Relationship Between Plant Diversity and Soil Environment in Karst Urban Remnant Mountains: A Comparative Analysis of Two Types

ABSTRACT Understanding the characteristics of plant diversity and its relationship with the soil environment in urban remnant habitats before and after their transformation into parks is of great significance for strengthening urban biodiversity conservation. To investigate the changes in plant dive...

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Main Authors: Shujun Liu, Zhijie Wang, Lifei Yu, Gilbert Kumilamba, Gang Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Ecology and Evolution
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71174
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author Shujun Liu
Zhijie Wang
Lifei Yu
Gilbert Kumilamba
Gang Xie
author_facet Shujun Liu
Zhijie Wang
Lifei Yu
Gilbert Kumilamba
Gang Xie
author_sort Shujun Liu
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Understanding the characteristics of plant diversity and its relationship with the soil environment in urban remnant habitats before and after their transformation into parks is of great significance for strengthening urban biodiversity conservation. To investigate the changes in plant diversity characteristics and their relationship with the soil environment following the transformation of urban remnant natural mountains (URNM) into urban remnant mountain parks (URMP), we conducted a study in the urban area of Guiyang City, China. We sampled 90 plots across five typical URNM and five typical URMP. Plant diversity and its relationship with soil properties were evaluated using four taxonomic diversity indices and 9 soil physicochemical properties. The results showed that URNM exhibited higher plant diversity and richer species richness compared to URMP. In URNM, plant survival conditions deteriorate with the elevation of slope position, resulting in the highest plant diversity at lower slopes and the lowest at upper slopes. However, intense human disturbances lead to the opposite pattern in URMP. Additionally, soil bulk density, total phosphorus, and total potassium (TK) were found to be higher in URMP than in URNM. C/N, C/P, and soil organic carbon were identified as the main factors influencing plant diversity in URNM, with explanatory rates of 20.1%, 15.4%, and 8.6%, respectively. In URMP, TK was the most significant factor, explaining over 55.9% of plant diversity. These findings indicate that the transformation of karst urban remnant mountains into parks leads to a simplification of plant species composition and a reduction in plant diversity. This process also alters the characteristics of soil environmental factors and their relationship with plant diversity. These changes highlight the need for careful management strategies in urban park development to mitigate biodiversity loss and maintain soil health, which are crucial for the sustainability of urban ecosystems.
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spelling doaj-art-332deeecb895462fb308ee2961e4eb3c2025-08-20T02:14:01ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-03-01153n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71174Relationship Between Plant Diversity and Soil Environment in Karst Urban Remnant Mountains: A Comparative Analysis of Two TypesShujun Liu0Zhijie Wang1Lifei Yu2Gilbert Kumilamba3Gang Xie4Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences/Institute of Agro‐Bioengineering Guizhou University Guiyang Guizhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences/Institute of Agro‐Bioengineering Guizhou University Guiyang Guizhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences/Institute of Agro‐Bioengineering Guizhou University Guiyang Guizhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences/Institute of Agro‐Bioengineering Guizhou University Guiyang Guizhou ChinaInstitute of Guizhou Mountainous Resources Guiyang Guizhou ChinaABSTRACT Understanding the characteristics of plant diversity and its relationship with the soil environment in urban remnant habitats before and after their transformation into parks is of great significance for strengthening urban biodiversity conservation. To investigate the changes in plant diversity characteristics and their relationship with the soil environment following the transformation of urban remnant natural mountains (URNM) into urban remnant mountain parks (URMP), we conducted a study in the urban area of Guiyang City, China. We sampled 90 plots across five typical URNM and five typical URMP. Plant diversity and its relationship with soil properties were evaluated using four taxonomic diversity indices and 9 soil physicochemical properties. The results showed that URNM exhibited higher plant diversity and richer species richness compared to URMP. In URNM, plant survival conditions deteriorate with the elevation of slope position, resulting in the highest plant diversity at lower slopes and the lowest at upper slopes. However, intense human disturbances lead to the opposite pattern in URMP. Additionally, soil bulk density, total phosphorus, and total potassium (TK) were found to be higher in URMP than in URNM. C/N, C/P, and soil organic carbon were identified as the main factors influencing plant diversity in URNM, with explanatory rates of 20.1%, 15.4%, and 8.6%, respectively. In URMP, TK was the most significant factor, explaining over 55.9% of plant diversity. These findings indicate that the transformation of karst urban remnant mountains into parks leads to a simplification of plant species composition and a reduction in plant diversity. This process also alters the characteristics of soil environmental factors and their relationship with plant diversity. These changes highlight the need for careful management strategies in urban park development to mitigate biodiversity loss and maintain soil health, which are crucial for the sustainability of urban ecosystems.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71174karst urban remnant natural mountainsplant diversitysoil environment factorsurban remnant mountain parks
spellingShingle Shujun Liu
Zhijie Wang
Lifei Yu
Gilbert Kumilamba
Gang Xie
Relationship Between Plant Diversity and Soil Environment in Karst Urban Remnant Mountains: A Comparative Analysis of Two Types
Ecology and Evolution
karst urban remnant natural mountains
plant diversity
soil environment factors
urban remnant mountain parks
title Relationship Between Plant Diversity and Soil Environment in Karst Urban Remnant Mountains: A Comparative Analysis of Two Types
title_full Relationship Between Plant Diversity and Soil Environment in Karst Urban Remnant Mountains: A Comparative Analysis of Two Types
title_fullStr Relationship Between Plant Diversity and Soil Environment in Karst Urban Remnant Mountains: A Comparative Analysis of Two Types
title_full_unstemmed Relationship Between Plant Diversity and Soil Environment in Karst Urban Remnant Mountains: A Comparative Analysis of Two Types
title_short Relationship Between Plant Diversity and Soil Environment in Karst Urban Remnant Mountains: A Comparative Analysis of Two Types
title_sort relationship between plant diversity and soil environment in karst urban remnant mountains a comparative analysis of two types
topic karst urban remnant natural mountains
plant diversity
soil environment factors
urban remnant mountain parks
url https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71174
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