Zhang Yuanming / what is the value of that artificial and monotonous mahogany forest?

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Is the value of the forest only wood? Is it true that the management of forestry can only narrowly see how much high-priced wood can be produced? Can't forestry management macroscopically calculate the total economic benefits brought by trees and trees? Ecology may be difficult to calculate, but when planting native trees with both tree value and honey source, has anyone calculated that the economic income accumulated year after year will be lower than the profit gained by felling decades later?

We expect the ecology to be protected, and we also expect to have both economic income. Because the scope of ecological conservation is too large, it is difficult for people who always have to come up with figures to prove it. Why not start by raising wild bees and afforestation, which also has ecological maintenance, instead of planting trees such as ecologically isolated trees, such as mahogany!

The artificial forest area is quiet, and the ecology of the primary forest is rich.

When I visited the famous bakery in Hsinchu a few months ago, I happened to talk about the fun of mountaineering with a group of veteran climbers. They lamented that they did not know what they were doing in the early years of afforestation! Every time I go to the artificial forest area, it is quiet, not even the birds go in, it is not like a forest at all. Or the original forest area is rich in ecology, not only the sound of birds, a variety of plants interspersed with it, walking in the meantime is to enjoy.

When I returned to my hometown of Zhongliao in Nantou during the Spring Festival, I decided to take a tour around the hill near my hiking home. In particular, when I was a child, I often heard that my classmates lived in the "green onion forest", but I had never been there! My mother said that in the early years, our family had a piece of land to grow bananas in Banluliao, and my third uncle's marriage was made by looking for an assistant to farm. In the company of my son. I walked into the hilly land that was not far away but had never been visited.

On the way, I saw a piece of litchi forest that had not been cultivated for a long time, all of which were decades-old trees, but it could be seen that the owner of the garden no longer managed and allowed the litchi to be covered with vines. Even so, all kinds of birds can be heard in your ears and butterflies can be seen in your eyes.

Crossing the lychee forest and crossing the mahogany line, what comes into view is a large mahogany forest, which is really spectacular. Judging from the distance between plants, the landlord is managing with his heart. Walking inside is really cool, completely no sun, through the process, quiet can almost hear their own heartbeat. This reminds me of what my mountain friends said earlier that afforestation is like an ecological dead city.

I feel like an ecological isolation zone, just like a fire lane in the forest, so that the forest fire will not cross the boundary. Will large tracts of exotic tree species such as mahogany afforestation in the mountains, like fire alleys, so that wild animals can not or do not like to cross? This kind of afforestation is similar to the planting of southern fir in large areas in the early years, and later found that the result is not what it originally thought, and it is a bit wishful thinking, but it will take ten years for trees to change in ten years.

Photography / Zhang Yuanming

What is the value of the forest? Are there only trees?

A few days ago, because I wanted to herd bees to go to an organic tea garden in Fuxing Kukala tribe in Taoyuan City, I was really overjoyed to see a piece of native cinnamon. Because after September 21, the government promoted afforestation and selected cinnamon, but unexpectedly, it planted a lot of fragrance without knowing it, until the trees became shady, and it was difficult to turn back. The native cinnamon tree has become a treasure in the hearts of many people. I have always wanted to see the true face of the native cinnamon tree, but unexpectedly, the encounter is a large area.

The owner of the organic tea garden is not only organic, but also ecological. I saw that the original forest beside the tea garden was rich. I mentioned that Taiwan's wild bees had suffered an unprecedented disaster since the year before last, and many beekeepers were wiped out. My friends in Chunyang, near the Wushe, said that there were fewer bees in the field, and that there were fewer wild bees in the new tribes across from the Lala Mountains. I heard him say that he could not feel the decrease in the number of wild bees, and he had been worrying that the wild bees loved him and affected his work.

I suddenly thought, what is the value of the forest? Is it only the value of trees?

No matter whether the Forestry Bureau is afforesting in the mountains or encouraging afforestation, high-priced wood species have become the only choice. Xiao Nan, camphor trees, black stone, and high-priced exotic mahogany have also become one of the main options (it seems that the success rate is high, and many farmers choose).

Is it possible that trees such as nanmu, cinnamon and Fagaceae (I have not learned, do not know much, and there should be more) are not worth popularizing because the use of wood is limited, and it is not worth planting in places where the Forestry Bureau was originally a native forest.

If we limit the value of the forest to the value of trees, we may also kill the ecology. Trees like Fagaceae bear fruit that is the food of many wild animals. Without these important foods, there will be less food to live on, and the ecology will be out of balance. Such as nanmu, cinnamon, red-light ratio, and even duck feet, which can only be used to make matchsticks or clogs, are important honey plants for wild bees.

When we think about forestry policy only in terms of the value of wood, the ecology of the forest changes silently. As those mountain friends said, walking in afforestation is annoyingly quiet, because it is monotonous, not only the trees are monotonous, but also wild flowers and weeds are gone, birds and insects are gone, and they always feel that they are not walking in the wilderness, it is like a quiet dead place, the only difference is that it is still green in appearance.

Find out the practice of both ecological and forestry management, beekeeping and diversified application.

I dare not say much about other ecological values. Recently, however, when I came into contact with beekeeping (wild bees in Taiwan, which is commonly known, the scientific name should be Chinese bees, which is the same as Japan and the mainland), I was surprised to realize that this is an industry with both ecological and forestry management. In the case of afforestation, it just so happens that my father took part in the use of his own land, and my brother is now inheriting and managing it. A lot of camphor trees and mahogany have been planted on the land for more than 15 years, and there is no value for felling and selling it. If we wait for another 10 years, the five-cent land may be sold for seven or 8 million yuan, or 10 million yuan. This equal share is divided equally, with an output value of at most NT $500000 a year. The point is that there has been no income in the past 20 years, so we can only wait foolishly.

If you can plant honey plants, such as nanmu (which has nothing to do with Xiao Nan) or cinnamon, you should be able to support about 20 cases of wild bees. A box of wild bees is calculated to produce 20 jin of wild honey a year. The market price of a jin of wild honey is as high as 1800 yuan. Calculated at 1500 yuan, there will be 600000 yuan a year. Nanmu can not be used as building materials. It is estimated that it can be cut and replanted in rotation after 15 years, and there is also an income from wood. The total income is still higher than the production of high-priced wood, and there is an annual income, which can support the family.

I am not a forestry expert, nor an ecologist, and I am just getting started with beekeeping. Because I love to run into the mountains, I see it, think of it, and share my ideas with you. There must be something wrong, and the calculation model is even more inaccurate.

But what I believe is that forestry management should no longer just take material income as a consideration, diversified thinking, we can certainly find a win-win model with both ecology and economy. The beekeeping I mentioned is only one of them, and the intangible benefits of other species diversity are sometimes too large to calculate. Perhaps we can encourage high-priced wood and Fagaceae and other native trees to be planted in an one-to-one or one-to-two ratio, so that we can not only earn material income, but also enrich the ecology!

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