ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Connections between Above-Ground Biomass
and Plant Diversity of Roadside Trees, Density
and Diversity on Different Types of Roads
in Karachi
| 1 | Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresources, College of Tropical Crops,
Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China |
| 2 | School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University |
| 3 | Lingnan Normal University, Guangdong, China, 520428 |
| 4 | Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics Faculty of Crop Production,
Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Pakistan |
| 5 | College of Horticulture, Hannan University, Haikou 570228, China |
| 6 | Key Laboratory for Quality Regulation of Tropical Horticultural Plants of Hainan Province, Haikou 570228, China |
| 7 | Kymeta Corporation, Redmond Washington, USA |
| 8 | College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, China |
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Submission date: 2020-07-29
Final revision date: 2020-09-22
Acceptance date: 2020-10-18
Online publication date: 2021-02-08
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Although Karachi city is one of the world’s fastest growing cities and considered one of
the largest cities of the world, not much is known about its roadside trees. The roadside trees of different
types of roads (e.g. Wide roads, Medium roads) in Karachi city of Sindhi, Pakistan were studied.
Based on the field sample survey, tree species diversity of different types of roads were examined
through different diversity indexes. Furthermore, the relationship between above ground biomass and
biodiversity was studied by linear regression model. A total of 180 plots were surveyed, which were
divided into three main types of roads. The most significant amount of tree biomass per unit area was
found in Wide roads 4.27 kg/m2, followed by medium roads. The least biomass per unit area was found
in the narrow roads, where trees biomass per unit area was 2.44 kg/m2. A single or a small number
of species dominate in the observed area that decline the species diversity. A nonnative species
Conocarpus erectus revealed dominance which was followed by Guaiacum officinale on all types of roads. Overall, 76 species (32 nonnatives and 44 natives) were noted, which were very
disproportionately distributed in the roadside of the city.
