Where do you go when you want to escape into nature? For many in Taiwan, one of the top places for getting away from it all is Xitou in Nantou County. Xitou has an experimental forest owned by National Taiwan University. It''s an idyllic nature retreat, but a tremendous amount of work goes into maintaining its beauty. Today in our Sunday special report, we meet the people who are fighting the elements to preserve the Xitou forest. They''re slowly repopulating the forest with native species, to lay the groundwork for Taiwan''s future, seed by seed.
It’s the start of spring, and here at Nantou County’s Xitou conservation area, 1,000 meters above sea level, a group of young people has gathered to experience tree-climbing. Excitement fills the air.
Following the guide’s instructions, the young climbers use their body weight to pull themselves up on the ropes. They bend and extend their backs over and over until they reach the top of the tree, where they have a bird’s-eye view of the local ecology.
These two Taiwan incense-cedar trees are 30 meters tall and roughly 100 years old. Look up and there’s a massive canopy and a rich diversity of creatures that live within it.
Liao Pei-yu
Tree climber
I found a souvenir just now – a caterpillar. It followed me on the way down the tree. I found the climb to be very interesting, and enjoyed how it let me get so close to nature.
In this large tree, one can find caterpillars, bird’s nest fern, lichen, moss, and other flora and fauna. It’s a virtual microcosm teeming with life.
Liu Wei-ting
Tree climbing guide
In fact, some scholars believe that the tree canopy is an independent ecosystem. It has its own source of nutrients. Due to the presence of these nutrients, epiphytes and other living creatures make their home there. This includes insects, birds and other creatures.
Just after six in the morning, arborist Ting Tsung-su takes us into the woods. Half of the manmade trees planted here are Japanese cedar. The forest is teeming with life, but it’s also under attack from squirrels.
Ting Tsung-su
National Taiwan University
The squirrels won’t eat the bark of the native Taiwania tree. Perhaps due to evolution, the bark of the Taiwania tree contains compounds that cause the squirrel to spit it out. It knows that this tree isn’t delicious. But the Japanese cedar doesn’t have such protections.
Xitou is located in Nantou’s Lugu Township. Along with the county’s Shuili and Xinyi townships, it forms the NTU’s experimental forest area. One problem that threatens the forest is the poor survivability of non-native trees. Another problem, which is faced by forests nationwide, is landslides.
Every landslide wipes out part of the forest’s ecology, destroying its habitats.
Ting Tsung-su
National Taiwan University
Taiwan is a truly special treasure of an island, but it is also an island fraught with calamity. Taiwan was initially under the ocean, but was brought to the surface by the Earth’s crust, when two plates converged. When it emerged, it was with great speed, and the geography was unstable. We are No. 1 or 2 in the world for rainfall, so when natural disasters take place, landslides and liquefaction are very common occurrences.
Fighting the twin challenges of fragile geography and the fragility of imported trees, NTU works hard to protect its experimental forest. It strives to prevent deforestation, which further weakens the soil and exacerbates the risk of landslides.
Roughly 16% of the experimental forest area – around 6,000 plots of land – is rented out for farming and forestry activities. NTU has little control over what is done to the trees on those plots.
Tsai Ming-che
National Taiwan University
To harvest wood, you have to let the tree grow for 30, 40 or even 50 years. During that time, timber harvesters would have no income. Of course, they would need to grow other things to make a living.
For economic survival, people often cut down trees so that they can use the land to grow cabbage, tea, or other cash crops. But experts say there’s a way to balance forest conservation with economic gain.
Here in this corner of Xitou, a worker harvests mushrooms that grow on the sides of logs. These mushrooms are a win-win solution for farmers, and a part of the “underforest economy.”
Peng Chia-wen
National Taiwan University
The so-called underforest economy is that which takes advantage of the forest’s unique environment, to grow by-products of that environment. The mushrooms we saw today growing on the sides of logs are an example of a forest by-product.
Growing shiitake and lingzhi mushrooms. Rearing chickens. Beekeeping. These are all examples of economic activity that NTU is promoting in its experime