Study On Planting Design In The Parks And Gardens Of Hangzhou West Lake

Plant is one of main materials of gardening. Growth status, species composition, structure and landscape quality of the landscape plant community can determine its many functions to a great extent, influence the quality and level of urban greening, urban biodiversity conservation and human habitat construction. Based on some principles and methods of relevant disciplines, such as Landscape Architecture, Synecology, Ecological Economics, Forestry, Landscape Aesthetics, etc., this paper researched the value of eco-service functions, woody plant species composition, selected cases and landscape quality of the plant communities in the parks and gardens of the West Lake in Hangzhou, China, summarized the general characteristics of its planting design, and put forward some representative models of plant configuration, which were suitable for different places, habitats, and functions respectively. These findings were helpful to construct urban ecological greenspaces, and carry out further researches in the future. The main conclusions were as follows:1. Assessing the value of eco-service functions of parks and gardens in the West LakeThe willingness of the residents to pay for greenspace conservation of parks and gardens in the West Lake in Hangzhou, China, was assessed using contingent valuation (CV) method. The findings of the study are as follows: 1) The willingness of the residents to pay for urban greenspace conservation was positively correlated with their perceptions of the benefits of greenspaces and negatively correlated perceptions of the annoyances. 2) The willingness to pay a higher premium for greenspace conservation is directly related to gender, income level and residential ownership status. Age and education level are not significantly correlated with willingness to pay. 3) A majority of respondents view the conservation of urban greenspaces as a very important function of the city, and most of them are willing to pay additional taxes for this conservation. 4) The total value per year to the public of the conservation program in Hangzhou is about 120 million yuan. These qualitative and quantitative findings can. be used in the policy-making process for urban development plans.2. Study on woody plant species composition of parks and gardens in the West Lake Sixty-four communities in the parks and gardens and 16 greenapaces attached to roads in the West Lake Scenic Area were investigated, to analyse woody plant species composition. The results were as follows: 1) There were 166 species of woody vascular plants in the parks and gardens of the West Lake, which belonged to 58 families and 108 genera. Compared with zonal plant species in Hangzhou and landscape plants in advanced foreign cities, the number of plant species was very low. 2) About 30 species (such as Cinnamomum camphora, Magnolia grandiflora, Cedrus deodara, Platanus acerifolia, Sapindus mukurossi, Liquidambar formosana, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Pterocarya stenoptera, Salix babylonica, Acer palmatum, Osmanthus fragrans, Rhododendron simsii, Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum', Pyracantha fortuneana, Camellia japonica, Fatsia japonica, Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum, Aucuba japonica 'Variegata', Jasminum mesnyi ect.) had high important values and application frequencies. It indicated that the trees and shrubs species in each community in the parks and gardens of the West Lake was small at present. 3) The results of study of diameter class of trees showed that, the average breast-height diameter of trees in the parks and gardens was 34cm, and about 67% trees had 20-40cm breast-height diameter. It indicated that a majority of trees were mature. 4) The results of study of health status of trees and shrubs showed that, most plant species developed well. 5)The results of study of seasonal aspect of trees and shrubs showed that, the planting design in the parks and gardens of the West Lake had different characteristics in different seasons, which were numerous flowers in spring, green shades in summer, colorful leaves in autumn and beautiful branches and trunks in winter.3. Case study on plant communities of parks and gardens in the West LakeFirstly, sixty outstanding communities in the parks and gardens of the West Lake were investigated, to assess their landscape qualities. The results showed that there were following relationships between landscape quality and community structure: 1) The appraising value of the multilayer community was higher than that of the simple structure community; 2) The appraising value improved with the increase of the average breast-height diameter of trees; 3) The appraising value increased when seasonal aspect of plant community was obvious; 4) The appraising value of the community with cone-shaped structure was generally high; 5) The appraising value of the community composed of 5-10 species was relatively high; 6) The appraising value improved with the increase of health status and ornamental degree of the community; 7) The appraising value increased when the community situated on the waterside or forest edge; 8) The appraising value increased when the community density was appropriate.Then, the wetland plant landscape of west part of the West Lake were analysed. The findings showed that many wetlands were constructed or renewed in the west part of the West Lake, such as Jinsha Harbor, Wugui Pond, Yuhu Bay and Maojia Port, and plenty of aquatic and torfaceous plants were applied to create wild wetland landscape, which made the landscape pattern of the West Lake Scenic Area perfect.Finally, the basic community models, the typical community models of different functions and typical riparian community models in the parks and gardens of the West Lake were summarized, according to the above-mentioned results.4. General characteristics and development trends of planting design of parks and gardens in the West LakeAccording to the results of above-mentioned investigations, the general characteristics of planting design of parks and gardens in the West Lake were summed up, which were as follows: 1) Imitating the nature to build steady man-made plant communities; 2) Changing the plant density to form the different spaces; 3) Arranging appropriate plants to meet different functions; 4) Selecting right trees in right places scientifically and artistically; 5) Assembling different trees ingeniously to display abundant seasonal aspects; 6) Creating the plant landscapes with distinctive theme.At Last, the following development directions of planting design of parks and gardens in the West Lake were put forword: 1) Enriching plant species in the parks and gardens; 2) Integrating the urban cultural characteristics into planting design; 3) Selecting colorful and fragrant plants to apply to urban greening; 4) Having respect for people and enhancing the public participation in the course of planting design; 5) Promoting ecological, economic and social benefits to develop in harmony.