Reforestation saw 5,339 trees planted at site in Pingtung - Taipei Times

Reforestation by the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute in Pingtung County's Hengchun Township (恆春) has resulted in the planting of 5,339 trees of 18 native species over the past three-plus years.

The institute was commissioned by the Pingtung Ocean and Fisheries Affairs Management Office to reforest 2.64 hectares in a coastal area near Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻).

The county government has been expanding Singhai Fishing Harbor (興海漁港) since 2021, with the project involving the deregistration of protected forest, requiring the developer to compensate vegetation cover.

Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute via CNA

The institute removed invasive plant species and planted 5,339 trees of 18 indigenous species — including Indian almond, Alexandrian laurel, coast hibiscus, lantern tree, screw pine, five-stamens China laurel, Obovata planchonella, common Cerberus and Formosan date palm — across about 0.7 hectares on the reforestation land, it said.

The institute interlaced seeds with seed-grown plants to accelerate the formation of vegetation cover and forest structures, it said.

The method has the potential to be applied to coastal forest restoration in other areas of southern Taiwan, it added.

In 2023, the land was covered with invasive plants, such as white popinac, siam weed and giant sensitive plant, the institute said.

However, the reforestation efforts have resulted in native trees growing to more than 1.6m tall and the development of a multilayered forest structure, it said, adding that there are also naturally regenerated seedlings growing.

Researchers observed wildlife in the restored forest, including Formosan hares, yellow-gray freshwater crabs, Taiwan bulbuls, skinks and tree lizards, showing that the forest ecosystems are recovering and that planting native species can benefit ecological restoration, the institute said.

While the site is exposed to strong northeast monsoon winds and is in a sika deer foraging hotspot, soil and irrigation improvement work and deer-proof fencing would help the seedlings survive, it said.

The survival rate of the reforested trees at the site was 1.65 times the standard after three years, showing that proper reforestation approaches can improve habitat quality and boost biodiversity, it said.

The reforestation work proves that environmental development and ecological compensation must go hand in hand, it added.