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Day 1 2 March 2022 (Wed) |
Day 2 3 March 2022 (Thu) |
Day 3 4 March 2022 (Fri) |
| Introduction |
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Case Study of Sup-Chiyu (Forest Therapy) Activities for Urban People in Korea Professor Bum-jin PARK Professor in the Department of Environment and Forest Resources, Chungnam National University Synopsis Seoul, which is the capital city of the Republic of Korea, is vulnerable to stress due to the rapid and dynamic urban expansion process. In the 1990s, Korea began the application of forest recreation as one of the forest management methods. In early 2000s, forest recreation activities with the purpose of improving health were specially defined and applied as forest healing. The purpose of this presentation is to look at an overview of Korea's forest therapy research and share the results of important researches. Presentation Material |
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Urban Landscape & Healthy City: Mechanisms and Research Questions regarding the Impacts of Urban Green
Landscapes on Public Health and Well-being Dr JIANG Bin Associate Professor in Landscape Architecture, University of Hong Kong Synopsis The study presents a summary of critical environmental problems in contemporary cities, especially major high-density cities, and the serious public health crisis resulting from those environmental problems. We explain five theoretical pathways through which urban natural landscape influences human health and well-being: promoting physical exercise, relieving stress, reducing mental fatigue, providing ecological products or services, and enhancing social capital. A theoretical framework connecting urban natural landscapes with health outcomes is established and a set of relevant empirical studies are presented. Presentation Material |
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Revitalisation of Tai Wai Nullah: Creation of Blue Green Space for Close Contact with Nature in Urban
Area Ir Thomas H. L. WONG Chief Engineer, Drainage Projects Division, Drainage Services Department Synopsis With growing research on the positive influence of blue and green spaces to human well-being, there is an increase in awareness of the importance in providing spaces for people living in urban areas to connect with nature. Yet, in densely populated places like Hong Kong, creating new blue and green spaces within a walkable distance from living places is challenging. The concept of land co-use provides a great opportunity to solve the problem. The Drainage Services Department has put this concept in practice by introducing new green spaces in drainage infrastructure, such as opening the green roof of the pump house of Happy Valley Stormwater Storage Scheme. We also put forward the concept of "Rivers in the City" to inject more blue and green spaces into the communities. Following the success of Kai Tai River, the first urban green river corridor in Hong Kong, we are currently revitalising two concrete drainage channels, King Yip Street Nullah and Jordan Valley Nullah, into green rivers. To move one step further, we are designing to allow the public to enjoy revitalised rivers not just from the river banks but by walking into the river, immersing into the blue green space. Tai Wai Nullah will be the first revitalised drainage channel allowing public access in Hong Kong. This 2-km long drainage channel will be turned into zones for ecological enhancement, community back garden and recreation activities. A boardwalk will connect different zones of the river, allowing intimate contact with nature. While the public will be allowed to enjoy water-friendly activities, they will also be safeguarded by a sophisticated flood warning and safety system, which will take into account weather forecast information and real-time rain and water level data and provide alerts for the potential rise in the water level. Presentation Material |
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Greening Blocks: Evidence-based Design Strategies to Integrate Health & Climate Resilience Co-benefits of
Urban Greening Dr Sara BARRON Lecturer in Urban Forestry, University of British Columbia Synopsis Cities around the world are facing major challenges. Industrialised nations are experiencing epidemics of chronic diseases like diabetes, cardio-vascular disease and dementia and it would be all too easy to give up hope of finding solutions. But there is positive news. A growing body of research reveals that spending time outdoors in and around trees, parks and gardens can boost our physical and mental health and help prevent a wide range of diseases. And just as multiple short bursts of physical activity can have the same benefits as one long exercise session, micro-doses of nature throughout the day really add up. Studies across multiple decades outline the contributions of urban greening to improving human well-being and reducing urban heat, but we found little work was being done to translate research findings into practical interventions that communities can incorporate into their local environments. Our research team found a need for practical evidence-based solutions that can be used by the people responsible for managing our urban spaces, including local government, developers or managers of large institutional campuses. We have assembled a set of eight scalable evidence-based urban greening interventions designed to increase urban green exposure during a typical day. These include time spent indoors and traveling between buildings and casual time outdoors. These guidelines emphasise the use of city trees, as science shows that large scale vegetation offers the best benefits. These interventions can be used by anyone interested in improving quality of life at the community and neighbourhood scale. Presentation Material |
