ISHS Acta Horticulturae 195: The Scientific Management of Vegetation in the Urban Environment
FOREWORD |
| Author: | Peter R. Thoday |
| Abstract:
In recent years there has been an enormous growth in the political recognition of the role of green space in the lives of people living in the industrialised world. Fortunately for today's urban dwellers, the pioneers of our profession have argued for designed and managed public green space since the middle of the 19th century. It has therefore taken a little over a hundred years for their work to be recognized by society at large and for many of the unique problems associated with the cultivation of amenity plantings to be studied in depth. The last forty years have seen huge investments of material and human resources put into open air amenity sites for sport, informal leisure, the conservation of scenery and nature and the provision of settings for people's homes and work places. Such endeavours are often associated with the equally important tasks of land reclamation, the reduction of industrial dereliction and inner city refurbishment. As yet there is very little research carried out specifically in the name of amenity green space. Most of the work that is of value to our understanding of the management of amenity plantings comes to us indirectly from ecological, forestry and crop husbandry investigations. Nevertheless the papers in this volume show that some specific projects are underway around the world. If research in this area of horticulture is to develop in pace with the massive world-wide public spending on green space, it must be encouraged by the rapid and skilful application of its findings by amenity land managers. The absence of the profit motive and the extension services which have so successfully achieved the speedy adoption of new husbandry techniques in crop production perhaps explains the tendency for amenity horticulturists to stay with obsolete methods. To encourage those in charge of public open space to adopt new methods we must try to develop society's pride in and praise for the efficient management of elegant and useful landscapes. Researchers and consultants also have a responsibility to communicate with practitioners to ensure that theoretical results are translated into practical policies. All of us at the University of Bath associated with teaching and research in Amenity Land Management welcomed the opportunity this symposium presented for us to meet with our colleagues from this and other countries.
We hope that these papers will be of value to a wider audience. | |
