Dozens of alumni of the Loyola Politechnical Institute in San Cristobal (Class 1979) are backing the testing of the Miyawaki Method for Reforestation in the Eugenio de Jesus Marcano Botanical Gardens in Santiago.
Akira Miyawaki was a Japanese botanist who specialized in reforestation. His method consists in planting what in nature would be 20 to 30 times the number of trees in a given area. This, in turn, forces the trees to develop at a much higher rate in their struggle for light. As a result, a Miyawaki forest is denser, cooler and retains more water more efficiently than normal reforestation techniques.
Initially, the planting costs more since the plantings must be watered and weeded. But once the trees have rooted themselves, it is a whole different story.
One of the secrets is planting a very diverse group of seedlings that includes the four groups as described by Miyawaki: Major species, minor species, bushes and ground coverings. In the Santiago experiment, some 9000 m2 were set aside and these were planted with 20 different species of trees and bushes. If this experiment works, it could well be the beginning of a renewed push to do major reforestation projects in the nation’s watersheds that are sadly depleted of forest cover.
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El Caribe
7 February 2022