Study on Plant Community Characteristics and Ecological Functions of Mingyue Park in Jingzhou City

Yingjie LI Zijing XIANG Xianjie LAN Yang ZHANG

Abstract ［Objectives］This study was conducted to analyze species composition, community appearance, plant life-type spectrum, flora distribution, plant community structure and plant diversity indexes of Mingyue Park in Jingzhou City, as well as the ecological functions of plants in cooling, humidification, shading, and noise reduction.

［Methods］ A quadart method was used to investigate plant communitues of Mingyue Park in Jingzhou City.

［Results］ There were 141 species in the park, including 44 tree speceies, 35 shrub speceies, and 62 herb speceies. The arber-shrub-grass structure was the dominant plant community structure. The Simpson index (D), Shannon-Wiener index (H) and Pielou index (J) of the herb layer were higher than those of the tree layer and the shrub layer, and the shrub layer was the lowest. The results of ecological function research showed that the plant communities had a significant shading effect and a certain ability to reduce noise. The comprehensive conclusion showed that the ecological function indexes of the arbor-shrub-grass structure in Mingyue Park were significantly higher than those of the arbor-shrub structure and the single-tree structure. In order to improve the ecological benefits of plant communities in Mingyue Park, the plant diversity can be increased in the later construction to enrich community structures.

［Conclusions］ This study evaluated the ecological benefits of plant communities in Mingyue Park, and provides a scientific basis for the plant configuration of parks in Jingzhou and other regions.

Key words Mingyue Park; Community structure; Plant diversity; Ecology function; Community characteristics

Received: June 12, 2022  Accepted: August 15, 2022

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31270740); Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2017CFB390).

Yingjie LI (1998-), male, P. R. China, master, devoted to research about garden plants.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: 851321281@qq.com.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a large number of scientists have studied plant diversity in terms of the structural characteristics of plant communities and their species composition［1］. It is mainly reflected in the induction of diversity measurement methods, the mechanism of occurrence and maintenance of diversity, the influencing factors of diversity changes, and the impact of diversity on community functions［2］. Species diversity index is affected by species richness and species evenness［3］. With the disturbance and destruction of the natural world by human activities, the level of biodiversity has declined seriously, which has an important impact on ecosystem functions［4］. Building a scientific, rational and ecological community structure is a necessary factor to maintain urban plant diversity and is the basis for sustainable development of an eco-city［5-6］.

Mingyue Park is located in Jingzhou District, Jingzhou City, at 112°12′02″-112°12′38″ east longitude and 30°21′23″-30°21′33″ north latitude. It is adjacent to Jingsha Avenue in the north and the ancient city wall of Jingzhou in the south. The total planned area is 21.53 hm2, including 6.51 hm2 of park green space and 11.89 hm2 of water body. The Mingyue Park landscape planning is divided into two major landscape belts around the main loop, namely the northern sculpture belt and the southern style belt. The design concept of the park is to respect nature and adhere to people-oriented. It is an ecological wetland park integrating leisure and entertainment, cultural heritage, and ecological and environmental protection［7-8］.

In this study, the characteristics of plant communities and the ecological functions of three different levels of plant communities in regulating temperature, humidity, shading and noise reduction in Mingyue Park were investigated, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the future development and construction of Mingyue Park and other parks in Jingzhou City.

Investigation Methods

Investigation methods for plant community characteristics

This study adopted the quadrat method for investigation. In Mingyue Park, 36 quadrats were selected, including eight tree quadrats with an area of 10 m×10 m each and 14 shrub quadrats with an area of 4×4 each, and 14 grass quadrats with an area of 1 m×1 m. The dates of investigation, the weather conditions in the area during the investigation, the area division of quadrats, the surrounding environment of the quadrats, the names of plants in the quadrats, and organizational structures were recorded in a table. The basic indexes of tree plant investigation were: name, plant number, plant height, canopy density, growth status, etc.; and the basic indexes for the shrub and herb investigation were: name, plant number, height, coverage and growth status, etc.

Determination of ecological function indexes

On December 24, 26, and 28, 2019, when the weather was clear, windless, and there was no meteorological interference, the indexes of light, temperature and humidity were measured by a synchronous measurement method at the center of a tree shadow 1.5 m from the ground, in the time period of 9:00-15:00, once every 3 h. Taking Jingsha Avenue as the sound source, the observation points of the quadrats and the observation points of the control were parallel to Jingsha Avenue, and the distances were equal, at 30 m both. The measurements were carried out at the same time period. Statistical results of the observation were calculated for the average shading rate and noise reduction rate［9］.

Data processing

The life-form spectrum adopted the life-form system of Danish ecologist Raunkiaer［10］, and the flora analysis was divided according to the classification system of Wu et al.［11］. The data processing methods of diversity indexes were according to reference［12］.

