What is good to plant under trees? Planting under trees keeps both economic and environmental concerns in mind
Forestry land is not only for afforestation and growing seedlings; while following certain regulations and without affecting the natural environment, it can also be used to grow cash crops and create more economic value. In Wulai, the backyard of Greater Taipei, there is a piece of understory economy; Xinxian Nursery grows three understory crops: jewel orchid (Anoectochilus formosanus), shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms. Because the natural tree shade provides good growing conditions, the crops produced under the forest are of good quality. Ma Fujing, associate researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, said that because the natural tree shade provides good growing conditions, the crops produced under the forest are of good quality.
According to Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the “Forestry Act”, land designated as forestry land cannot be used for other purposes. Forest farmers can only carry out afforestation and seedling cultivation on forest land. During the many years while trees grow, in order to supplement forest farmers' income, the Forestry Bureau increases the output of forestry by-products by opening up the understory economy. However, forest farmers must follow the four no's principle: they must not affect forest growth, must not disturb the forest land and must maintain forest vegetation, and they must not apply herbicides or insecticides or apply chemical fertilizers.
Ma Fujing explained that according to the four no's principle, the understory crops grown should be organic products. In the case of shiitake mushrooms, a large temperature difference and sufficient moisture can make the mushrooms fruit earlier, and a shady, humid environment happens to provide exactly these conditions. Tree shade can avoid direct sunlight, help regulate temperature and prevent water from evaporating too quickly. Using natural tree shade for cover avoids the black shade nets commonly used by mushroom farmers and reduces the pollution of plastic waste on the environment. In addition, compared with shiitake mushrooms grown on space bags, shiitake mushrooms grown on Fagaceae basswood have a firmer texture and a richer aroma.
Ma Fujing explained that the benefits provided by tree shade are many. Because wood ear mushrooms like to grow in hot and humid environments, tree shade can provide sunlight regulation without letting the wood ear mushrooms die from drying out under direct sunlight. In addition, jewel orchid (Anoectochilus formosanus) likes to grow in semi-shady and humid environments, so understory areas shaded by large trees are suitable for planting jewel orchid. Using baskets and nets for covering can prevent the plants from being eaten by snails and wild animals. Forest farmers can place the baskets on the forest land, with extremely low impact on the original ecology under the forest.
