Homogenization of Urban Forests across the Subtropical Zones of China

Guofu Yang, Yan Ouyang, Xiaoyu Hou, Tianyi Zhou, Ying Ge, Yijun Lu, Yue Wang and Jie Chang ()
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Guofu Yang: School of Art and Archaeology, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou 310015, China
Yan Ouyang: College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Xiaoyu Hou: College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Tianyi Zhou: College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Ying Ge: College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Yijun Lu: School of Art and Archaeology, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou 310015, China
Yue Wang: School of Art and Archaeology, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou 310015, China
Jie Chang: College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: The composition of urban forests (UFs) exhibits homogenization among cities compared with rural forests (RFs) among different climate zones. However, the degree of homogenization in subtropical UFs and its difference from RFs remain unclear. In this study, we examined tree species composition and diversity in UFs in 19 cities in China’s subtropical zone with precipitation ranging from 458 to 1852 mm and compared them with RFs. We found that (1) the species composition similarity, Jaccard index ( J ~0.27), between UFs was significantly higher than that ( J ~0.15) of RFs, indicating biotic homogenization; (2) tree species richness, Simpson, Shannon–Wiener, and Pielou index of UFs converged along the precipitation gradient; (3) the similarity of tree composition between UFs increased as precipitation of the cities were more similar; (4) the UFs in the 19 cities contained a total of 932 tree species, among which the nonnative species were more prevalent than the native species, and the top 37 species with high frequency appeared in 80% of the cities; and (5) Salix babylonica , Ginkgo biloba , Platycladus orientalis , Juniperus chinensis , and other tree species were suitable for planting in UFs in subtropical zones, regardless of humidity. The findings contribute to the understanding of urban forest development and provide insights for implementing greening policies aimed at providing additional ecosystem services.

Keywords: convergence of biodiversity; urban green spaces; beta diversity; species turnover; greening policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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