NOTES AND QUERIES
161
d) Just beyond the concrete ford on the right-hand side, note the profile of the krasnozem.
e) Beyond the Gun Club, note the picnic places set out by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department on both sides of the road.
2. Stop A—car park at road junction (altitude ca 480 m.)
The countryside around the car park is essentially a grassland—probably maintained by repeated fires—which is now being changed in various ways, e.g.
(i) pine trees (Pinus massoniana, a native species) have been planted extensively, and the process of succession is taking place beneath them.
(ii) the adjacent hillside has been planted with Acacia confusa, also native.
(iii) the grassland is being invaded by shrubs, as a stage of natural succession to scrubland.
At Stop A, note the following:
a) Between car park and road, there is a large grave. One may surmise that before the car park was made, the fung shui (feng shui) of this site was probably better than it is now.
b) To the west, below the car park, there is a large patch of even-aged Pinus massoniana. The broad-leafed shrubs beneath the pines are mainly Eurya japonica; this species is typical of scrubland in Hong Kong, and here is flourishing beneath the canopy of the pines.
c) Beside the car park are scrubland species such as Rhodomyrtus tomentosa, Rubus reflexus (cf “blackberry”) and Eurya as well as the fern Dicranopteris linearis; there is also some "European bracken" (Pteridium aquilinum). Although the vegetation is moving toward scrubland, the insects are probably mainly grassland forms.
d) The number of insects to be seen is highly dependent on the weather conditions. Many flying insects (butterflies etc.) are temperature-dependent and fly only when the temperature is above a certain minimum value. In grassland, as in other vegetation, the distribution and species of animals will depend on the availability of food. One may distinguish three arbitrary groups—plant eaters, eaters of debris, and predatory animals.
NOTES AND QUERIES
161
d) Just beyond the concrete ford on the right hand side,
note the profile of the krasnozem.
e) Beyond the Gun Club, note the picnic places set out by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department on both sides of the road.
2. Stop A-car park at road junction (altitude ca 480 m.)
The countrside around the car park is essentially a grass- land--probably maintained by repeated fires-which is now being changed in various ways, eg.
(i) pine trees (Pinus massoniana, a native species) have been planted extensively, and the process of succession is taking place beneath them.
(ii) the adjacent hillside has been planted with Acacia
confusa, also native.
(iii) the grassland is being invaded by shrubs, as a stage of
natural succession to scrubland.
At Stop A, note the following:
a) Between car park and road, there is a large grave. One may surmise that before the car park was made, the fung shui ( R) of this site was probably better than it is now, b) To west, below the car park, there is a large patch of evenaged Pinus massoniana. The broad-leafed shrubs beneath the pines are mainly Eurya japonica; this species is typical of scrubland in Hong Kong, and here is flou- rishing beneath the canopy of the pines.
c) Beside the car park are scrubland species such as Rhodo- myrtus tomentosa, Rubus reflexus (cf “blackberry”) and Eurya as well as the fern Dicranopteris linearis; there is also some "European bracken" (Pteridium aquilinum). Although the vegetation is moving toward a scrubland, the insects are probably mainly grassland forms. d) The number of insects to be seen is highly dependent on the weather conditions. Many flying insects (butterflies etc.) are temperature-dependent and fly only when the temperature is above a certain minimum value. In grass- land, as in other vegetation, the distribution and species of animals will depend on the availability of food. One may distinguish three arbitrary groups—plant eaters, eaters of debris, and predatory animals.
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