Investigation of the plant species diversity, density, abundance and distribution in Grahamstown, South Africa

Abstract

The plant species play very important role as they are not just planted to make the streets look beautiful but are a vital part of the ecosystem. They are a major source of the oxygen, help control, stabilise the climate and feed animals. The choice of planting alien trees instead of indigenous trees on the street was a big mistake. Therefore there is a need to pay attention on it now that there is high growth of urbanisation. This research has the primary objectives to investigate the plant species diversity, density, abundance and distribution in the Grahamstown streets and identify the key challenges faced by local forestry officials concerned with the provision of street trees. Streets were randomly sampled in the Grahamstown area. A total of 1467 plants were sighted in 17 streets comprising of only 15 indigenous species and 20 alien species. This means the 57% of trees were alien species and only 43% of the trees were indigenous. Significant differences in tree density and species richness were evident across suburbs (Grahamstown West), differences being more significantly different in the more affluent suburbs and poorly represented in the township (Grahamstown East area).

Keywords: Plant species diversity, abundance and distribution