Dedicated academics are healing Hualien’s landslide-scourged forests
Hualien has seen one disaster after another, leaving the upper reaches of the Mataian Creek with vast piles of rubble on mountains that lookshockingly barren. There is a need for reforestation, but the traditional way of climbing mountains and manually planting seeds is not only dangerous, but also has a low seed survival rate. A dedicated team at National Ilan University has come up with a solution that involve using drones to drop cultivated native tree seed ballson the mountains. Let’s find out how they are restoring Taiwan’s forests, tree by tree.
Round, translucent crystal balls are stacked in a Petri dish, looking like marbles or longans. However, they are a secret weapon for restoring Taiwan’s forests.
Push open the laboratory door, and researchers are busy placing seeds into a compound solution of sodium alginate and calcium chloride. After a few minutes, tiny "germinating pearls" are born.
Chung Chih-hsin
National Ilan University
Actually, we usually choose native Taiwanese species—specifically sun-loving trees that are well-suited for these landslide areas, such as the Taiwan crepe myrtle, Formosa acacia and similar species.
On July 21 last year, Tropical Storm Wipha caused a large-scale landslide in the upper reaches of the Mataian Creek in Hualien, covering an area of 500 hectares and creating a barrier lake. The massive loss of soil and rock also created a crisis of exposed barren mountains. However, traditional "dry granulation" mostly makes use of soil pressure, which, while fast, makes the granules prone to cracking, being eaten by small animals and lacking the moisture needed for germination. Chung Chih-hsin, an associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at National Ilan University, led an interdisciplinary team to develop "wet seed granulation," using sodium alginate to create "moisturizing capsules." This April, they successfully airdropped 40,000 native tree seed balls onto the upper reaches of the Mataian Creek using drones, and they have already successfully germinated.
Chung Chih-hsin
National Ilan University
The last task we did was to produce 40,000 seeds at once, but of course we can still make adjustments based on timing and the rainy season. Our observation is that the success rate for this seed granulation is about 80%.
Faced with Taiwan’s barren, landslide-prone high mountains, traditional reforestation methods face severe challenges. Through technological innovation, there is hope that these fractured forests can be revitalized.
#Reforestation #Taiwandisasters #landslides #disasterrecovery #Hualien
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2026-09-07
