Tai Lam Country Park 1952 and 2009. Look! It's got better!
North west Hong Kong. I've walked it several times
Government workers are taking the axe to thousands of trees in country parks across Hong Kong this winter -- all in the name of biodiversity.
Interesting, as I read an article in the Oz press when down there over Chrissy, that said Australia should do the opposite.
That Australian natives had become both dependent on and resistant to fire, and hence encouraged bush fires. The suggestion from the forester writing the article (I'm afraid I don't have the link) was to start planting exotics that would effectively suppress fires. I recall Oaks being mentioned.
Here in Hong Kong, the exotics include many Australian trees, many mature: including Blue gums, box gums, Tasmanian Blue gums, paperbarks, casuarina, mannifera maculosa, callistemon viminalis (bottle brush) and some grand stands of Norfolk Island pines. Some spectacular Blue gums on the road to the Trappist Monastery on Lantau Island are worth the trip for the arborophile.
Back to the article (if link rots, pdf here ).
Below a couple of the local trees mentioned in the article:
Camphor (cinnamommum camphora)
Myrobalan (Phyllanthus emblica)
