COMMUNITY FOREST
The purpose of this article is to bring light on the “Importance of forest near living space”.
Muddle
More diseases affect the human community because of the low-quality air. Low-quality air happens because of the pollution created by vehicles and industries by increasing the carbon content in the air.
Forest
The forest available in the world acts as a carbon sink, whereby the forest plants absorb the carbon content in air and stores them under the earth. Forests also increase the oxygen level in the air. The forests are available at a distance far away from the living area. Very few villages or towns near the forest will get benefitted from these forests.
The plants and forests are living organisms without any physical movement. Assuming that a single forest could intake carbon content from the nearby places (let us say up to 10 kilometers). The carbon content though present in the air beyond the 10 Km may not be absorbed by the forest. So it is important to create a forest in every town or village or city, which may improve the air quality. But still, this kind of forest will be established outside the living space though it is mandatory to have this kind of forest.
Key
To address this issue, every Community or Society or Nagar or Apartment must have a small forest near to their living space. The existing communities can identify the space for the forest and create the forest. The new communities that are in the design stage should be allotted with a specific piece of land exclusively for the forest.
Components of a forest
The forest should consist of tall trees (timber trees) that can grow above 100 feet, crown trees (oilseed trees) that can grow between 70 to 80 feet tall with the broader crown at the top, small trees (fruit trees) that can grow between 40 to 50 feet tall, shrubs (flowering plants) that can grow 10 to 20 feet tall, small plants that can grow 2 to 4 feet tall, veins, and creepers.
Popularity
Nowadays, the mini forest concept is gaining popularity with the Miyawaki method of forest plantation which was invented by a Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. Though many of the plantation firms started creating Miyawaki forest in cities and towns for the nominal amount with or without maintenance, the community members can themselves involve in the forest creation process that improves the relationship among the community members. As we are in the process of creating the forest the maintenance is required only for 6 months. After which no humans can enter the forest due to its dense growth.
Conclusion
The community forest can act as a home for the birds, and small animals like squirrels, etc., the air quality in the community will improve significantly. It also avoids the stormwater runoff by diffusing the water into the earth at a faster rate. Therefore, each community should start creating a community forest as early as possible.
(This was an intuitive article written by Dr.S.Ragavan, Assistant professor, R.B.Institute of Management Studies, Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
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