Wild Flowers at the Corner of a Cornfield - Martha Darley Mutrie , c. 1855-60 .

British , 1824-1885

The popular Miyawaki method of reforestation, often used to create “mini-forests” in urban areas, lacks empirical evidence to support its claimed benefits, according to a new study. Proponents of the method have claimed rapid growth is achieved by soil improvement and dense planting, the latter of which causes saplings to complete for sunlight. The Miyawaki method has also been claimed to accelerate succession, enhance biodiversity, boost carbon sequestration, and increase tree density. In the study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology in December 2025, researchers reviewed 51 pieces of scientific literature on the Miyawaki method and found that only 41% provided quantitative assessments. Of these, only 33% included a control and a mere 14% included replication, key elements of the scientific method.

[...]

Fernández, Morales and their co-authors write in their study that among the reviewed documents, the two most common claims about the Miyawaki method were that “it promotes rapid growth (up to ten times faster) and that the forest reaches maturity within a relatively short time span (20 to 30 years).” They found the former claim “partially supported,” while the latter had “null empirical evidence.” The study also assessed claims about the Miyawaki method’s climate and ecological benefits, finding eight out of 51 of the papers they reviewed assert that the method increases carbon sequestration. However, only two papers actually estimated carbon stocks, and they “found no statistically significant differences compared to other methods over longer time periods.”

[...]

“The effectiveness of the Miyawaki method — or other restoration strategies — may depend, at least in part, on which ecological processes dominate in each ecosystem,” their study states. The pair says that in Mediterranean climate ecosystems like that around Santiago, with dry, hot summers and mild winters, plants collaborate rather than compete for resources. This contrasts with a key tenet of the Miyawaki method, which holds that plants will compete for resources. “We are not against the Miyawaki method,” Fernández emphasizes. “But we are worried that a method that was designed for specific conditions is being applied everywhere.”

mutual 2: the new dandys world event is mid as fuck

mutual 3: liveblogging a foursome

mutual 4: on lunch break