Plant Species Composition and Visitor Perceptions of Urban Green Spaces in Kathmandu Valley

Abstract

Urban Green Space is open space dominated by vegetation, which ranges from pocket parks to large forest landscapes. These spaces provide social, physical, psychological, and ecological benefits. With the aim to assess plant species composition, floral diversity and visitor perception, 15 urban green spaces with eight parks, six forests and one botanical garden were selected based on three primary criteria: urban area, urban integration and visitor accessibility. Data were collected from enumeration vegetation, quadrate method for woody species, questionnaire survey for visitor and key information interview. Transect walk for enumeration and quadrat of 10 m × 10 m for tree with two nested 5 m × 5 m subplots for shrub/sapling and three nested sub-subplots of area 1 m × 1 m for sapling was were laid for 193 sampling plot. It consisted of both horticultural design and naturalistic landscapes. Total 437 species with 127 trees, 73 shrubs, 57 subshrubs, 134 herbs, and 46 climbers belonging to 114 families were recorded from 14 urban green spaces. It consists of 54.46% introduced species with 12 invasive species. Additionally, 104 historical specimens representing 79 species were recorded. Total carbon stock of tree species was 566.80 t/ha with urban parks (629.00 t/ha) higher than urban forests (511.31 t/ha). Nine types of tree-related microhabitats were recorded from 59.76% of individual trees. Major disturbances included plastic waste, foot traffic, and lopping of vegetation. Total 230 respondents were surveyed to understand visitor perceptions. Although 45.22% of respondents had heard about invasive species but lacked detailed knowledge. Total 64 plant species were familiar to the visitors, including 70.3% of the tree species. Total 47.39% respondents expressed a willingness to pay an entry fee. Despite being a critical element, it has been underutilized, making it necessary to prepare and implement urban biodiversity management strategies. Keywords: Floral diversity, Kathmandu valley, Plant composition, Urban green space, Visitor perception