Could Miniature Forests Help Air-condition Cities? 微型森林會有助于調節城市的空氣嗎？

City air is in a sorry state. It is dirty and hot. A possible answer to the twin problems of pollution and heat is trees. To cool an area effectively， though， trees must be planted in quantity. Unfortunately， not all cities are blessed with parks or even ornamental street trees in sufficient numbers.

城市的空氣處于亞環境狀態，又臟又熱。對于空氣污染和高溫這兩個緊密相關的問題，種樹可能是一種解決方法。不過，為了能有效地給一個地區降溫，必須大量種植樹木。不幸的是，并不是所有的城市都那么幸運，能夠打造公園，有些城市甚至都沒有足夠數量的裝飾性行道樹。

One group of botanists believe they have at least a partial solution to this lack of urban vegetation. It is to plant miniature simulacra of natural forests， ecologically engineered for rapid growth. Over the course of a career that began in the 1950s their leader， Miyawaki Akira， a plant ecologist， has developed a way to do this starting with even the most unpromising derelict areas.

一個植物學家小組認為，他們找到了解決城市缺乏植被問題的辦法——至少找到了解決這一問題的部分辦法。那就是模擬天然森林，種植一片微型森林;經過生態工程改造，讓（人工種植的微型森林）可以快速生長。這個植物學家小組的組長是植物生態學家宮協昭，他的職業生涯從20世紀50年代發展至今。其間，他發明了一種可以在城市中種植微型森林的方法，即使是在最沒有希望的廢棄地區也可以成功種植。

Dr Miyawaki’s insight was to deconstruct and rebuild the process of ecological succession. The Miyawaki method skips some of the early phases and jumps directly to planting the kinds of species found in a mature wood.

宮協博士的洞見是，通過解構和重建生態演替過程來種植微型森林。“宮協造林法”跳過了某些早期階段，直接跳到種植那些能夠在成林中找到的品種這一步驟。

Dr Miyawaki has supervised the planting of more than 1，500 of these miniature forests， first in Japan， then in other parts of the world. Miyawaki forests can be customized to local requirements. A popular choice is to include more fruit trees than a natural forest might support.

宮協博士指導了超過1500個這樣的微型森林種植項目，首先是在日本，然后發展到了世界上的其他地區。宮協森林可以根據當地的需求進行定制。一個受歡迎的定制選擇是，在微型森林中種植果樹，其數量比天然森林中能夠生長出來的果樹更多。

What pomologists offer looks like a modern version of the 19th-century movements that brought city parks and their associated health benefits to the industrializing West. The purpose is the same as before—to introduce rus in urbe.

果樹種植專家提供的方案看起來像是19世紀某些運動的現代版本，那些運動為工業化的西方國家帶去了城市公園，以及與之相關聯的健康裨益。這個方案的目的也和以前一樣——在城市中引入鄉村生態。

If your goal is to better your immediate locale—and maybe to grow a few guava on the side—then Dr Miyawaki might well be your man.

如果你的目標是改善你附近的居住環境，或者是想在旁邊種植一些番石榴，那么宮協博士很可能就是你要找的人。

Word Study

ornamental /'??n?'mentl/ adj. 裝飾性的;點綴的

botanist /'b?t?n?st/ n. 植物學家

simulacra /'s?mju'le?kr?/ n. 模擬物;影;幻影

derelict /'der?l?kt/ adj. 荒廢的;被棄置的;破舊的

customize /'k?st?ma?z/ v. 訂制，訂做，改制

You can customize the software in several ways.

guava /'ɡwɑ?v?/ n. 番石榴