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Eco123 Revista da Economia e Ecologia
Saturday 16th November 2024.
Answer: Firstly, by no longer taking part in ineffective UN climate conferences, such as the one currently taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP 29). On the one hand, we should stop flying*, and, on the other hand, we should systematically plant new, young trees in sensible places. Biologist Sonia Soares from Algoz practised this last Friday: with children from the Silves South school group in Algoz, at the EB 2/3 school. On the one hand, she is reducing the carbon footprint and burning less paraffin and, on the other hand, converting the CO2 already in the atmosphere into oxygen by planting a new Miyawaki forest**. This will help to solve the climate crisis in the long term, one tree at a time. The tree planting was supported by the Rotary Club, the town hall in Silves and the municipal administration in Algoz: 300 trees and bushes, 31 tree and plant species. If a Miyawaki forest were to be planted in the Algarve every week, CO2 emissions from tourism could be offset in this way.
Act with care and make mindful decisions. In addition, every decision is put to the test. What are the benefits of a climate conference? And, on the other hand, what will a newly planted Miyawaki forest bring us in the future? ECO123 is always wide awake when there are projects that extend our life on this planet a little longer, as long as it is still working. Because planting trees is always a game with a big unknown: how much water do we have left for the sustainably planted mixed forest? And how hot will it get in the coming years? Three degrees, four degrees, six degrees or even hotter?
Change of scene. When I’m not asleep and I’m awake, I am a keen observer. It’s part of my job. I can pretend to be asleep, but my ears are always listening attentively, and my nose is smelling very carefully. Sometimes I open one eye if it helps, showing there’s something that interests me and it might be exciting. I often watch trees grow. In real life, I sometimes close my eyes so that my nose can smell and my ears can hear better. Because I don’t want to be surprised by a forest fire at night. I have survived five forest fires in this way: sleeping with my ears open and smelling the smoke before the fire surprises me. So much for the background of this story.
Last year, I planted a special oak tree in our botanical garden here in Monchique, together with an ECO123 reader from Loulé. That in itself is nothing special. But as it was already a bit late in the year, I looked for a very special place for the oak near the water. Trees have to be planted in the rainy season in winter, preferably between November and March. Why? When I ask a person in the city this question, they normally just shrug their shoulders in reply. Their knowledge about trees and forests seems to have been lost. That’s why I like living and working in our forest garden here in the mountains.
** https://taz.de/Mit-dem-Rad-zur-Klimakonferenz-in-Baku/!6047878/
** This type of forest was named after the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki (1928-2021). Akira Miyawaki was a pioneer in the creation of small forests up to 200 square metres in size.
Do you know why trees are planted in the rainy season? Write to theobald.tiger8550@gmail.com and win a guided tour of the ECO123 forest garden, with the planting of a young tree.
The subscriber really wanted to plant this tree, but it was already May. First, I looked for a strong tree as a seedling. Then I looked for a safe place to plant the tree, very close to the water mine and our water tank in the botanical garden. The roots of the oak would definitely find their way to the water, and it was good water and good soil, rich in nutrients: terra preta. And the oak would later provide shade for the tank and the mine when it grew…
It was a bit like going to a football match and, instead of choosing a standing place on the curve of the stadium, finding a seat in the stands. It is always important to choose the right place to plant a tree.
Now, a year and a half later, the oak has already grown 30 centimetres. 30 centimetres in a year and a half! Oaks are slow-growing trees, very frugal. And, to make sure it didn’t go hungry or thirsty, I initially visited it twice a week, watered it with a watering can and mulched it. Then, in the first autumn and throughout the winter, it received no more water. That summer I watered it once a month. This was necessary during the drought. She’s slowly getting to an age where she no longer needs ‘the teat bottle’ and is entering puberty. I visited her again a few days ago and cleared the prickly brambles and grass around her and loosened up the soil, mixing the earth with the mulch. This gives her space to breathe and continue to grow. I will continue to accompany her and look after her when I can. Otherwise, another member of our cooperative will take over.
Then I found several invasive acacias that had taken up residence near her and, after just five months, they were as big as the oak after a year and a half. We eliminate invasives and only accept native tree species. We are creating a native forest garden with trees that also feed us with their fruit. Invasive acacias and mimosas have no place here. Instead, we have olive trees, peach and almond trees, carob and apricot trees, as well as ash, alder, oak and lime trees, alongside medronheiros and many native plants, such as the wild orchid.
