Effects of Sea Surge

Right now, I’m standing at Munakkal beach near Kodungalloor. This is one of the ten Miyawaki forest projects executed by us in Kerala, under the aegis of Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC), a state government initiative that encourages new experiments. Five out of the ten forests were created close to the sea shore. We are here today to find out the progress of this Miyawaki forest. This was put up on 15 May 2020, and now it is July 2021. When I came here earlier, on 2 April 2021, the forest was very luxuriant. The trees had grown more than 15 feet tall, especially the burflower trees. But in the first or second week of May, there was a sea surge. The sea water flowed in to the forest site, and remained here for two days. As a result, some of the trees withered, especially those that belonged to one species.

We planted 3,215 saplings belonging to 103 different species on a 810 sq. m. plot; that is 8,000 sq. ft or 20 cents of land. Nearly 50 were burflower trees, and that was the species that grew the most. But almost all of them got destroyed in the sea surge. A few however have put out new shoots now. The rest of the trees do not show many signs of damage. This Miyawaki forest was created to find out whether trees will survive near the sea shore, and withstand natural disasters. These are early days because only a year has passed, and the trees are still in their infancy. Let us go in and examine the trees. Only two months have gone by since the disaster. It may be interesting to find out how the trees have fared.

This burflower tree has withered completely. It had grown up to 15 feet in a year. This is the first instance of sea surge in several years. But there are signs of life at the base. The bark is still green. It is not completely dead yet. But I feel it may dry up eventually. The rest of the trees look unaffected. Watery rose apple tree. Indian bael. False Ashoka. On this side, Indian rosewood. Beyond it a mango tree that looks healthy and green. Spanish cherry has no problem. Malabar tamarind. Almond tree. It is said that the almond tree comes from the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Gooseberry tree. Its leaves look very fresh. Bilimbi. This one is Thingam, I think. The curry leaf tree looks okay. So also, the red lucky seed tree. Indian bael. Golden shower tree. Soursop looks healthy. Pala indigo tree also seems to grow well in the area. This burflower tree was destroyed but it seems to be coming back to life. Cannonball tree. This is usually grown in temple compounds. Its fruits are big in size. Indian rosewood, that has grown to the height of two men, is undamaged. This is either cinnamon or its wild variety. I can tell the difference only by tasting the leaf. It feels like cinnamon. No, it is wild cinnamon. Mahua. It looks fine. Another cannonball tree. Bastard myrobalan. Pala indigo tree. Flame-of-the-forest, used in yagas (holy sacrifices). In Gita Govindam, its flowers are described as nail-shaped. The poet Jayadeva mentions that the petals are like nails that tear lovers’ hearts. This tree – I cannot identify it – has been destroyed completely. It is not burflower tree but it is coming back. From its stem I guess it is Indian mulberry [Morinda tinctorea]. No, it is not. But new shoots have appeared. Look at the growth of this mango tree! It does not grow to such a height in a year in our compounds. This one stands two or three feet higher than me. Over here, you can see tamarind tree. That was Indian mulberry [Morinda citrifolia] that has sprouted after being nearly destroyed. You can see the fruits here. Plenty of them. This is tamarind tree. Mahua. Either Mahua or Arjuna tree. It grows in water-logged areas. Not much damage can be seen here. This is pink bahunia. It has grown well. Red sandal tree. It has a cluster of three leaves. The one with a sprig of five leaves is Malabar kino. This is red sandal. It has also grown well. All these need to be tied to stakes so that they can shoot upwards. On the whole, there is a lot of damage. That is sage-leaved alangium. Tamarind tree. That one is Malabar tamarind. Beyond it is wild jack. This burflower had been completely destroyed. All the branches are bare and dry. But the plants here have not been affected much.

