Source: https://www.creatingtomorrowsforests.co.uk/blog/the-miyawaki-method-for-creating-forests

The Miyawaki Method is one of the most effective tree planting methods for creating forest cover quickly on degraded land that has been used for other purposes such as agriculture or construction. It is effective because it is based on natural reforestation principles, i.e. using trees native to the area and replicating natural forest regeneration processes. It has some significant benefits over more traditional forestry methods when used in smaller afforestation projects and is particularly effective in the urban environment. The trees planted by this method grow much faster, jump starting the forest creation process and capturing more carbon. Higher biodiversity has been recorded in Miyawaki forests than in neighbouring woodland, so it’s an ideal method for creating diverse forest ecosystems quickly. Within the context of the current climate change emergency and stark warnings about the global loss of biodiversity, being able to create diverse, healthy forests quickly could prove vital to meeting international targets and tackling these issues.

Miyawaki Method principles

The essential principle of the Miyawaki method is using species of trees that would occur naturally in that area and that work together to create a diverse, multi-layered forest community. This creates a resilient and thriving forest ecosystem with species that complement each other, restoring “native forests by native trees”. The selection of species to plant in a given area was originally linked to the theory of potential natural vegetation (PNV), in other words the vegetation that would occur in a specific area without further human interference. Extensive surveys have been carried out globally to determine the PNV across the world (see Hengl et al. 2018 for a summary), although there is fierce debate about the most effective way of defining ‘native’ species. In the UK the PNV is predominantly oak or oak/ash woodland, with beech woodland in the South East of England and boreal pine forest in Scotland. Estuarine and wet woodlands occur in specific habitats, particularly around The Wash and on the Somerset Levels. In spite of the inherent difficulties in defining native species, those that are adapted to local conditions (in the UK oak, willow, birch for example) will fare better and contribute more to increasing biodiversity than more recently introduced species (e.g horse chestnut, plane).

One of the most noticeable differences in a Miyawaki forest is that the seedlings are planted at very high densities. This replicates the regeneration process that occurs in a natural forest when a clearing in the canopy opens up due to a larger tree falling. The saplings grow very fast to compete for the light and then natural selection will favour the fastest growing individuals and act to thin out the trees. The result is a densely packed pioneer forest that grows in 20 to 30 years instead of taking 150 to 200 years. This has obvious benefits for projects that are working to maximise a forest’s carbon sequestration potential or recreate habitat for biodiversity and wildlife.

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The history of the Miyawaki Method

The Miyawaki Method is named after its creator, Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist and plant ecologist who has a particular interest in phytosociology, i.e. how plant species interact with each other within communities. Following the completion of a PhD in plant ecology, Miyawaki went to study with phytosociologist Reinhold Tüxen in Germany, where he learned about the concept of potential natural vegetation. When he returned to Japan and applied the PNV principles to the Japanese landscape, he became interested in the relics of ancient forests found around temples and shrines, known as Chinju-no-mori, sacred groves. These fragments of forest were composed of trees such as Japanese blue oak (Quercus glauca), Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata) and Sakaki (Cleyera japonica), rather than the coniferous trees such as larch (Larix kaempferi) and Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), which had been introduced from other areas and dominated local forests. There was also a distinct layering in the forest structure, with slow-growing canopy species, tree layer species, smaller sub-tree layer species, shrubs and ground covering herbs.

When Miyawaki combined these concepts, he developed a new way of planting forests. This was based on the native vegetation that he postulated should be growing in that area, as deduced from PNV studies, and his understanding of how these species would interact and grow to produce a dynamic forest ecosystem. His early field trials showed great promise that this method could dramatically accelerate forest growth and result in a stable and diverse forest ecosystem. Since then Miyawaki forests have been successfully planted on more than 3000 sites globally.

How to plant forest using the Miyawaki Method

• Survey local forest fragments and identify PNV tree species that are best suited to the conditions
• Determine the forest community structure – identify the main canopy and tree layer species and select companion species based on their compatibility with the key species. This is assessed by looking at local indigenous vegetation and analysis of forest structures elsewhere in the world
• Conduct a soil survey to help decide on the type of mulch and soil nutrients required
• Collect seeds from local trees to grow seedlings or obtain seedlings of local variants of tree species. There are specific recommendations for how to raise the seedlings including growing them under shaded covers
• Apply a mulch made from local materials to protect and nourish the seedlings – this simulates the protection offered by humus / leaf litter in a natural forest
• Treat the soil and the seedlings with soil improvers or a mycorrhizal improver
• Plant the seedlings randomly and at high density, 20,000 to 30,000 per hectare instead of 1,000 per hectare, with stakes for support
• Water regularly and keep the site weed free for the first 2 years

What are the benefits?