Results and Analysis

Plant community characteristics in Mingyue Park

Composition of plant species in Mingyue Park

There were 141 species of plants in 105 genera of 75 families, including 44 tree species, 35 shrub species, and 62 herb species, including 15 aquatic plant species. The more widely used were Magnoliaceae, Rosaceae, and Gramineae. In the arbor layer, the number of deciduous tree species was more than that of evergreen trees, such as Salix babylonica, Koelreuteria bipinnata, Albizzia julibrissin, and Liquidambar formosana, and the evergreen species were mostly Cinnamomum camphora, Magnolia grandiflora and Sabina chinensis. Among the small trees, Rosaceae plants were widely used, mainly including Malus halliana, Prunus salicina, and Armeniaca vulgaris. In the shrub layer, Acer buergerianum, Loropetalum chinense and Distylium racemosum were more common. The ground cover mainly included Ophiopogon japonicus, Oxalis corymbosa, and Trifolium repens. The aquatic plants included Canna indica, Thalia dealbata, and Iris pseudacorus.

Appearance characteristics of plant communities in Mingyue Park

In Mingyue Park, there were 30 evergreen trees and shrubs, 49 deciduous, 72 broad-leaved and 7 coniferou ones. The ratio of evergreen to deciduous was 0.61∶1, and the ratio of needle to broad-leaved was 0.1∶1. From the perspective of the proportion of plant species, Mingyue Park was dominated by deciduous broad-leaved plants, which is in line with the zonal characteristics of Jingzhou. Evergreen plants are evergreen all year round, and the use in a large area makes the park scenery not monotonous in autumn and winter, and can play a certain ecological function at the same time. The appearance of deciduous plants changes with the four seasons, and they have high ornamental value and enrich the landscape of urban parks.

Life-type spectrum of plant communities in Mingyue Park

As shown in Table 1, in the plant communities of Mingyue Park, the plants of the phanerophyte type accounted for the highest proportion, with 70 species, accounting for 49.65%. The chamaephyte, geophytes and hemicryptophyte types accounted for 22.77%, 12.77%, and 8.51%, respectively. Annual plants accounted for the smallest proportion at 6.38%. In Mingyue Park, phanerophyte plants had an obvious advantage.

Flora distribution characteristics of plant communities in Mingyue Park

As shown in Table 2, the 75 families of plants in the plant communities of Mingyue Park could be divided into nine distribution types and six subtypes. Specifically, the world distribution type was the most, with 30 families, accounting for 40%, followed by pantropical distribution, north and south temperate discontinuous distribution and north temperate distribution, accounting for 21.33%, 12%, and 6.67%, respectively. The later three distribution type accounted for 40% of the total distribution types. Except for the world distribution type, the tropical and north temperate distribution types were dominant.

Plant diversity indexes at all levels in Mingyue Park

According to Table 3, there were 91 species of plants in the 36 quadrats in Mingyue Park, including 23 tree species, 10 shrub species, and 58 herb species. The Patrick index (S), Simpson index (D), Shannon-Wiener index (H) and Pielou index (J) of the tree layer, shrub layer and herb layer in Mingyue Park were all in an order of herb layer>arbor layer>shrub layer.

Ecological function of Mingyue Park

Species composition of ecological function quadrats

The three ecological function quadrats, a Cinnamomum camphora forest, an Osmanthus fragrans forest, and a Ligustrum japonicum forest, were of three different configurations of arbor-shrub-grass, arbor-shrub, and arbor-grass. There were 10 species in the C. camphora forest, including 23 trees of 4 species and 8 shrubs of 4 species; the L. japonicum forest had 5 species, including a total of 18 trees of two species, and a total of 7 shrubs of 3 species; and the O. fragrans forest only had one species, a total of 13 trees. The plant configurations are shown in Table 4.

Agricultural Biotechnology2022

Comparison of shading rates of different communities

In the ecological function investigation of Mingyue Park, the shading effect of the plant communities was the most significant. According to the investigation data, the shading rates of various quadrats was in an order of C. camphora forest > L. japonicum forest > O. fragrans forest. From the perspective of community structure, the plant structure with the largest shading effect was arbor-shrub-grass, followed by arbor-shrub, and the smallest was observed in the single tree structure. It can be seen from Fig. 1 that at 12:00 noon, there was a peak, and the shading rates of the C. camphora forest, L. japonicum forest and O. fragrans forest were 88.76%, 77.43%, and 73.90%, respectively. At this time, the sun shines vertically, and the shading effect of plants is maximized. The shading effect of communities is strongly related to their hierarchy and planting density. Meanwhile, the growth of plants and the plant species configuration also have a certain degree of influence on the shading effect of communities. The shading rates of various community structures are shown in Fig. 1.

