Could Miniature Forests Help Air-condition Cities? 　微型森林會(huì)有助于調(diào)節(jié)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(huán)境狀態(tài)，又臟又熱。對(duì)于空氣污染和高溫這兩個(gè)緊密相關(guān)的問(wèn)題，種樹(shù)可能是一種解決方法。不過(guò)，為了能有效地給一個(gè)地區(qū)降溫，必須大量種植樹(shù)木。不幸的是，并不是所有的城市都那么幸運(yùn)，能夠打造公園，有些城市甚至都沒(méi)有足夠數(shù)量的裝飾性行道樹(shù)。

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(gè)植物學(xué)家小組認(rèn)為，對(duì)于城市缺乏植被的問(wèn)題，他們找到了解決這一問(wèn)題的部分辦法。那就是模擬天然森林，種植一片微型森林；經(jīng)過(guò)生態(tài)工程改造，讓人工種植的微型森林可以快速生長(zhǎng)。這個(gè)植物學(xué)家小組的組長(zhǎng)是植物生態(tài)學(xué)家宮協(xié)昭，他的職業(yè)生涯從20世紀(jì)50年代延續(xù)至今。其間，他發(fā)明了一種可以在城市種植微型森林的方法，即使是在最沒(méi)有希望的廢棄地區(qū)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(xié)博士的見(jiàn)解是：通過(guò)解構(gòu)和重建生態(tài)演替過(guò)程來(lái)種植微型森林?！皩m協(xié)造林法”跳過(guò)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(xié)博士指導(dǎo)了超過(guò)1500個(gè)這樣的微型森林種植項(xiàng)目，首先是在日本，然后發(fā)展到了世界上的其他地區(qū)。宮協(xié)森林可以根據(jù)當(dāng)?shù)氐男枨筮M(jìn)行定制。一個(gè)受歡迎的定制選擇是，在微型森林中種植果樹(shù)，其數(shù)量比天然森林中能夠生長(zhǎng)出來(lái)的果樹(shù)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(shù)種植專家提供的方案看起來(lái)像是19世紀(jì)某些運(yùn)動(dòng)的現(xiàn)代版本，那些運(yùn)動(dòng)為工業(yè)化的西方國(guó)家?guī)チ顺鞘泄珗@，以及與之相關(guān)聯(lián)的健康裨益。這個(gè)方案的目的也和以前一樣——在城市中引入鄉(xiāng)村生態(tài)。

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(biāo)是改善你附近的居住環(huán)境，或者是想在旁邊種植一些番石榴，那么宮協(xié)博士很可能就是你要找的人。

Word Bank

ornamental /'??n?'mentl/ adj. 裝飾性的；點(diǎn)綴的

botanist /'b?t?n?st/ n. 植物學(xué)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