dimensional green environment almost without realising it. The conviction and the activities with which I devote myself to creating forests for life are not something that came about overnight; I hope you will look at them as the way I have lived for 78 years.”
 
From around the end of the 1960s onward there was a rapid growth in industry and exploitation of nature on a massive scale. Atmospheric and water pollution became more and more serious, and such hazards became grave social problems. There was an unexpected backlash of public opinion, and civil campaigns opposed to pollution and the destruction of nature spread rapidly.  The small laboratory where I worked  suddenly had visitors coming one after another. I thought their only real interest in coming was probably just to ask us to plant some greenery to atone for the pollution they had caused. I always answered that I would not help by planting greenery just as a temporary cover-up.I would, though, be very happy to cooperate in creating a real, native forest based on the potential natural vegetation of the area.Most of the people who came to the laboratory said no way,that’s just pure cheek, and went home in a huff. But there were some people who thought that this Miyawaki person’s ideas might just have something to them, and so to find out more they asked me to give lectures at their company headquarters or came back with their company executives in tow to hear again what I had to say. These people seriously looked into creating forests.
 
The first forest I created was at the request of Nippon Steel Corporation.I carried out a vegetation survey of the surrounding area, and found the primary trees for potential natural vegetation such as Machilus tunbergii, Castanopsis cuspidate, blueJapanese oak, and Quercus mytsinaefolia, growing at nearby Usa Shrine to heights of over 20 meters and with trunk diameters at breast height of over 80 centimetres. These were species with deep roots or axial root systems, which are difficult to transplant-so difficult that gardeners tend to dislike them. I couldn’t have created a real forest without full use of these species, and through trial and error I found that planting potted trees worked well. I planted acorns in pots, and after a year  seedlings with well-established root systems grew.  I planted these on the mound, where the topsoil had been restored, together with all the other people working on the project.”“For a natural plant community (society), the best situation is where the plants compete with each other and have to put up with each other. Our method of planting trees followed the law of the forest, and seedlings whose roots had filled the pot were planted, different species mixed together. In a natural forest, between 30 and 50 seedlings sprout per square meter.There are some places in Borneo where there are between 500 and nearly 1,000 seedlings per square meter. We densely planted different species together in a proportion of about three seedlings per square meter.”“In a natural forest, seedlings emerge from a covering of fallen leaves, and when creating the forest we spread a thick layer of rice straw on the ground.
 
Three or four kilos of straw per square meter is about right, and we spread it gently as if we were putting a blanket over a sleeping baby. The straw gradually forms a mulch, which is extremely important; even if there is no rain the seedlings do not have to be watered, and even if there is a sudden, 150 millimetre deluge one night the soil will not be washed away. The mulch also serves to protect against cold, and makes it difficult for weeds to grow. As the straw rots, it fertilises the soil.”“Our way of creating forests using seedlings of trees indigenous to the area with well-developed roots, planted densely and with different species mixed together, gradually became better understood and applied”.
 
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