外文翻译--生态景观设计的原则

生态景观设计的原则Principles of Ecological LandscapeDesign

学部（院）：建筑与艺术学院

专业：艺术设计（环境艺术设计）

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ComplexCreations:

Designing and ManagingEcosystems

A dragonflyflitsoverthesun-

mirroredsurfaceofapond,snappingathatchingmosquitoesbeforecom- ing to rest on an overhanging rush. This is an ecosystem: animals, plants, and theirphysicalenviron- mentlinked together in the exchange of energy and materials. If this were our pond,ourecosystem,wewouldhaveitall:abeautifullandscapefeature,enlivenedbycreaturesweneve rhadto carefor,andhassle-freepestcontrol.

Ecosystemslikethisponddoquiet,crucialwork,keepingalivethebiosphereofwhichweareapart.W heresuchanaturalpond,oraforestorfloodplain,exists,itbehoovesustoprotectit.Whereonehasbeen degraded,wewouldbewellservedtorestoreit(seechap.10).Butwheresuchecosystemshavebeenplo wedunderorpavedover,wecanendeavortoreplacethembyfillingthebuiltenvironmentnot justwithlaw nsandplazasandfountainsbutwithecosystems.

Anecosystemconsistsofallofthelivingorganismsinanareaalongwiththeirphysicalenviron-ment,anditspropertiesarisefromtheinteractionsbetweenthesecomponents.Anoceanbayisanecos ystem,asisanalpinemeadoworagreenroof.Perhapsbecauseoftheirclearboundaries,lakes andstreams wereimportantobjectsofstudyinthedevelopmentofecosystemecology.Wherebound- ariesarelessdistinct,thelimitsofanecosystemcanbe defined,evenarbitrarily,basedonthequestionanecol ogistisstudyingortheboundariesofa designer’s site.

Designedlandscapesalreadybringtogetheramanipulatedphysicalenvironmentandlivingor-ganisms.Theydonotnecessarilyfunctionasnaturalecosystemsdo,however.Theyaredisconnect-ed,toooftenwastefulanddemanding,orelsetheysimplyfailtothrive.Whenwesucceedincreat-ingintegratedecosystems,theresultscanberemarkable.Lifecanspringforth,almostunbidden.Waste scanbetransformedintoresources.Thevariousmembersofalivingcommunitycanreacha tentativebalance.Thebuiltenvironmentcanpurifywater,protectusfromfloods,andstrengthenour sense ofwell-being.

T.Beck,PrinciplesofEcologicalLandscapeDesign,DOI10

.5822/978-1-61091-199-3_4,©2013TravisBeck

Complex Creations: Designing and Managing

THE ECOSYSTEMCONCEPT

Theideathatplantsandanimalsandtheirenvironmentformanintegratedwholeisattherootofthedi sciplineofecology,althoughittookdecadestoarticulateinitsmodernform.In1887,inanaddresstothe Peoria ScientificAssociation,StephenForbesdescribedthelakeas“amicrocosm.”In orderforascientisttounderstandanyonespecies,heargued,

Hemustevidentlystudyalsothespeciesuponwhichitdependsforitsexistence,andthevariouscondi tions upon which these depend. He must likewise study the species with which it comesincompetition,andtheentiresystemofconditionsaffectingtheirprosperity;andbythetimehe has studiedallthese sufficiently hewillfindthathehasrunthroughthewholecomplicatedmechanismofthe aquaticlifeofthelocality,bothanimalandvegetable,ofwhichhisspeciesformsbutasingleelement. (Forbes 1887:537)

Theterm microcosm didnotenterintowiderecologicaluse.However,theideaofmanyorganisms formi ngalargerentitygainedexpressionintheturn-of-the-centuryconceptoftheclimaxcommu-

nity(seechap.2).ThisconceptwassingledoutbyBritishecologistArthurTansleyina1935articleprovoca tively titled“TheUseandAbuseof VegetationalConceptsand Terms.”Theabusetowhichhereferredwas theinsistenceofClementsandotherecologistsonapplyingtheterm organism tothe climaxcommunity.“Thereisnoneedtowear ythe reader,”hewrote,“withalistofthepointsinwhichthebiotic communitydoes n ot resemblethesingleanimal orplant”(Tansley1935:290).However,hedidnot holdbackfrommentioningtha ta community’sprocessofdevelopmentisverydifferentfromthelife cycle of animals and plants. At best, Tansley offered, vegetation might resemble a“quasi-organism,”thoughonenotnearlysowellintegratedasahumansocietyorahiveofbees.Thisacceptance ofa quasi-organismalstatusforcommunitiesdifferentiatesTansley’s criticismofClementsianecology fromGleason’s purelyindividualisticfocus.Thereisacertaintruthtotheideaoftheclimaxcommunitybeing wellintegrateda ndself-regulating,Tansleyargued,butitcouldbestatedmoreaccuratelyanotherway.

Tansleypreferredtothinkintermsofintegratedsystems.Hisnotionofsystemswasborrowedfrom thephysical sciences.“These ecosystems,aswemaycall them,”hewrote,“areofthemost variouskinds andsizes.Theyformonecategoryofthemultitudinousphysicalsystemsoftheuniverse,whichrange from the universe as a whole down to the atom” (Tansley1935: 299). An essential partof T ansley’sdescriptionoftheecosystemisthatheincludedinitnotonlyalloftheplantsandanimalsandoth erlivingthingsinagiven“weboflife”butalsothe entiretyofthephysicalcomponentsoftheir environmen t,suchassoil,sunlight,andwater.

CREATEECOSYSTEMS

Builtlandscapesalsohavephysicalandbiologicalcomponents:crudely,inindustryterms, hardscapeandsoftscape.Toooften,thesecomponentsarefarfromintegrated.Thehardscapeissetin respo nse to programmatic needs, and plants are tucked into the remaining spaces. If thephysicalenvironmentisnotrightforthebiologicalcomponents,thenitisaltered,byprovidingirrigati on,forinstance (seechap.1).