Fengshui forests and village landscapes in China: Geographic extent, socioecological significance, and conservation prospects

Chen, Bixia; Coggins, Chris; Minor, Jesse; Zhang, Yaoqi

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2017.12.011

Cited by 33 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The geomantic forest in Shuixi Village is a natural secondary forest but it is also part of the urban landscape. The geomantic forest is well-preserved compared to other types of forests, but it also reveals the influence of urbanization and human disturbance on natural forest (Chen et al, 2018). This forest is a local species bank and the provenance of rare and endangered plants in the region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The lowest temperature occurs in January and is 13 °C, and the highest temperature is 28 °C and occurs in August (Mao et al, 2017). The annual average humidity is about 79%, the annual average rainfall is about 1700 mm, and the rainy season is from April to October (Zhu et al, 2011;Yi et al, 2012 2 . There are some signs of deforestation and we find that human activities have affected the geomantic forest, as there are traces of raising chickens, stacking garbage and walking around the forest.…”

Section: Research Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Community Structure and Conservation of Rare and Endangered Plants of Geomantic Forest in Southern China

Zou¹

2019

Appl. Ecol. Env. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Exploring the effects of urbanization on the conservation status of geomantic forest containing rare and endangered plants is very important for the ecological development of southern China. We studied the community structure and habitat characteristics of geomantic forest in Guangzhou City, southern China, as well as the population characteristics of the rare and endangered plant Aquilaria sinensis that resides there. The results showed that, within geomantic forest, there were 23 species vascular plants belonging to 23 genera and 14 families. This community was dominated by tropical and subtropical species. This community was mainly composed with mesophanerophytes, miphanerophytes and mesophyll. The community was less diverse than natural forests in the same region and contained one adult and eight seedling individuals of Aquilaria sinensis. This geomantic forest is a secondary evergreen broad-leaved forest with poor soil. In order to protect rare and endangered plants, as well as native species in this region, we suggest that all geomantic forests with rare and endangered plants in Guangzhou be set as small natural reserves that can be strictly managed. This kind of small natural reserve can facilitate the conservation of regional plant diversity and provide more ecosystem service.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Research Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Community Structure and Conservation of Rare and Endangered Plants of Geomantic Forest in Southern China

Zou¹

2019

Appl. Ecol. Env. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Village fengshui forests (fengshuilin) are important components of rural cultural landscapes representing not only nodes of connection between fengshui culture and ecology, but demonstrating the intricate connection between village fengshui and watershed conservation. In wet rice producing villages, watersheds comprise the infrastructure of life for humans, the non-human organisms upon which they consciously depend, and the complex biological assemblages that may not be well understood but are often no less crucial (Fan 1992; Hase and Lee 1992;Coggins 2014;Chen et al 2018;Coggins et al 2019). It should be noted that complex symbolic elements of fengshui, including its grounding in correlative cosmology (Henderson 2010) and its global proliferation have ensured that many of its practices, particularly in urban, metropolitan, and international contexts far exceed contemporary conceptions of "ecology," "environment," and indigenous sense of place.…”

Section: Vital Landscapes and Environmental Activism In Han Communitimentioning

confidence: 99%

Sacred Watersheds and the Fate of the Village Body Politic in Tibetan and Han Communities Under China’s Ecological Civilization

Coggins

2019

Religions

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The “spirit” in spiritual ecology is an active political force deserving sustained scholarly analysis and public recognition. This article reports on 15 years of field research on “animate landscapes,” associated with gods and spirits in Tibetan communities, and “vital landscapes” associated with fengshui in Han Villages. Despite a century of dramatic sociopolitical change across rural areas in the People’s Republic of China, many villages maintain significant geo-phenomenological connections between body, mind, and land, comprising a body politic maintained through ritual cycles and dwelling practices that uphold the sanctity and integrity of vital watersheds. Comparative analysis of Han and Tibetan spiritual ecologies reveals that cosmological landscapes comprise the armature of relational ontologies grounding and informing everyday life, livelihood, and power relations. As dynamic, emergent, and flexible systems of socio-ecological adaptation that both shape and are shaped by regional and transnational media, they play significant roles in policy initiatives associated with Ecological Civilization and hold potential for broadening the horizons of Anthropocene scholarship, socio-ecological activism, and meaningful settlement in a profoundly unsettled world.

show abstract

“…It is also beneficial for forming a closed area for defensive purposes and a moderate microclimate in local environments [54,55]. Additionally, in an ideal landscape, forests are routinely considered to be involved in biological diversity, ecosystem service, and spiritual expectations [6,56,57]. Especially in this study, bamboo forest, which covers almost the whole mountainous area, is the main ecological type in the geomantic environment [58,59].…”

Section: Geomantic Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Environmental Preference and the Site Selection Pattern Based on the Edge Effect and Network Structure in An Ecosystem

Zhu

Nie

et al. 2019

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Archaeological sites are facing serious threats from environmental changes in the background of urban sprawl. More efforts are needed to enhance the cognition of human–environment interactions for better conservation. Under the traditional geomantic view, the environmental preference involved was presented to guide ancient life. In this study, we analyzed the edge effect and network structure of two periods in an ecological transition zone where the ancient sites were located. From the cases of Gouzhang and Yinxian, the separability of edge intensity indicated the different site selection patterns because of the discrepancy of patch fragmentation and ecological structure. Additionally, the different trends of the edge effect were thought to be related to the complexity of the ecological network. Besides that, the ancient cities located in or around the high-centrality terrain in the network of closed space could have provided the convenience of accessing living materials from early ecosystems. In practice, the comprehensive methods based on geomantic and ecological analysis proved effective when used to explore possible areas of the undiscovered archaeological sites. What is more important is that traditional environmental perceptions could be integrated into a scientific system of the ecological landscape and contribute more to archaeological research and the study of ancient culture.

show abstract

Fengshui forests and village landscapes in China: Geographic extent, socioecological significance, and conservation prospects

Cited by 33 publications

References 18 publications

Community Structure and Conservation of Rare and Endangered Plants of Geomantic Forest in Southern China

Community Structure and Conservation of Rare and Endangered Plants of Geomantic Forest in Southern China

Sacred Watersheds and the Fate of the Village Body Politic in Tibetan and Han Communities Under China’s Ecological Civilization

Ancient Environmental Preference and the Site Selection Pattern Based on the Edge Effect and Network Structure in An Ecosystem

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About