DAFOR is a simple observation tool used in permaculture and ecological surveys to assess the abundance of plant or animal species in a given area. It uses a scale:

  • Dominant
  • Abundant
  • Frequent
  • Occasional
  • Rare

This method helps designers quickly evaluate biodiversity, identify patterns, and make informed decisions about land management or ecosystem interventions. It's particularly useful for tracking changes over time or comparing sites.

Design Tools

Articles tagged with DAFOR

Food forest at Beyond Buckthorns - red currants

Food forest at Beyond Buckthorns

by Lumia
on
at Lumia's diploma

This design is about curating a food forest at Beyond Buckthorns into an area which has been a garden in the past but has since grown pretty wild, located in Zones 2 and 3. The design aims to increase biodiversity, get yields and enable teaching… more

Beyond Buckthorns wood resilience coppicing

Wood resilience at Beyond Buckthorns

by Lumia
on
at Lumia's diploma

Regenerative woodland management design at Beyond Buckthorns. Lumia Huhdanpää-Jais' Diploma Design 5/10.

Eutopia borealis - aerial image

Eutopia borealis

by Nick
on
at Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design

When Lumia and I moved to Finland in 2016 we started observing right away. We discovered micro climates, areas where edible fungi grew, natural trees nurseries, etc. We also noticed one particular area. An area that somehow seemed out of context… more