Plant species composition in relation to green cover configuration and function of urban parks in Beijing, China

Parks, as one specific type of urban open space, play important roles in the conservation of urban biodiversity and provision of recreational services for local residents. As there is a lack of specific insight into park plant species composition in relation to park features, 24 sample parks within the inner city of Beijing, the capital of China, were studied by stratified random plot sampling of their tree, shrub, and herbaceous communities, respectively, in order to investigate how human activities have influenced park green cover configuration and floristic characteristics. The quantitative correlation of species richness and the park green cover indices (patch size, shape, etc.) were studied. The importance value index for plant species (trees, shrubs, and herbaceous species) of each park was calculated. The two-way indicator species analysis approach (TWINSPAN) was applied to classify the 24 parks into different groups based on their species assemblages. Two-hundred and eighty-eight species were recorded within the 24 study parks, belonging to 184 genera and 72 families dominated by Gramineae, Compositae, and Leguminosae. Among all the recorded species, 41% are exotic. The species occurrence, abundance and diversity vary significantly among different parks. Besides the positive correlation (R=0.505, P<0.05) between herbaceous species abundance and the park green cover size, no other significant relations were found between the species abundance and other indices of park green cover configuration. Remarkably, the TWINSPAN classification resulted in a good discrimination between park functional types and the variation in their species assemblage. For the parks of similar age (development history) or landscape design, their species assemblages show more similarity. The methodology adopted and results can be employed to improve baseline information on urban plant ecology and support the setting of priorities for future park management and vegetation protection.