Excessive pursuit of "evergreen throughout the four seasons"... How to prevent urban greening from being "ecological formalism"?, The face saving project continues to be banned repeatedly
Urban greening is related to the improvement of urban ecological environment, the quality of living environment, and the happiness of people's lives. In recent years, China's urban greening construction has been continuously promoted. However, according to a survey by Xinhua Vision reporters, some cities still have a tendency towards "face saving engineering" and "formalism" in the greening process, emphasizing construction over maintenance, and emphasizing landscape over ecology, which has attracted attention from relevant parties.
The face saving project continues to be banned repeatedly
In recent years, the construction of green ecology in cities across the country has accelerated, from "planting greenery through cracks" and "repairing greenery through demolition" to "opening lawns" and "immersive experiences".
At present, nearly 30000 pocket parks have been built nationwide, and the green coverage rate of urban built-up areas has increased from 39.22% ten years ago to 42.69% now. The per capita park green area in cities has increased from 11.8 square meters ten years ago to 15.29 square meters now.
While handing over beautiful green "transcripts", it also exposes the problem of some cities still engaging in greening in violation of development laws. Some places are greedy for greenery and overly pursue "green achievements", disregarding local realities and pursuing quick results. It is not uncommon to see "standing trees" surrounded by clusters of brackets and hanging nutrient bags in newly built residential areas, parks, and road greening in some cities.
On some main roads in a certain city in the northwest province, southern flowers and trees such as iron trees and triangular plum trees are planted. Due to the difficulty of survival, these flowers and trees need to be regularly sprayed with rooting agents, sprout promoting agents, etc. During the winter low temperature period from October to March of the following year, insulation belts and film greenhouses need to be tied up, which not only increases the cost of winter cold prevention but also affects the winter urban landscape.
Some cities also extensively cut down and frequently replace roadside trees. After removing the existing larger trees, they build flower belts and plant ground cover, causing the streets to lose their original shade blocking effect.
Wu Jiyou, a researcher at Hunan Academy of Forestry, told reporters that in some places, natural terrain is extensively excavated, filled, and moved in urban greening, or a regular configuration dominated by shrubs, lawns, and other ground cover plants is adopted. The annual cost of a road isolation belt is close to 1000 yuan per square meter, and maintenance costs account for up to 70%.
Some places excessively pursue "evergreen throughout the year" and follow the trend to introduce novel flowers and trees. In recent years, some cities have made "having flowers in all seasons" and "seeing scenery in all seasons" the primary goals of greening work, investing a large amount of funds to introduce novel flowers and trees across climate zones, and developing flower valleys, flower seas, and colorful leaf forests with a single ecological structure on a large scale, ignoring the requirements for biodiversity and the ecological basic functions of urban green spaces.
Associate Professor Liu Guangli from Sichuan Agricultural University found in a survey that there has been a recent wave of "blue jacaranda fever" in China. Although 50% of Sichuan's regions have already planted blue jacaranda, it prefers a warm, humid, and sunny climate. Blind introduction in some cities has resulted in poor results and waste.
Insufficient scientific evaluation leads to green waste
Neglecting the actual needs and benefits of greening construction, and not fully considering the local climate conditions to choose expensive plant varieties... Regarding the "formalism" phenomenon in urban greening, interviewed experts stated that some urban greening decision-making mechanisms are not perfect and do not meet the requirements of high-quality development.
"Trees, flowers, and plants have vitality, and it's not something that leaders can grow well just by slapping their heads," said Bao Manzhu, a professor at the School of Horticultural Forestry at Huazhong Agricultural University. Some places pursue "fashion" and "westernization", ignoring the common vegetation that originally grew well in the area. They spend a lot of money to introduce some tree species or flowers from other places, but these vegetation cannot adapt to the local natural environment, cannot survive well, and have to spend a lot of money on maintenance, causing great waste.
Wang Kai, President of the China Urban Planning and Design Research Institute, said that some cities have outdated green concepts and path dependence. They use the "big development" thinking mode to carry out green construction, hoping to drive land development through greening, but have not truly implemented the requirements of high-quality development.
In addition, some cities neglect the basic functions of urban greening, shading, air purification, and providing nearby exercise and rest areas for residents, and pursue form and image only. The introduction of unscientific green tree species in some cities has led to problems such as increased allergies among citizens.
"Urban greening should fully evaluate the carrying capacity of local financial and water resources, promote energy-saving and water-saving landscaping, and prioritize the selection of locally suitable plants and seedlings with relatively low maintenance costs for new projects." Wang Kai said that when introducing foreign species, especially ornamental trees, into urban greening, ecological impact assessments should be conducted based on the city's climate and soil conditions to avoid individual city leaders introducing plants that are not suitable for planting based on personal preferences and causing waste.
Establish and improve public participation mechanisms
The interviewed experts stated that urban greening is a scientific and systematic project that requires joint consultation and governance from government, landscaping enterprises, industry experts, and the public in order to effectively achieve high-quality development of urban greening, improve the urban ecological environment, and enhance the livable quality of the city.
"People's cities are built by the people, and people's cities are for the people." For major urban greening construction projects, Wang Kai said that it is necessary to conduct sufficient argumentation, widely solicit public opinions, strictly approve and manage, and ensure project quality. At the same time, social supervision channels should be unobstructed, and if there is strong feedback from the masses, timely reflection and cessation should be carried out.
Zheng Xi, Dean of the School of Landscape Architecture at Beijing Forestry University, said that local plants have strong adaptability to soil, climate, and other factors, and the cost of seedling cultivation is relatively low. The construction of greening projects should fully utilize local tree species resources, making them the protagonist of local natural landscapes.
For example, in 2015, Beijing launched the "Color Enhancement and Greening Extension" technology innovation project, which introduced and bred local wild plants and plants from other regions at the same latitude. More than 80 new plant varieties were promoted in Beijing, solving the problem of limited color and short green period in the capital's garden greening.
To standardize urban greening construction and operation management, relevant regulations and standards should also be further improved. Zhang Lang, President of Shanghai Academy of Landscape Science and Planning, said that the current Urban Greening Regulations are not yet perfect and cannot fully meet the requirements of China's urban landscaping development at the current stage; We should further improve relevant laws and regulations to better promote the protection, renewal, and control of urban greening.
