中国生态文明建设（中英对照）连载之二

中国生态本底：常绿林与落叶阔叶林

本书由北京语言大学出版社，2014（教学课件光盘版） 作者 蒋高明

1.1.2常绿阔叶林

1.1.2 Evergreen broad-leaf forest

顾名思义，常绿阔叶林的主角是四季常绿的阔叶树木，主要是樟科、壳斗科、山茶科及木兰科的乔木。它们的显著特征是叶片革质、排列方向与光线平行，因此又叫“照叶林”。时常作为中国“大使”出访国外动物园、受到广泛喜爱的大熊猫，就是常绿阔叶林的指示动物之一。其他指示动物还有绿孔雀、金丝猴、狗獾、豹猫等。

As the name suggests, an evergreen broad-leaf forest features evergreen broad-leaf trees, like Lauraceae, Fagaceae, Theaceae and Magnoliaceae in the main. They are characterized by leathery leaves arranged parallel to the ray of the light, thus the name “laurel forest”. The pandas, that frequently show up in foreign zoos as China’s popular “ambassadors”, are a typical indicator animal of this type of forest, along with other indicator animals such as green peafowl, golden monkey, badger and leopard cats, etc.

中国的常绿阔叶林是全球最典型的，分布非常广泛。从大约北纬23°到北纬32°，东经99°到东经123°，无论是丘陵还是山地，都能够见到。中国的长江以南到福建、广东、广西，以及云南北部的大部分地区，在没有受到人为破坏之前，都是这种生态景观。

The Chinese evergreen broad-leaf forest is the world’s most typical and widely distributed, covering an area from about latitude 23°N to latitude 32°N, from longitude 99°E to longitude 123°E, and highly visible in hilly or mountainous terrains. These forests extend from south of the Yangtze River, to Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and much of northern Yunnan, forming natural sceneries unless damaged by humans.

中国人常用来做家具的高档木材楠木，就是樟科乔木的一种。因为历史上长期大量使用，现在楠木已经变为国家二级保护的渐危物种了。楠木的命运反映了常绿阔叶林生态系统整体的命运。因为木材的经济用途，阔叶林遭受了过度开采与破坏，以至于引发了长江上游的水土流失。

The high-end wood for furniture, nanmu, commonly used by the Chinese, belongs to Lauraceae. Because of the long-time consumption, nanmu now has been listed as an “endangered species under second-class state protection”. Nanmu’s fate reflects the fate of evergreen broad-leaf forest ecosystem as a whole. Due to their high economic value, broad-leaf forests have suffered from overexploitation and damage, which led to massive water loss and soil erosion upstream along the Yangtze River.

1.1.3落叶阔叶林

1.1.3 Deciduous broad-leaf forest

落叶阔叶林也主要由阔叶树木构成，不同的是，这里的树木不能四季常绿。秋天落叶归根，说的就是这种生态系统中的现象。

Deciduous broad-leaf forests are mainly composed of broad-leaf trees, but they are not evergreen. Instead, decayed leaves will fall to their roots in autumn to nurture the life cycle of the ecosystem.

落叶阔叶林主要代表有两类：（1）落叶栎林，以某种栎树占优势，混生其他栎类和白蜡、椴、槭、松、榆、鹅耳枥、杨、桦等树种；（2）落叶阔叶混交林，由以上说的多种阔叶树混交而生，没有明显的一类树种占优势。头上顶着汉字“王”、有着“百兽之王”称号的老虎，就是这类生态系统的指示动物之一。其他指示动物还有野猪、鹿、锦鸡、腹蛇等。

There are two main types of deciduous broad-leaf forests: (1) deciduous oak forest: dominated by certain oak trees, along with other types of oak trees and Fraxinus chinensis, linden, maple, pine, elm, hornbeam, poplar, birch and other trees; (2) deciduous broad-leaf mixed forest: formed by mixed broad-leaf trees of the types mentioned above but with no single variety dominating. The king of beasts—tiger, with a Chinese character “王” (literally means king) on its head, is one of the indicator animals in this ecosystem. Other animals include wild boar, deer, pheasant, and agkistrodon.

中国的长江流域以北，在人类定居之前，基本上都被落叶林覆盖。这类生态系统结构清晰，生物量较大，可被人类利用的资源非常丰富，比如东北有著名的三宝：人参、貂皮、乌拉草，就是从这类生态系统中产出的。

Before human settlement, the areas north of the Yangtze River in China were largely covered by deciduous forest. Such an ecosystem is known for its clear structure and large biomass, with rich resources that can be utilized by humans. The three famous treasures in the Northeast: ginseng, mink, and wula sedge, come from this type of ecosystem.

1.1.4针叶林

1.1.4 Coniferous forest

针叶林中的树木，树叶不是开阔地展开，而是像针一样细长，这是针叶林的典型特征。主要由松杉类植物组成，如云杉、冷杉、松、落叶松等，这些树木是典型的“针叶”树木；还有一些树的叶子并不是针形叶，而是条形叶、鳞形叶、针鳞两形叶等。针叶林里，大家熟悉的动物有驼鹿、猞猁、紫貂、松鸡、松鼠等。

In a coniferous forest, trees grow needle-like leaves very different from those of the broad-leaf varieties. These needle-shaped leaves are typical of coniferous forests. Coniferopsida plants dominate this ecosystem, such as spruce, fir, pine, and larch, all marked by their needle-like leaves. There are also trees with leaves of other shapes, such as linear leaves, scaly leaves, and acicular and scaly leaves. The coniferous forest is a habitat for those familiar animals like moose, lynx, sable, grouse and squirrels, etc.

针叶林生态系统是中国境内分布最广的一种类型，从南到北，从东到西，几乎都能看到它的身影。所以在中国画中，无论作者住在南方还是北方，都会以松树作为创作题材。针叶林的北方界限，就是整个森林带的北方界限，也就是地球上乔木分布的最北端；针叶林的海拔界限，是地球高山森林的分界线。

A coniferous forest ecosystem is the most widely distributed type in China and can be found everywhere, from south to north and from east to west. Therefore, in Chinese paintings, the pine has become a main theme for creation no matter where the artists live. The boundary of coniferous forests in the north marks the end of forest belts, namely, the northernmost places on earth where trees can grow; and the altitude boundary of coniferous forests is the boundary of mountain forests on earth.