The Application of Dead Trees or Dying Trees in Landscape Design

Abstract

In the development of landscape design, plants have always been one of the important elements in the landscape design, and play a very important role in the landscape. In the selection and application of landscape plants, living plants have always occupied a dominant position, but the research and application of dead trees are few. People tend to think that dead plants are no longer valuable, and all dead trees should be removed or replaced. In a sense, this is a waste of resources, and also increases the cost of landscape. In fact, the proper use of dead trees in landscapes design is more likely to display the artistic conception and theme of the landscape. In many natural landscapes, large trees, ancient trees and precious tree die because of natural laws or natural disasters, forming withered trees. This kind of withered tree endows the site with certain historical connotation, which could narrate the history and ecological change of site to people and evoke the imagination of people to the past. In addition, these dead wood still have high economic, ornamental, ecological and cultural values.This study focused on dead trees and dying trees as its subject, analyzing the outstanding dead trees application cases in natural landscape, and discusses the different functions of dead tree, such as ecological function, ornamental function, cultural function and others. In addition, the Beijing Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park will serve as a special experimental site, dead tree will be designed and applied in the lake of park. And based on these data analyses, the final chapter will return to address the research questions and offer advice on how to apply dead tree to urban landscape and further enhance the value of dead trees in landscape design.