There is a saying in Malayalam “Urvashi shaapam upakaaram” where a curse becomes a blessing in disguise. The apsara Urvashi, angry at being turned down by Arjuna, curses that he will become a woman. A while later, she regrets and adds that Arjuna can use the curse when it is advantageous to him. Thus, during the last year of exile, when the Pandavas are compelled to be incognito, Arjuna becomes Brihannala, the danseuse. The proverb seems to convey the situation I see here. Two months back, all the burflower trees were tall and luxuriant. Now they have dried up but this has given a chance to the rest of the plants to absorb sunrays and grow well. This is pong pong tree or suicide tree. Earlier, people in the countryside used to eat its fruits in order to commit suicide. This one is also pong pong. Spanish cherry. Willow-leaved water croton. Pongamia. Mango tree. Indian rosewood. It is growing well. Cannonball tree. Bastard myrobalan. Happy to see the healthy growth of its leaves. That one up there is guava tree. This one is Malabar tamarind. Spanish cherry. Flame-of-the-forest. It shows splendid growth. Bilimbi. It has plenty of fruits. Not in this one but in the one on the other side. Hynocarpus oil tree. Mango tree. But the jack tree is not growing well. The peculiarity I see here is that although the tree was destroyed, it is putting out new sprouts. This one has not dried up. Look at the thickness of the trunk. Within one year of planting, this rate of growth is good. Those inside have also grown well. This burflower is coming back to life. The solitary fishtail palm also has a very stout trunk. This burflower is also on way to revival. Its base is also very thick. In a matter of ten months! The top part has dried but the trunk is thick and alive. I have peeled off a tiny bit here and look at the green colour. This is mastwood tree that thrives by the side of rivers and the sea. It needs a lot of sun. Otherwise, its growth will be stunted. This one is seven or eight feet tall. This one is ten feet tall. This is a mango tree at 10-12 feet. The jack tree that stands close by has dried up. It cannot tolerate saline water. Like the burflower, the jack also has been affected. This is a low-lying area. That was why the sea water remained stagnant for some time.

After the water went down, we spread four huge truckloads of soil in this site. That is the red sand you see here. Many plants had slanted or drooped. We had to keep them upright and spread the soil. The air is so salty that it has caused this one-year-old iron fence to rust. The solution lies in training the glory bower over the fence as protection from salty air. We had assumed that mastwood tree, pong pong tree and burflower tree would be able to withstand a watery environment. Usually they do but salt water seems to have damaged them. We had planted Mahua, and it has survived. The base is really thick. The almost withered burflower tree has put out new shoots.

What we understand from the whole picture is that for a seaside Miyawaki forest it is advisable to select plants that grow well near river sides and on sea shores. We had thought that mango trees grew well in dry environment. But here too, it shows good growth. This is a mango leaf which shows exceptional health. The jack tree has died. On the whole, many that were affected badly have actually come back to life. Another point is that if we clump together trees belonging to different species close to the sea shore, there are better chances of their survival. The two species that were badly affected were burflower and jack. The rest are largely undamaged. While the burflower tree seems to be making a comeback, the jack is very weak.

Therefore, two points should be remembered while creating a Miyawaki forest near the sea side. One, select mastwood and portia trees and smaller species like headache tree and glory bower that grow locally. Their leaves do not show much damage. Moreover, they form a sort of barrier against sea wind. Beyond a layer of such trees, towards the interior, create an additional belt of trees like the headache tree. Two, generally speaking, considering the scarcity of water, all our Miyawaki forests are planted at a level that is slightly lower than the surrounding area. Here too we did the same. But what we have learnt is that near the sea shore, the seedbed should preferably be prepared on a mound. We may have to irrigate the area fairly frequently in the initial phase but after the trees grow well, the one-foot-high mound should be able to prevent sea water from stagnating on the forest floor.

The instance of sea surge here is the first in the last 15 years. The mound will offer protection. In two or three years’ time, after the trees have attained almost full growth, they will be able to withstand any disaster. Of course, it is impossible to predict if an extraordinary sea surge takes place in the future. What is clear however is that a Miyawaki forest will grow on sea shores. Many trees, like Indian rosewood, exceeded our expectations but we had never been anxious about the burflower trees. However, I can confidently say that Miyawaki forests will thrive in sea shores. You only have to take a few precautions: choose certain species of trees for planting and prepare a mound for planting the saplings.