Abstract:

Roads are a part of most landscapes,and high road densities create large ecological impacts by altering landscape patterns,interrupting ecological flows,inducing soil erosion,damaging inhabit of environment,and speeding up bioinvading.To advance the scientific and technological ability in highway construction and explore a new highway traffic approach of resource saving and environmentally friendly,we undertook a study to explore the potential for protecting ecosystems during the construction of roads in Shennongjia region of Hubei Province from 2008 to 2009 supportted by Ministry of Communications,Traffic Office and Highway Bureau of Hubei Province,and proposed a nearnatural greenway concept and scientific and technological harmonious system of highway.As in the use of ecological corridors,the new strategy emphasizes the need to decrease the impact of road construction on plant and animal habitats by protecting existing natural habitats and using local species for revegetation of the land surrounding the roads.It also emphasizes the need to improve traffic safety,promote local tourism and economic growth,and provides a demonstration to citizens (including bureaucrats) of the need for environmental protection both during and after road construction.After 6 years of monitoring,the result indicates it is possible to implement a winwin approach which combines environmental and economic perspectives by protecting the environmental,ecological,educational,cultural,and esthetic aspects of the reserves.The new road system is extended in forestry land,fascinating party,and natural landscape with the clear rivulet aside.Sustainable development,based on economic growth and sound environment,is increasingly essential.To satisfy both socioeconomic and ecological needs,governments face a difficult balancing act.The new approach is a particularly promising way to achieve this balance,because,as we have shown,it greatly increases environmental protection around the road and promotes socioeconomic development by encouraging flows of people and goods between formerly isolated regions.Although the environmental benefits are difficult to quantify in economic terms,they are clearly significant from a sustainability perspective.Based on the success of the projects described in this paper,the government is increasingly adopting the use of nearnatural greenway systems in environmentally sensitive areas.These projects will provide a rich source of new data that can be used to further explore the benefits of the new approach,and also provide an opportunity to monitor the projects and determine how well their performance holds up in the long term