In the natural world, no one digs holes to plant trees…

From 2012 to 2014, Forest Commons (then known as Arbres Sauveurs) implemented a project to regenerate the endemic dry tropical forest of the Coromandel Coast in Tamil Nadu near Pondicherry in South-eastern India.  This work was carried out in partnership with the India-based organisation Sadhana Forest and with the support of the Inddigo Society.

The project focused on planting oxalogenous tree species, as well as other endemic species that are important to the regeneration of the tropical dry evergreen forest, Sempervirens, which is native to the region but which has almost entirely disappeared (only 0.01% of the original forest cover remains).  Our local partner Sadhana Forest continues to focus on naturally restoring this threatened forest, which is vital for regional biodiversity and ecosystem health.

Initial project activities involved the creation of dikes, ditches and reservoirs in order to best collect and direct available surface water at the planting sites.

We then planted the trees according to a technique called “aggradation”, which draws its inspiration from nature.  Indeed, in the natural world, no one digs holes to plant trees…  Instead, seeds settle on fallen leaf litter, which also eventually accumulates to cover them, and the seeds then germinate in this organic bed resting above the underlying soil.