Plant Diversity along an Urbanization Gradient of a Tropical City

Balqis Aqila Alue; Noraine Salleh Hudin; Fatimah Mohamed; Zahid Mat Said; Kamarul Ismail

doi:10.3390/d14121024

journal article Open Access Nov 24, 2022

Plant Diversity along an Urbanization Gradient of a Tropical City

Balqis Aqila Alue Noraine Salleh Hudin

Fatimah Mohamed Zahid Mat Said Kamarul Ismail

Diversity Vol. 14 No. 12 pp. 1024 · MDPI AG

View at Publisher Save 10.3390/d14121024

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the plant diversity, plant traits, and environmental variables along the tropical urbanization gradient in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. The study areas comprised 12 sampling plots sized 1 km2 that represented different urbanization intensities. Urbanization intensity was quantified as the percentage of the built-up area within a 1 km2 area. A total of 96 woody plant species belonging to 71 genera and 42 families were found in the study areas. In general, species diversity, richness, and evenness declined significantly as urbanization intensity increased. The number of native species reduced by 67.6% when urbanization intensity increased from wildland to suburban while the non-native species remained stable along the urbanization gradient. Regarding the plant traits, tree height decreased with increasing urbanization intensity, while no significant result was found for specific leaf areas. All environmental factors were significantly associated with urbanization where air temperature and light intensity showed a positive relationship with increasing urbanization intensity while the opposite trend was found for air humidity. This study emphasizes the importance of built-up areas as the predictor of native species in the tropics. The findings of this study may help town planners and policymakers to create more sustainable urban development in the future.

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Details

Published: Nov 24, 2022
Vol/Issue: 14(12)
Pages: 1024
License: View

Authors

B

Balqis Aqila Alue

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, PRK, Malaysia

N

Noraine Salleh Hudin

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, PRK, Malaysia; Centre of Biodiversity and Conservation, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, PRK, Malaysia

F

Fatimah Mohamed

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, PRK, Malaysia; Centre of Biodiversity and Conservation, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, PRK, Malaysia

Z

Zahid Mat Said

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, PRK, Malaysia; Centre of Biodiversity and Conservation, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, PRK, Malaysia

K

Kamarul Ismail

Department of Geography and Environment, Faculty of Human Science, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, PRK, Malaysia

Funding

Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia Award: FRGS/1/2018/WAB13/UPSI/03/1

Cite This Article

Balqis Aqila Alue, Noraine Salleh Hudin, Fatimah Mohamed, et al. (2022). Plant Diversity along an Urbanization Gradient of a Tropical City. Diversity, 14(12), 1024. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14121024

Plant Diversity along an Urbanization Gradient of a Tropical City

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