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A Study on Stationary Behaviors in High-density Residential Estates in Hong Kong Dr SHI Shulin Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, Tsinghua University Synopsis The presentation will be based on one of my research projects in Hong Kong, which focused on open spaces in public housing estates. Some patterns of stationary behaviours that are closely related to spatial configurations and landscape features in observed open spaces have been identified via spatial-temporal and statistical analyses. These findings will be shared with the audience, with discussions on their relationship with well-being of users. Hope these would support future landscape design. |
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The Future Urban Forest at Tung Chung New Town Extension, Hong Kong Ms N.T. PONG Senior Landscape Architect, Sustainable Lantau Office, Civil Engineering and Development Department Synopsis Tung Chung New Town Extension is one of the large-scale developments in Hong Kong for land and housing supply in the medium-term meeting housing, economic and social needs, while balancing between the conservation of the natural environment and sustainable new town development. During the planning and design stage, Civil Engineering and Development Department seized the opportunity to bring nature more connected to the new community by adopting the urban forestry strategy and blue green infrastructure in the landscape design. This urban forest will also be underpinned by a planned ecological network which intends to link up the wildlife habitats at Lantau North Country Park and Tung Chung Valley with green corridors. The ultimate goal is to create a resilient urban forest not just to combat climate change, enhance the biodiversity but also demonstrate a harmonious symbiosis relationship between human, fauna and flora for a more livable city. Presentation Material |
| Panel Discussion |
| Noon Break |
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Science-based Soil Nutrition for Urban Trees Dr Linda CHALKER-SCOTT Extension Urban Horticulturist and Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture, Washington State University Synopsis Increasingly we recognize the importance of soil testing before prescribing use of fertilizers, but all soil tests are not created equally: agricultural soil metrics are not appropriate for use in landscapes. Moreover, we can correlate relevant soil test data with careful site observations to learn more about what constitutes sustainable levels of organic matter and nutrient levels. Learning how to interpret soil tests by ground-truthing with site conditions allows arborists and landscape managers to understand how rhizospheres are currently functioning and what, if anything, should be added. Furthermore, knowing the importance of a healthy soil biota encourages managers to use fewer bactericide and fungicides, which kill beneficial microbes. Presentation Material |
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Principles and Methods of Plant Selection in Response to Climate Change for Landscaping and Urban
Forestry Professor ZHANG Deshun Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University Synopsis The terminologies such as climate change, global warming, elevated CO2 concentration, the greenhouse effect, tropical cyclones, storm surge, rainstorm waterlogging, heat waves, drought, sea level rising, seawater intrusion appeared in various academic journals and public media. The meteorological disasters and extreme climate events are changing the composition of our atmosphere, the spatial distribution of hydrosphere, the geographic environment of lithosphere, the regional differentiation of pedosphere and the habitat evolution of biosphere. The natural geographical environment on which human beings rely for survival has fallen into an unprecedented fragile situation, which has also caused a series of unprecedented crises to the landscaping ecosystem and urban forestry. Facing the challenge, disciplines of landscape architecture and urban forestry need to enhance the ecological resistance of tree species and promote the sustainability of ecosystem services with its professional wisdom. On the basis of the macroscopic countermeasures, combed the growth, morphological, ecological, and physiological indicators for plant selection to landscaping and urban forestry, more than 500 species of landscape and urban forestry species for the cold resistance, heat resistance, drought resistance, waterlogging resistance, burning resistance, pest & disease resistance, wind resistance, salt resistance and barren resistance were quantitatively determined and multivariate analyzed. The principles of "right tree, right place" was put forward, and the technical methods for ecological safety and landscaping and urban forestry health were clarified in this presentation. Presentation Material |
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A New Fast Method to Assess Urban Trees' Growth Sensitivity in Response to Habitat Stress: A Case Study of
Urban Trees under Drought Stress in Saxony, Germany Dr LIU Ming Postdoctoral Researcher at the Technical University of Dresden Synopsis How to quickly assess the growth response of diverse urban trees in different habitats is a challenge in urban tree management. Taking a case study in Saxony, Germany, Central Europe, our research focused on the assessment of the landscape trees' declining growth vitality and habitat adaptability under the frequent and intensive drought stress. The measurement of annual shoot lengths (ASL) of 24 tree species in diverse habitats was conducted, and the calculation of the relative ASL increase (RAI) was used to indicate trees' growth sensitivity in response to drought stress. The results showed that 1) Trees' ASLs were decreasing consistently with tree ages, and the early-young trees growing in the shaded forest and late-young trees in the open stands showed relatively higher ASL values than the middle-aged trees planted along the avenues. 