Planting tiny urban forests can boost biodiversity and fight climate change

Photo by Rap Dela Rea on Unsplash. Close Authorship. An urban forest in Shirakawa-Go, Japan. Article by Alex Thornton.

How much space do you think you need to grow a forest?

If your answer is bigger than a couple of tennis courts, think again. Miniature forests are springing up on patches of land in urban areas around the world, often planted by local community groups using a method inspired by Japanese temples.

The idea is simple — take brownfield sites, plant them densely with a wide variety of native seedlings and let them grow with minimal intervention. The result, according to the method’s proponents, is complex ecosystems perfectly suited to local conditions that improve biodiversity, grow quickly and absorb more carbon dioxide. […]

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