SURROUNDED BY heritage buildings, skyscrapers and commercial establishments, a forest of 11,000 trees is growing rapidly in the heart of Pune city. Four years ago, the Maharashtra forest department had planted the saplings of native tree varieties on half-a-hectare barren patch on Taljai hill as per a novel afforestation method. "The forest now stands over 2 m tall and attracts people and birds alike," says Pradeep Sankpal, Range Forest Officer, in-charge of the Taljai hill.
The dense urban forest has been created following a method propounded by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1980s. The method essentially compresses layers of a forest—biomass, tree numbers and canopy spread—to fit on a small patch of land and also reduces the time taken for it to grow. For instance, under the method, saplings are planted with a gap of 30 cm against the conventional practice where the gap between two saplings is 2.4 m. Such dense plantation induces competition among the trees for sunlight, which then grow taller to avoid being shaded by others. As per an estimation by Miyawaki, who has created 1,500 such forests across Japan, India, South East Asia and Brazil, trees in a dense plantation grow 10 times faster than most other plants and result in 30 times denser vegetation in just two to three years.
Denne historien er fra July 16, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra July 16, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara