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UPSC Prelims 2022 · Environment · Nature’s Machinery

The "Miyawaki method" is well known for the:

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: (c) Creation of mini forests in urban areas

Akira Miyawaki’s method: many native species planted densely (3–5 per m²) on enriched soil, growing into a mini-forest about 10× faster.

The idea

A natural forest takes a century or more to form because it passes through grass, shrub and tree stages. The Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki skipped the early stages: prepare rich soil, then plant the trees of the final native forest very close together. Crowded saplings race upward for light.

List the native trees of the area → Enrich the soil with compost → Plant three to five saplings per square metre, mixed → Water and weed for two or three years → Then leave it alone: a dense mini-forest

Why the others are wrong

(a) It is about native forests, not commercial farming.

(b) It uses native species, never GM plants.

The trap

But remember the details: native species, dense, multi-layered.

Also know

It works on very small plots, which suits cities. Its limits: it is costly per square metre, and a planted patch is not a substitute for protecting natural forest.

🔒 Miyawaki = dense native mini-forests in cities (Japan; used by many Indian municipal bodies).

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