MORE than 200 trees were estimated to have been felled in Longcheng Park in the past two months, to the concern of nearby residents.
A resident surnamed Ding complained recently that trees on the top of the hill in the Longcheng Park, Longgang District, had been cut down which workers said were used in the construction of pavilions, toilets and handrails in the park.
The park management said the tree felling had been approved by the urban administration authority to replace eucalypts with other trees because eucalypts absorbed a large amount of underground water and could harm the growth of other trees.
We only cut some of the eucalypts to balance the ecology, a management office employee, Zhan, said.
But he did not say what happened to the trees, saying only they could be used for paper making.
It is not known if the park was profit-motivated. Eucalypts are extensively used in the manufacture of paper and are considered the world s best-quality pulping species because of high fiber yields.
(Han Ximin, Justin Chen)
