pocket forest

{{Short description|Small group of locally native tree species planted for ecological restoration and aesthetic value}}

File:Danehy Park.jpg in Cambridge, Massachusetts]]

A pocket forest is created by planting native trees and shrubs in close proximity as a means of rapidly restoring native plant species in damaged ecosystems. While forests naturally grow through a primary stage and then a secondary stage before reaching their climax stage, pocket forests are created by a dense planting of climax stage species which grow rapidly in competition for sunlight.

Pocket forests have been embraced by environmentalists as a means of reforesting urban spaces and teaching urban residents about native forest environments. The growing interest in pocket forests was inspired in large part by the work of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, whose "Miyawaki forests" have influenced the development of a variety of pocket forest methodologies adapted to different climates and spacial constraints.

Methods

File:Kareem forest-parappa-kerala 04.jpg, Kerala, India]]

A variety of protocols for site preparation and planting have been developed, all sharing the same underlying principles as the Miyawaki method.{{cn|date=September 2024}} The following is an example methodology:

The area to be planted is first covered with a layer of cardboard which is then covered with {{cvt|3-6|in|cm}} of compost and allowed to acclimate to local moisture conditions for several months. The covered area is then planted with year-old plant nursery saplings spaced approximately {{cvt|2|ft|1}} apart. The entire surface area should be planted at the same time with a variety of native species so no saplings of the same species are adjacent to each other.{{cite web |url=https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2023-09-12%20Item%2031%20Budget%20Referral%20Miyawaki%20%E2%80%9CPocket%20Forest%E2%80%9D.pdf |title=Budget Referral: Miyawaki "Pocket Forest" Pilot Program to Support Carbon Sequestration, Biodiversity, Cooling, Noise Reduction, Health, and Equity |last=Hahn |first=Sophie |publisher=Berkeley, California |accessdate=1 October 2023 }} Watering is unnecessary for native plants acclimated to the local environment; although watering for the first few years after planting, and during drought periods, will reduce mortality of individual plants.{{cite web |url=https://www.leaflimb.com/basics-planting-a-pocket-forest/ |title=Strength in Numbers: The Basics of a Pocket Forest |publisher=Leaf & Limb |accessdate=1 October 2023 }} Pocket forests planted with greater density than commercial timberland utilize edge lighting in addition to overhead lighting to grow faster while absorbing more carbon dioxide per acre.{{cite web |url=https://www.fernsfeathers.ca/blog-1-1/pocket-forests-find-a-home-in-ireland |title=Pocket forests: A growing idea finds a home in urban settings |website=Ferns & Feathers |accessdate=1 October 2023 }}

Three is the minimum number of different species of nursery saplings for planting a pocket forest. The arrangement below of species A, B and C illustrates avoidance of planting the same species in adjacent positions.

A B C A

B C A B C

A B C A

Examples

Pocket Forests CLG assists creation of pocket forests of {{cvt|6-50|m2}} within urban areas of Ireland.{{cite web |url=https://www.pocketforests.ie/ |title=Pocket Forests |publisher=The Digital Hub |accessdate=1 October 2023 }}
The Yakama Nation has planted seven pocket forests of 47 species totaling {{cvt|23,000|ft2}} on their corrections and rehabilitation facility.{{cite web |url=https://www.sugiproject.com/projects/healing-forest |title=Healing Forest |last=Bryson |first=Ethan |publisher=SUGi |accessdate=1 October 2023 }}
A Miyawaki forest has been planted over a landfill in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of Danehy Park.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/climate/tiny-forests-climate-miyawaki.html |title=Tiny Forests with Big Benefits |last=Buckley |first=Cara |work=The New York Times |date=24 August 2023 |accessdate=1 October 2023 }}
A {{cvt|1,000|ft2}} forest has been planted as part of Griffith Park in Los Angeles.
Several Miyawaki forests have been planted in Berkeley, California.
A {{cvt|770|m2}} pocket forest of 20 species is being planted in the City of Brussels.{{cite web |url=https://www.sugiproject.com/projects/tour-and-taxis-forest |title=Tour & Taxis Forest |last=de Brabandère |first=Nicolas |publisher=SUGi |accessdate=1 October 2023 }}
The town of Ayer, Massachusetts, organized community volunteers to plant a pocket forest.{{cite web |url=https://www.ayer.ma.us/home/events/284446 |title=Pocket Forest Planting Day |last=Manoian |first=Alan S. |publisher=Ayer, Massachusetts |accessdate=1 October 2023 }}

Potential problems

File:Bennett Mountain oak woodland recovering from the Nuns fire.png.|210x210px]]

Miyawaki developed the method as a means of replenishing forest soils by allowing dead leaves and twigs to decompose in a moist, wood-rotting ecosystem.{{cite web |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/2200-trees-planted-changunarayan-forest |title=2,200 trees planted in Changunarayan forest |date=16 July 2017 |publisher=Himalayan News Service |accessdate=2 October 2023 }} This process may be less successful in drier fire ecosystems where nutrients are recycled as ashes.{{cite web |last1=Kloetzli |first1=Sophie |title=Des forêts en ville? La méthode Miyawaki n'est pas la solution miracle |url=https://reporterre.net/Des-forets-en-ville-La-methode-Miyawaki-n-est-pas-la-solution-miracle |website=reporterre.net |access-date=3 October 2023}}{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/237na4.pdf |title=Restoring Mediterranean forests with the Miyawaki method |work=DG Environment News Alert Service |publisher=European Union |date=14 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511111500/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/237na4.pdf |accessdate=3 October 2023 |archive-date=2012-05-11 }} The dense pocket forest forms a capture mechanism for wind-blown embers, dried ground litter is an ignition source, and the multi-layered pocket forest forms a fuel ladder with wildfire risks in urban areas.{{cite journal |title=Vegetation's influence on fire behavior goes beyond just being fuel |last1=Loudermilk |first1=E. Louise |last2=O'Brien |first2=Joseph J. |last3=Goodrick |first3=Scott L. |last4=Linn |first4=Rodman R. |last5=Skowronski |first5=Nicholas S. |last6=Hiers |first6=J. Kevin |journal=Fire Ecology |date=2022 |volume=18 |issue=1 |page=9 |publisher=Springer Open |doi=10.1186/s42408-022-00132-9 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022FiEco..18a...9L }}

Gallery

File:Miyawaki forest at Edappally Eranakulam 02.jpg

File:Miyawaki forest at Edappally Eranakulam 03.jpg

File:Miyawaki forest at Edappally Eranakulam 01.jpg

File:Miyawaki forest at Edappally Eranakulam 04.jpg

Miyawaki forest at Edappally, Eranakulam.

pocket forest

Methods

Examples

Potential problems

Gallery

References

Further reading