February 2 is World Wetlands Day, and its theme this year is "Wetland Restoration".

At the main venue of World Wetlands Day in China, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration included Haizhu National Wetland Park in Guangzhou, Guangdong (hereinafter referred to as Haizhu Wetland) and other wetlands in the List of Wetlands of International Importance.

Haizhu Wetland was included in the list because it is rare and representative of this city. It is the only national wetland park located on the central axis of a megacity across the country.

GMC has been committed to improving the water quality of Haizhu Wetland and restoring its ecological functions, contributing a lot to wetland conservation in Guangzhou.

Solving the key problem of waterbird habitats

GMC Landscape, together with Haizhu Wetland and the Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, made technical achievements in the research on Innovation and Application of Key Technologies for Building Waterbird Habitats in Wetland Parks, with a total of 17 patents, 10 standards, 18 published papers, and 3 monographs. The innovative technical achievements, helping solve the key problem of building waterbird habitats in wetland parks, were given the first prize of the first Science and Technology Award by the Guangdong Wetland Conservation Association.

 ▲ The innovative technical achievements of GMC Landscape helped solve the key problem of building waterbird habitats in wetland parks.

Building excellent Phase III of Haizhu Wetland

Having been meticulously constructed and conserved by Guangzhou Greening Company for 5 years, the 10,000-mu (666.7-hectare) Orchard Agricultural Protection Project (Phase III of Haizhu Wetland) in Haizhu District was completed and put into operation on July 16, 2020.

Guangzhou Greening Company made every effort to establish excellent Phase III of Haizhu Wetland. While working on the project, the company, adhering to the principle of slight renovation and less intervention, took the original fruit trees as the basic element to give full play to their advantages, protect original banana trees, longan trees, and other excellent fruit trees, and add more crop varieties. It created special terrain around the wetland to plant evergreen plants in different layers in combination with a large number of flowering plants blooming in different seasons. Besides, it also integrated the profound agricultural culture of Lingnan (land south of the Five Ridges), so as to create various scenic spots consisting of purple magnolia, yellow araguaney, lotus flowers, urban forest, floss silk trees, and many other plants.

Integrating agriculture, fruit forests, water systems, ecological ideas, and landscapes into the wetland, the project built an all-dimensional and diversified wetland in the city center with the charm of the ancient Lingnan. As a result, it improved the ecological environment of Phase III of Haizhu Wetland and allowed man and nature to coexist in harmony.

 ▲ The 10,000-mu (666.7-hectare) Orchard Agricultural Protection Project (Phase III of Haizhu Wetland) constructed by Guangzhou Greening Company

Optimizing the landscapes of Haizhu Wetland

Guangzhou Flowers and Trees Company of GMC was responsible for implementing the Integrated Design and Construction Project for Optimizing Landscapes in Haizhu Wetland. Covering Haizhu Lake and Phase I & II of Haizhu Wetland, the Project finally built a high-quality wetland that coexists with man, boasts characteristics of fruit forests and wetlands, and achieves mutual benefit between man and wetlands.

The water level in Haizhu Wetland depended on the outer river, so dredging the water system was the basic link and the first link to start the Project. On the one hand, Guangzhou Flowers and Trees Company confirmed the flow direction of the water system through sluice control and dredged local areas with higher riverbeds. At the same time, it dredged silted channels utilizing the water system and for water diversion and replenishment with sluices and water holes, thus achieving internal and external water circulation and developing an ecological water purification system.

On the other hand, the company created a road system and environment surrounding the habitats to avoid interfering with creatures according to their habits. It restored the wetland by dredging irrigation channels, softening the shoreline, and increasing animal habitats. In addition, it optimized water quality by using algae, plankton, aquatic plants, and other resources.

 ▲ By developing the Integrated Design and Construction Project for Optimizing Landscapes in Haizhu Wetland, Guangzhou Flowers and Trees Company created a high-quality wetland mutually beneficial to the ecological environment and mankind.

Building an urban wetland for receiving visitors to Guangzhou

Landscape Architecture Company is responsible for the Integrated Design and Construction Project for Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration of Haizhu Wetland. The Project covers an area of about 1.49 million square meters in total, including about 190,000 square meters of restored habitats on the central island of Haizhu Lake, 250,000 square meters of the improved environment in Phase II, and 1.05 million square meters of restored fruit forests in the wetland conservation area.

As the open areas of Haizhu Wetland are divided by urban roads, their functions cannot be unified in accordance with different regions. To achieve the harmonious coexistence of the wetland and the city, and build a wetland ecosystem with positive circulation, the company will build an urban wetland for receiving visitors to Guangzhou. The Project mainly includes landscape engineering around the south gate of Haizhu Wetland, garden ancillary works, bird-watching plank road of Haizhu Lake, and so on.

 ▲ The Integrated Design and Construction Project for Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration of Haizhu Wetland implemented by Landscape Architecture Company

Exploring ecological conservation and restoration methods

Since 2011, the Guangzhou Landscape Architecture Design & Research Institute has been committed to revitalizing the 10,000-mu (666.7-hectare) Orchard Wetland on Lingnan. It participated in the overall planning of the 10,000-mu (666.7-hectare) Orchard, took the lead to plan the ecological reservation of Phase II and Phase III, Haizhu Wetland, Haizhu Lake, ShiXiang Garden, wetland mangroves, Haizhu Wetland Greenway, and many other projects to improve the quality of Haizhu Wetland.

Considering that the first phase of Haizhu Wetland was over-affected by human forces, the Guangzhou Landscape Architecture Design & Research Institute focused on exploring ecological conservation and restoration methods. To enrich biodiversity, it proposed to restore habitats, enrich vegetation, and attract migratory birds. Taking into account the relationship between the wetland and the city, it made appropriate manual interventions to degraded wetlands, so as to transfer abandoned orchards to national wetland parks and build a community of all life on earth featuring harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. After over ten-year renovations, the water quality of Haizhu Wetland has been improved from Class V to Class III, and some water bodies have reached Class I according to the indicators, showing a significant optimization of water quality. Phase III of Haizhu Wetland has cultivated an orchard producing fruits in four seasons with a multi-layer structure combined with arbors, shrubs, and grasses, instead of an orchard with a single type of fruits and single-layer structure, resulting in significantly enhanced carbon sink capacity.

 ▲ Guangzhou Landscape Architecture Design & Research Institute has long participated in the ecological restoration of Haizhu Wetland.

Then, in combination with Guangzhou’s urban characteristics, GMC will continue to promote wetland conservation, effectively upgrade the urban environment, meet the needs of people for green life, and provide a "Guangzhou practice" for exploring and building a community of life on Earth.

Source: GMC Landscape, Guangzhou Greening Company, Guangzhou Flowers and Trees Company, Landscape Architecture Company, and Guangzhou Landscape Architecture Design & Research Institute

Edited and released by Long Kun and Lu Chongyou, Party-Masses Work Department of the Group

Released by Zhang Xiaoying, Group Office