2) The correlation between the ASL and the present-year as well as the previous-year standardised precipitation index was significantly strong (r2=0.687, p<0.01), Fraxinus excelsior and Quercus robur in the shaded forest, as well as F. excelsior and Q. robur in the open stand, were found to be non-sensitive to drought, but other 14 tree species were sensitive. 3) The mean and minimum values of the leaf water potential at turgor loss point significantly correlated with each other （r2=0.549，p<0.01）, but did not correlate to growth sensitivity. 4) Xylem structure significantly correlated with RAI （r=0.553，p<0.01）and growth sensitivity（r=0.545， p<0.01）, and the ASL performance of the ring-porous species was better than semi-ring-porous species and diffuse-porous species. Our work concluded that the responses of tree shoot growth to drought stress were affected by multiple interior and external factors, and strongly depended on species- and site-specific characteristics, such as age phases, microhabitats, grafting effect, and competition. Finally, the ASL measurement was recommended to be an easy, fast and effective method to assess tree growth vitality and adaptability response to their habitats, this method was also helpful to select urban tree species with high tolerance in the urban green space. Presentation Material |
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When the Biological and Physical Clash, Mash and Trash - or How Healthy Soil is (un)Made Dr Alexia STOKES Senior Researcher of National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) Synopsis Soil can take several hundreds of years to form, and is a product of physical, biological and chemical mechanisms. Although chemical processes have been much studied, we are only just starting to understand how physical interactions between soil, and the organisms it contains, alter soil-forming processes. Through soil wetting and drying processes (that ‘clash' soil particles together physically), micro-aggregation occurs. The feeding of microorganisms and fauna on root exudates and litter (‘mashing' of plant substrate) leads to secretions (‘trashing') that help bind soil particles together and form macro-aggregates. Microbial secretion is also a major mechanism contributing to carbon sequestration in soil. As roots and fauna move through soil, they create stable pathways for microorganisms, improving biotic interactions. The removal of vegetation reduces the availability of substrates to soil biota, and if not replaced, can cause the collapse of this biotic network, leading to aggregate breakdown by erosive physical forces such as rain. Choosing suitable plant species can improve the entire ‘clash-mash-trash' process. In particular, nitrogen-fixing legumes with dense, fibrous root systems are able to provide several functions; from hosting symbiotic bacteria that improve soil nitrogen and carbon content, to improving soil structure by creating stable channels for biotic fluxes. Information is useful for land managers aiming to improve soil degradation and conservation, as well as creating a healthy and multi-functional soil in urban environments. |
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Green Barriers to Reduce Pollution: Results of a Long-Term Experiment Professor Francesco FERRINI Full Professor in the Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence Synopsis The project, started in 2014, aims to study the effect of different species of evergreen shrubs on the dynamics of deposition of some heavy metals deposition and of three different fractions of particulate matter, deriving from vehicular traffic during the different seasons and also to test the effects of different plant arrangement (planting density, distance from the road verge), different species, and pruning intensity. The experimentation is carried out in the North-West part of Tuscany (Italy), on a highly traffic-intensive four-lane road. Particulate matter deposition (PMx) was measured in an area occupied by a green barrier and an adjacent lawn several times during the year. The PMx depositions on the passive samplers were analyzed under the microscope through photographs in order to determine the percentage of coverage by PMx on the surface of the filters. In addition, various atmospheric parameters including relative humidity, rain, wind and temperature were monitored throughout the experimentation period. The deposition of some heavy metals was also detected. The study has confirmed some of the results obtained with previous research and by other authors, regarding the capacity of different species to intercept fine particles, coming from pollution sources such as traffic, but provided further information about the best barrier conformation in terms of species and also about planting density and pruning. As hypothesized, PMx depositions have a close correlation with meteorological conditions and that the black particulate, of anthropogenic origin, is greater than the brown (coming from various sources such as soil, dust raised by the wind), given the close proximity to the road. The research, still running, has shown that, in addition to the choice of species, a significant importance in reducing pollution is also covered by the arrangement of plants and their management (e.g. pruning). A second experiment, still in progress, was set up to test different methodologies to quantify PMx (1. image processing based on microscopic analysis and 2. filtration procedure). The experimentation began on a number of 40 tree and shrub species. Of these 18 were selected based on the accumulation of PMx and a significant correlation between the methodologies. These species will be used to map the accumulation of PMx following exposure to various sources of pollution. The information provided by these experiments will be useful for planning green barriers aimed at reducing pollution, but also for selecting tree species with better performances in reducing dust concentration in the air. Presentation Material |
| Closing Remarks |
