Hardscaping (人造景观) refers to man-made features of a landscape such as driveways, walls, steps, and other human-made structures. It has many sustainability benefits.
Replace Lawns (草坪)
Fertilizers and pesticides (化肥和杀虫剂) help establish a beautiful lawn. If you replace lawns with hardscaping, you'll use fewer chemicals and do less harm to the environment.
Use Less Water
So it can save hundreds of gallons of water and reduce the carbon emissions（排放）used to provide that water cleanly.
Use Locally-Produced Materials
Materials for hardscaping are almost all produced locally, due to the high shipping cost.
Lower Garden Maintenance (维护)
Usually, Americans spend two hours per day on lawn and garden care. That often means less energy used to run some garden equipment.
Reduce Ice Build-up
Sustainable hardscaping allows stormwater to drain (流) into the soil. This means safer walkways or driveways, and a reduced need for salt for de-icing (除去……上的冰).
A. Hardscaping is a form of landscaping.
B. This means lower carbon emissions for transportation.
C. Yet little maintenance is needed for a hardscaped area.
D. The water hardscaping uses mainly comes from nature.
E. There are ways to lower your impact on the environment.
F. So there is often less ice formation on hardscaping in cold winters.
G. But they can run into the water system and harm both humans and wildlife.
