Taipei City Geotechnical Engineering Office

Promote the Forest Management Demonstration at Daluntou Mountain for the Permanent Inheritance of the Forestry

　　To improve the forest health and promote the forestry in Taipei City, the Geotechnical Engineering Office(GEO) initiated the timber stand improvement demonstration for the forest at Daluntou Mountain in the City. It invited LIN, JIN-SHU, Uncle SHU, with decades of experiences in forestry to perform the thinning operation on site, and invited faculties and students from departments related to forests across Taiwan to join for observation and study, so as to pass down the nearly lost logs skidding skills and lift the curtain for the forest management demonstration of Taipei City.
 
　　According to the GEO, forestry withered due to the logging ban of woods in Taiwan in early years. However, since announcing the range of forests in the City in 2018, the GEO intends to promote works for forest management, including timber stand improvement. Therefore, the GEO invited National Chiayi University, National Chung Hsing University, and the forestry sector to build a professional team and prioritize the thinning operation for the forest amounted to nearly 26 hectares at Daluntou Mountain. It is expected that the forest will become the citizen’s forest in the future that provides various benefits such as recreation and landscape as well as environmental education.
 
　　According to CHANG, KUN-CHENG, an assistant professor from the Department of Forestry, National Chiayi University, moderate thinning of forests allows the sunlight to penetrate the vegetation, increases the space of growth for the residual stand, and improves their health. Uncle SHU’s team adopted the strip thinning method and the stringing techniques that incurs minor effect to the ground for logs skidding and stacked the broken branches from the thinning as cross slopes to help soil and water conservation and manifest a habitat environment for creatures.
 
　　According to ZENG, GUAN-YU, a student from the Department of Forestry, National Ilan University who participated in the obesrvation tour, “this is not the first time for me to see thinning; however, coming to the site for the thinning operation this time at Daluntou Mountain still fascinates me, especially the process where the trees were cut down. When the tree was cut down, it was like decades of time were concentrated at that moment. When the tree fell toward the cut, along with the sound “pah,” the piece of wood was broken. But I know it was not the end; on this piece of land, there will be better woods, healthier forest, and prettier scenery.”
 
　　LIN, SHI-YUAN, Section Chief of the Forestry Section, GEO, said that people work in the forestry often say, “There will be sustainable timber if we harvest wood at the right time.” Woods are environmental materials that can be regenerated and reused; forestation and harvest are indispensable parts for sustainable resources. Furthermore, Taipei City has rich low elevation mountains ecology, worthy of being used to invigorate the circular ecological economy, including developing the under-forest economy, such as mushrooms and rough-leaved holly. The wood from thinning may be extended to reuse, while DIY environmental education program may also be promoted. For relevant information, feel free to follow our Facebook page “Taipei.GEO”
(https://zh-tw.facebook.com/Taipei.GEO/).