• Trees in a Miyawaki forest grow up to ten times faster at around a metre per year, reaching a stable multi-layered forest community in 20 to 30 years instead of hundreds of years

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Trees, gardens, and people: learning from Indigenous agroforestry

https://quiviracoalition.org/agroforestry/

Agroforestry is described as “trees on farms on purpose” by Keefe Keeley at the Savanna Institute. It is the intentional blending of trees with other forms of crop or animal agriculture. For the last two years, I’ve been coordinating the Southwestern Tribal Agroforestry Outreach Project but I’ve been wrapped up in agroforestry since a young age. When I was four, my family moved to Niamey, Niger because my father, a soil scientist, supported regreening the Sahel projects taking place there in the nineties that aimed to reverse the increasing drought and famine. We lived there for two years, at which time my father worked with farmers, scientists, and others on farmer-led regeneration to restore trees on the landscape for agricultural and soil benefits. French colonialism had started a culture in the Sahel of removing all the native trees, which was contributing to the degradation of the land. One of the great insights of project team members was to stop planting trees (that would often die), but rather to let the native trees grow, and plant crops between them, providing crop protection from the sun and wind, while also providing fuel and animal fodder. Over the course of multiple decades, due to the work of local and global players – particularly the farmers – twelve million acres of trees re-grew, equaling about two hundred million trees. You can learn more about this and similar work in this New Yorker article. My father didn’t know, at the time, the impacts this effort would have. But he always loved working with farmers, and instilled in me a sense that people who are connected to the land know best about how to care for it, and the impacts of global colonialism have had degrading effects on land throughout the world. It was also there in Niger that I developed my love of trees. In the dry, dusty landscape, trees were havens under which to rest, or look for chameleons. I would find myself stuck in the tops of mango trees – ambitious enough to get up there, but not yet clever enough to climb down.

Photos curtesy of Leah’s family from their time in Africa.

When I was in high school, my dad went on to work with coffee cooperatives in Rwanda (coffee being a classic agroforestry system). He loved working on the social side of agroforestry, developing farmer cooperatives that provided farmers better prices and increased access to the global market. Because of my father’s work, I learned early on that agroforestry is capable of building soil health and biodiversity while improving livelihoods. I went on to receive my master’s in agroecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working with agroforesters and co-developing the Fruit and Nut Compass. After graduate school, I arrived in New Mexico to begin my job at Quivira, and set out to find the other tree nerds. With the Southwest Agroforestry Action Network (SWAAN) we developed online silvopasture listening sessions. We were lighting the beacon, trying to find others in the Southwest interested in or practicing agroforestry. Inevitably, when looking for local examples of regenerative agriculture, one returns to the reality that regenerative agriculture has been taking place in many forms since time immemorial, led by Indigenous people in the region. Agroforestry is no different in this regard.In 2021, Quivira, SWAAN, and Trees, Water & People launched the Southwestern Agroforestry Outreach Project, funded by the National Agroforestry Center. Over the last two years of the project, our team has grown to include Treston Chee (videographer), Alicia Thompson (synthesis writer), and Victoria Atencio (consultant). The project highlights the Indigenous-led agroforestry of Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, Tewa Women United, and the Santa Ana Native Plants Nursery. Each of these organizations is conducting agroforestry in a unique way, with an emphasis on the community and growing culturally important plants in a sustainable way. Agroforestry in these spaces is a byproduct of these organizations’ care for land and people, rather than an end in itself. Our team developed a suite of multimedia resources to help you learn about Indigenous-led agroforestry in the Southwest. Stay tuned as there are two more videos forthcoming!

CR Richard Straight/USDA Forest Service, National Agroforestry Center SILVOPASTURE SYSTEMS

Our project team has learned so much along the way – including the joy of creative storytelling done in reciprocity, and the importance of a patient and iterative process, ensuring that our partners, and their Tribal leadership, have control over their own narrative. And, most importantly, that healthy, curious relationships lead to creative and exciting outcomes. When we focus on care for the earth, and care for people, the possibilities for regenerative land stewardship become more abundant and clear. We hope that these materials inspire you to support movements for Indigenous sovereignty and agroforestry.

Leah Potter-WeightEducation and Outreach Project Manager