Comparison of noise reduction rates in different communities

As shown in Fig. 2, the data showed that each green space had obvious noise reduction effect, while the difference was that the variation laws of noise reduction rate of various quadrats in different time periods were different. At 9:00 a.m. and 15:00 p.m., the largest value was in the arbor-shrub-grass structure, and at 12:00 noon, the largest value was in the arbor-shrub structure, and the noise reduction rate of the single tree structure was at the lowest value in each time period. At 9:00 am, the differences were the largest, and the noise reduction rates of the three groups at 12:00 noon and 15:00 pm were almost equal. When the differences were the largest, the order of noise reduction rate was arbor-shrub-grass>arbor-shrub>single tree, which were 10.55%, 7.58%, and 0.90%, respectively. It could be concluded that the best noise reduction effect was still in the arbor-shrub-grass structure, followed by arbor-shrub.

Conclusions and Discussion

Research conclusions on plant community characteristics in Mingyue Park

According to the investigation, there were 141 plant species in Mingyue Park, and 91 plant species in the investigated quadrats. However, Wuhan Zhongshan Park has 449 plant species［13］. Mingyue Park has a big gap with Wuhan Zhongshan Park, and it is also necessary to further enrich plant species and improve plant diversity.

The plant communities of Mingyue Park were dominated by plants of the phanerophyte life type and chamaephyte life type. Jingzhou has abundant rainfall and sufficient heat, which is suitable for the growth of plants of the two life types. In the flora analysis of plant communities in Mingyue Park, except for the world distribution type, the pantropical distribution and the north temperate distribution accounted for the highest proportions, and Jingzhou is just in the vicinity of the north temperate and tropical transition zone, so plants adapted to tropical and temperate zones occupy the majority in Mingyue Park. It is consistent with the conclusions drawn by Wei et al.［14］ in their study of Jingzhou city parks, that is, the plants in Jingzhou parks are dominated by the phanerophyte life type and chamaephyte life type, and the plant communities have the characteristics of tropical and temperate plants.

The diversity index of plants in Mingyue Park was the highest in the herb layer and the lowest in the shrub layer. The herb layer had many species, large quantity and wide distribution, while most of the tree layer and shrub layer were artificially planted, and some species were reused, so various indexes were relatively low. It is basically consistent with the research conclusions of Zhang et al.［15］ that the species and number of trees and shrubs are small, and the combination method is single, which will lead to low diversity result. Species diversity affects community stability［16］. When the species diversity is low, wild species are easy to invade, and it is difficult to form a stable community structure, while a community with rich plant diversity has a strong ability to resist the invasion of alien species and improve the internal productivity of the community.

Research conclusions on the ecological functions of plant communities in Mingyue Park

An ecosystem has the ability to provide multiple functions and services at the same time［17］. The order of the four ecological functions of Mingyue Park was shading > cooling > humidification > noise reduction. In the relationship between plant diversity and ecological functions in Mingyue Park, the ecological function indexes of the arbor-shrub-grass structure was higher than that of the arbor-shrub structure, which was higher than the single tree structure.

In this study, the shading rate was the highest in the C. camphora forest with the arbor-shrub-grass structure. The shading rate is closely related to the tree species, and the biggest factor affecting the shading rate is the compactness of the crown with branches and leaves［18］. C. camphora forests are mostly large trees with large crowns and dense branches and leaves, so the shading effect was the best.

Plant noise reduction mainly achieves the purpose of reducing noise by absorbing or reflecting sound energy, and the main factors affecting the noise reduction effect are community types and structures［19］. In terms of noise reduction of plant communities in Mingyue Park, the order of noise reduction rate was arbor-shrub-grass>arbor-shrub>single tree structure, which is basically consistent with the conclusion of Wang et al.［20］ when studying the noise reduction effect of different plant communities. The plant community with the arbor-shrub-grass structure was richer in plant species and quantity than those with the arbor-shrub structure and the single tree structure, and the effective area that could absorb and reflect noise and sound waves was also higher than other two. Therefore, the plant community with the arbor-shrub-grass structure had the best noise reduction effect in this study.

Suggestions

In the later construction of Mingyue Park, it is necessary to scientifically and reasonably match plants at all levels to create a community structure with rich levels. More native tree species can be planted, and foreign tree species can be introduced scientifically. Moreover, the levels of plant communities can be enriched by greening the vertical landscape to improve the species diversity of the communities and form a stable community structure and a good landscape effect, so that communities can achieved better results in shading, cooling, humidification, noise reduction, dust retention, and sterilization. In addition, plant functional characteristics are the basis for plants to achieve ecological functions. For example, if the tree canopy is dense and the leaf area is large, its noise reduction ability is strong. According to the situation of Mingyue Park itself, species with suitable plant functional characteristics can be selected for planting, so that the ecological functions of plant communities can be maximized.

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