中国生态文明建设（中英对照）连载之一
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. An Overview of China’s ecological environment
中国是一个美丽的国家。
China is a beautiful country.
她位于欧亚大陆的东侧，拥有世界上最高的山脉喜马拉雅山，拥有以世界屋脊著称的青藏高原，拥有960万平方公里的土地，近300万平方公里的海洋。北端的黑龙江省是一片雪原，南端的海南岛则是美丽的热带景观……中国丰富的自然要素，孕育了一片片美丽的生态。
China is located in the eastern part of Eurasia, priding itself on the world’s highest mountain range—the Himalayas, and “the roof of the world”—the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It has a territory of 9.6 million square kilometers flanked by nearly 3 million square kilometers of ocean. The northernmost part, Heilongjiang province, is covered by a vast snowfield, while the southernmost tip is graced by the tropical landscapes of Hainan Island. China is rich in natural resources and nurtures a beautiful ecological environment.
近20年来，中国经济高速发展，取得了举世瞩目的成就。但同时生态环境也发生了变化。最近，中国政府提出了“建设美丽中国”、“实现中国梦”的理想。中国原生的多姿多彩的生态，正是建设美丽中国的基础。
In the past 20 years, China’s booming economy has been universally acknowledged. But at the same time, its ecological environment has been unfavorably changed. Recently, the Chinese government came up with the plans to “build a beautiful China” as well as “to realize the Chinese dream”. These plans hinge upon its diversified ecology.
本章让我们先来了解一下中国生态环境的基本状况。
This chapter offers a general picture of China’s ecological environment.
1.1 The diversified terrestrial ecosystems
人类主要生活在陆地上。我们先从陆地生态系统谈起。
Let’s begin with the ecosystem of the land inhabited by the bulk of the population, namely, the terrestrial ecosystems.
地球上主要的陆地生态系统有十类，分别是：热带雨林、常绿阔叶林、落叶阔叶林、针叶林、红树林、稀树疏林、草原、高寒草甸、荒漠、苔原。你也许发现了，陆地生态系统主要是用植物来命名的。
There are primarily 10 categories of terrestrial ecosystems on earth: tropical rainforest, evergreen broad-leaf forest, deciduous broad-leaf forest, coniferous forest, mangrove forest, sparse forest, grassland, alpine meadow, desert, and tundra. You may well find that most terrestrial ecosystems are named after various forms of plant life.
一个完整的生态系统包括植物、动物、微生物，以及这些生物生存的环境。在生态系统中，植物利用太阳能，通过光合作用，生产出其它生物必需的营养物质。动物吃植物，微生物吃死亡的动植物，并把它们的物质和能量归还到环境中去。因此，在整个生态系统中，植物是基础。这就是生态系统用植物命名的原因。生态系统运转的整个生态过程是循环的，物质在不同的生物间流动，没有污染，不留痕迹，生态系统的这种神奇是人类的高科技无法企及的。
A complete ecosystem composes of plants, animals, and microorganisms, to the environment needed for their survival. In an ecosystem, plants produce essential nutrients necessary for other organisms through photosynthesis by means of solar energy. Animals eat plants, and microorganisms subsist on dead animals and plants. This cycle of life provides substances and energy for the survival of the environment. Therefore, the plants, as the foundation of the entire ecosystem, are privileged to designate the different ecosystems. The ecological process in an ecosystem is circulatory: substances flow between different organisms without pollution, leaving no trace. And this amazing ecosystem is beyond the match of any human high-technology.
1.1.1 Tropical rainforest
从空中望去，热带雨林是一片浓密的绿色。它由终年常绿的热带树种构成，龙脑香科植物尤其丰富，代表植物有龙脑香、望天树、木菠萝、芒果、木瓜等；指示动物[1]有亚洲象、长臂猿、犀鸟、鹦鹉、眼镜蛇等。
Seen from the sky, a tropical rainforest is shrouded by dense green foliage. It consists of evergreen tropical tree species, especially Dipterocarpaceae plants, represented by dipterocarp, parashorea cathayensis, jackfruit, mango, and papaya, etc.; indicator animals include Asian elephants, gibbons, hornbills, parrots, cobra, and so on.
雨林被称为“地球之肺”，它能够吸收大量二氧化碳，释放大量氧气，生产力非常高，是不可替代的陆地生态系统。雨林中物种丰富，乔木高大、层次多，有老茎生花[2]和板根[3]等雨林特有现象，非常有趣。
Rainforests, known as “the lungs of the earth”, are capable of absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing large amounts of oxygen. Their productivity is very high and considered as an irreplaceable terrestrial ecosystem. A rainforest is rich in hierarchical species and tall trees, with interesting endemism like caulifory and buttress root.
中国的雨林主要分布在广东、广西南部、云南南部、西藏东南部、海南和台湾。除了典型的热带雨林外，中国的温带地区还分布有山地沟谷雨林，这是由局部多雨气候形成的。
China’s rainforests are mainly distributed in provinces of Guangdong, southern Guangxi, southern Yunnan, southeastern Tibet, Hainan and Taiwan. In addition to the typical tropical rainforest, China’s temperate zone also habors ravine rainforests formed by the local rainy climate.
[1]生态系统中的指示动物、指示植物，指该生态系统中典型并常见的物种，综合借助这类物种可以判断生态系统类型。
1 Indicator animals and indicator plants are typical and common species in an ecosystem and designated to determine the type of this ecosystem.
[2]老茎生花：温带的树木都是在枝条上开花，而雨林中很多树木会在树干上开花，这是热带雨林特有现象之一。因为雨林树木的养分是贮存在树干中的，因此这种习性被认为能够减少养分的消耗。
2 Caulifory: trees in temperate zone usually bloom in the branches while many rainforest trees may blossom in the trunk, which is a unique phenomenon of the tropical rainforests. Nutrients of rainforest trees are stored in the trunk, serving the purpose of reducing the consumption of nutrients.
[3]板根：温带树木的根部基本上都是深入土地中的，而雨林中有一些乔木的根，从树干斜向深入土地，形成板状的根，更好地起到支撑高达的乔木的作用。这也是热带雨林特有现象之一。
[3] Buttress root: trees in temperate zone basically are deep-rooted in the soil while some rainforest trees extend their roots above ground as a plate-like outgrowth of the trunk supporting the tree. Buttress root is also a unique phenomenon in tropical rainforests.