ABSTRACT
Hong Kong has a total land area of about 1,092 km2. It has a hilly topography with flat land in the lower valleys or at head of sea inlets. About three-quarters of the territory is still countryside. In this region, the original climax vegetation cover was believed to be evergreen broad-leaved forest. However, due to centuries of human impact, particularly the ‘slash and bum’ farming practiced in tropical and subtropical regions, large areas of forest have turned into grassland or secondary woodland. In addition, farmers also harvested woodland for timber and firewood uses. As a result, most of the hillsides were barren, or covered with coarse grass and low shrub, at the beginning of the last century.
