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Urban green spaces provide a host of ecosystem services, the quantity and structure of which play an important role in human well-being. Rapid urbanization may modify urban green spaces, having various effects on plant diversity. Tropical coastal cities have urbanized rapidly in recent decades, but few studies have been conducted with a focus on their green spaces. We studied the responses of cultivated and spontaneous plants, both key components of urban flora, to the landscape structure of urban green spaces and possible social drivers. We analyzed existing relationships between plant diversity indices, urban green space landscape metrics (using Systeme Probatoire d’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) data,), and social factors, including the type, population density, construction age, and GPS coordinates of each Urban Functional Unit, or UFU. We found that UFUs with more green space patches had higher cultivated and spontaneous species richness than those with fewer green space patches. Spontaneous species richness decreased when green space patches became fragmented, and it increased when green space patches were more connected (e.g., via land bridges). Conversely, cultivated species richness increased with green space patch fragmentation. The phylogenetic diversity of both cultivated and spontaneous plants were weakly associated with green space structure, which was strongly driven by land use. Old UFUs and those with larger populations had more green space patches overall, although they tended to be small and fragmented. Green space patch density was found to increase as the UFU age increased. From the viewpoint of knowledge transfer, understanding the effects and drivers of landscape patterns of urban green spaces could inform the development of improved policies and management of urban green space areas.
Xia-Lan Cheng; Mir Muhammad Nizamani; C.Y. Jim; Kelly Balfour; Liang-Jun Da; Salman Qureshi; Zhi-Xin Zhu; Hua-Feng Wang. Using SPOT Data and FRAGSTAS to Analyze the Relationship between Plant Diversity and Green Space Landscape Patterns in the Tropical Coastal City of Zhanjiang, China. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 3477 .
AMA StyleXia-Lan Cheng, Mir Muhammad Nizamani, C.Y. Jim, Kelly Balfour, Liang-Jun Da, Salman Qureshi, Zhi-Xin Zhu, Hua-Feng Wang. Using SPOT Data and FRAGSTAS to Analyze the Relationship between Plant Diversity and Green Space Landscape Patterns in the Tropical Coastal City of Zhanjiang, China. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12 (21):3477.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXia-Lan Cheng; Mir Muhammad Nizamani; C.Y. Jim; Kelly Balfour; Liang-Jun Da; Salman Qureshi; Zhi-Xin Zhu; Hua-Feng Wang. 2020. "Using SPOT Data and FRAGSTAS to Analyze the Relationship between Plant Diversity and Green Space Landscape Patterns in the Tropical Coastal City of Zhanjiang, China." Remote Sensing 12, no. 21: 3477.
Understanding the factors that drive green space composition and richness in heterogeneous urban landscapes is critical for maintaining important ecosystem services and biodiversity. Few studies have been conducted on urban greening and plant diversity at the urban functional unit (UFU) level, although a handful of studies have explored the drivers of greening percentage and its relationships with plant richness in tropical cities. In this study, we conducted field surveys, compiled census and remote sensing data, and performed spatial analyses to investigate the interrelationship between greening percentages, plant diversity, and the socioeconomic variables of different primary and secondary UFUs in the cities of Beijing, Zhanjiang, and Haikou in China. We found that these relationships did not differ significantly between primary and secondary UFUs, and that Parks represented the largest areas of forested land, grassland, and water bodies across all three cities. Moreover, the greening percentages of all UFUs across these three cities were positively correlated with both socioeconomic variables and plant species richness. These relationships can be utilized to guide future green space planning within urban ecosystems.
Hua-Feng Wang; Xia-Lan Cheng; Mir Nizamani; Kelly Balfour; Liangjun Da; Zhi-Xin Zhu; Salman Qureshi. An Integrated Approach to Study Spatial Patterns and Drivers of Land Cover Within Urban Functional Units: A Multi-City Comparative Study in China. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 2201 .
AMA StyleHua-Feng Wang, Xia-Lan Cheng, Mir Nizamani, Kelly Balfour, Liangjun Da, Zhi-Xin Zhu, Salman Qureshi. An Integrated Approach to Study Spatial Patterns and Drivers of Land Cover Within Urban Functional Units: A Multi-City Comparative Study in China. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12 (14):2201.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHua-Feng Wang; Xia-Lan Cheng; Mir Nizamani; Kelly Balfour; Liangjun Da; Zhi-Xin Zhu; Salman Qureshi. 2020. "An Integrated Approach to Study Spatial Patterns and Drivers of Land Cover Within Urban Functional Units: A Multi-City Comparative Study in China." Remote Sensing 12, no. 14: 2201.