Incidentally, I communicate with the oak, as well as with many other trees. Because they communicate with me. Anyone who plants a small tree and cares for it knows exactly what I mean by communication. An example: they give their newly planted friend water from a watering can and it thanks them with a fragrance. We always think of communication as ‘talking to each other’ But, as a foreigner in Portugal who first had to learn Portuguese, it took time before I could join in the conversation. While I was learning, I had to communicate in other ways. Trees have no mouth and no voice, no legs and no feet to run away. Once they are planted, they have to stay there for their entire life. That is why the site must be well chosen for the tree. It needs sun, but not too much, and it only likes wind when it has grown. Trees like rain and good soil and love being in the company of other trees. That’s why the solution in every case is a Miyawaki forest. Sonia Soares has managed to motivate both teachers and students. She has managed to organise financial resources that are not provided by the state, but by an association such as the Rotary Club. If she can now organise the continuous watering of the small trees, over the next 20 years, the many small trees will grow into a forest that will grow along with the young people.
After all, anyone planting trees should know which species are particularly favoured, why and where. And trees should always be accompanied for the first three to five years and not be left alone. Because trees are social beings. This is what Suzanne Simard from Vancouver University in British Columbia (Canada) told me recently when I interviewed her via ZOOM. I carried out a little experiment recommended by the professor, which she describes in her latest book, ‘Finding the Mother Tree’…(https://suzannesimard.com/finding-the-mother-tree-book/
In a place in our botanical garden, near a spring, there is a 300-year-old cork oak that was completely burned in the forest fire of August 2018. It stands there dressed in black and is slowly recovering. I walk past it at least three times a week. Then I look at it and greet it. I never peel the cork from cork oaks, and I don’t make any money from them. A fire three to four metres high swept through the forest in 2018 and destroyed half of the trees there. The burnt cork oak has now been fitted with a sprinkler to protect it from the next forest fire. Climate change and intense forest fires only occur where humans have intervened in the natural cycle and planted or promoted foreign monocultures. Eucalyptus is a foreign tree species from Australia that is only planted in Monchique for commercial reasons and subsidised by the state. I witnessed what the mixed forest looked like before the triumph of the eucalyptus in Monchique. There were many bubbling springs, and the streams were full of water. The soils were moist and now, 40 years later, they are dry. Anyone who plants more than 50% of their forest area with monocultures of eucalyptus should not be surprised if the soil slowly and continuously dries out, springs dry up and streams run dry.
But let’s go back to the native cork oak. You should definitely leave cork oaks alone after a forest fire. Very often they have the strength to come back to life. It’s like cats. They have seven lives and cork oaks are similarly tough. The cork protects the tree against forest fires. And if, like this cork oak, it has a very thick (unpeeled) elephant skin, it could still be completely intact underneath. In her book ‘Finding the Mother Tree’, Professor Suzanne Simard writes about strong trees that adopt small, retarded or diseased trees and provide them with food. And that’s exactly what I wanted to test. So I planted a home-grown avocado tree at the very end of a branch of the cork oak a year earlier, in 2017. And I vowed not to water this tree under any circumstances, because avocado trees need a similar amount of water to eucalyptus. So, not wasting a drop of water on this avocado tree was one part of my experiment. I saw the other part after the fire.
This young avocado tree was burned in the fire the following year and I had already written it off, when suddenly two new stems sprouted from the ground and, after six years, these stems are now two metres tall. And I didn’t water it for six years, I just wished it ‘good luck’ as it grew.
An olive tree has also sown itself under the branches of the oak and this also participates and communicates with the old cork oak. Let’s call it the mother tree, as botanist Suzanne Simard describes it in her book. The olive was also adopted by the 300-year-old cork oak, which now provides it with food, like a mother. The fact is that the 300-year-old cork oak regained its leaves after the first rain; the fire had severely wounded it. Nevertheless, it gives what it can and there is even enough for two little trees…
So much for communication between trees. Try growing a young avocado tree or a mango plant in a large glass of water. Simply place the core on the windowsill on the sunny side of your kitchen, facing south. Trees are nourished by their roots and, because we humans cannot see what is happening underground, we are blind to it. In a glass of water, however, we can observe the root system in a relaxed and transparent way: for days, weeks and even months. I watch my little trees as they drink. Little by little, I give them new or fresh water. We should always educate ourselves a little further and take the time and patience to venture a look through our smartphone into the real forest, even if we can’t see the wood for the trees at first glance. When we start to learn how trees communicate, forests become a source of real enrichment. Then, with our sharp eyes and keen senses, we will learn to love a mixed forest and get to know the nature around us. Because we also have many other plant and animal species here in Monchique. It all depends on what you try. Try planting an acorn in a flowerpot with humus soil, or a walnut or a chestnut. Then you will understand why I prefer planting trees rather than talking about them at climate conferences. Let me surprise you…
To be continued next week…
