Forest Conservation through Seed Bank Technology - May 2003

Forest Conservation through Seed Bank Technology - May 2003

Nagaoka Environmental Development Co., Ltd. of Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, is using "seed bank technology" for afforestation of mountain forest slopes. With this technology, logged cedar, pine, and other timber is chipped, mixed with seeds and fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, etc.) collected from the local soil, and then sprayed onto the ground for revegetation. It is particularly effective for slope restoration and is expected to reduce costs by 50% or more compared to conventional tree-planting methods.

With this technology, Nagaoka Environmental Development can not only prevent the invasion of non-native species, but also effectively restore native vegetation. Furthermore, this technology has increased the rate of revegetation from 25% to 35% per hectare, which has enabled the company to promote reforestation projects covering 10 hectares per year.

This initiative, which aims not only to maintain the local ecosystem but also to ensure sustainable use of forest resources, is spreading to other forest conservation enterprises in the province. It has also received a grant from the government's "Environmental Restoration Program" and is attracting attention as an important technology to support reforestation in the region.