In the field of urban ecosystem governance research, brownfield restoration has emerged as a new frontier. Advancing brownfield biological systems through legitimate bioremediation approaches can furnish metropolitan scenes and territories with sound environmental possibilities. Brownfield vegetation restoration is currently hampered by species selection based on a single causality, the absence of community structure and the formation of ecological functions, and the lagging development of brownfield vegetation restoration theory and technique.
This paper proposes a novel technical framework for herbaceous planting for the ecological restoration of urban brownfields that includes micro-topographic design, adaptive species selection, symbiosis structure design, building quasi-nature community structures, and in-situ planting. For theoretical support, the paper introduces the mechanisms of the assembly of plant communities.
This study evaluated the ecological benefits of restoring a brownfield site in the Hechuan District of Chongqing City and applying herbaceous planting there. The findings demonstrated that severely degraded brownfield vegetation has effectively transformed into an herbaceous community with a stable structure, multispecies symbiosis, and optimized ecological functions like stormwater retention and biodiversity conservation.
This examination can give logical proof and a referable specialized worldview for metropolitan brownfield rebuilding and furthermore contribute to the improvement of metropolitan biological organizations and environmental versatility.
This study used in-situ mixed-seed sowing and seedling planting to establish a well-coexisting and self-maintained herbaceous community with improved biodiversity and appealing landscapes. It also proposed a vegetation assembly pattern to promote the symbiosis of plants and animals by simulating natural community structure. The establishment of the review region was executed from October 2017 to March 2018.
This exploratory study, “The ecological planting design of the brownfield in Senkai Road, Hechuan district, Chongqing City,” addresses complex environmental issues associated with brownfields, such as polluted soil, noxious weeds, and infertile soil. The site, which had become overgrown with invasive species, prone to environmental stress, and severely depleted in species richness and ecosystem services prior to restoration, is now home to a robust herbaceous community that, in addition to providing runoff retention and biodiversity conservation functions, has optimized structure and landscape aesthetics.
An innovative application case in China is the proposed technical framework for herbaceous planting for the ecological restoration of urban brownfields, which includes steps like micro-topographic design, adaptive species selection, symbiosis structure design, building quasi-nature community structures, and in-situ planting. In order to improve the resilience of urban ecological networks and ecosystems, this study aims to provide scientific evidence and a technical paradigm that can be used for brownfield habitat restoration, biodiversity conservation, and aesthetic promotion.
Landscape Architecture Frontiers was the journal that carried out the study.
More information: Yuan, J. et al, Herbaceous Planting for Ecological Restoration of Urban Brownfields Based on Mechanisms of the Assembly of Plant Communities, Landscape Architecture Frontiers (2023). DOI: 10.15302/J-LAF-1-020069
