Abstract
Dramatic urbanization in the subtropical city of Hong Kong leads to enormous numbers of soil slopes. In addition to supporting infrastructure, soil slopes also allow revegetation work to enhance the ecological value of urban landscapes. However, groundcovers that exhibit much wider uses in slope revegetation, are often ignored. Our study mainly focused on the seasonal variation in groundcover on soil slopes and the association with slope performance and the degree of urbanization. The groundcovers in terms of plant cover, diversity and community composition on thirty-five soil slopes widespread in Hong Kong were examined. The groundcover abundance was then compared between wet and dry seasons and among districts with different degrees of urbanization. It was also correlated with various slope performances for any associations. The results showed considerably low plant cover (less than 50%) on soil slopes despite better performance in the wet season. The initially planted groundcovers have largely been replaced by a variety of naturally occurring plants, leading to a proliferation in species richness and plant diversity of revegetated slopes. Native ferns, including Blechnum orientale, Cyclosorus parasiticus and Dicranopteris pedata, dominated the landscape in both seasons. In addition, the plant diversity and community composition did not vary between seasons but indicated significant differences among urban and suburban districts. Regarding slope performance, slope angle imposed challenges to groundcover growth, as it showed a positive association with the plant community in the wet season but had a negative impact in the dry season. Slope openness and silt soil were found to have positive relationships with the groundcover community. Overall, although a more diverse groundcover community was observed, the poor formation of groundcovers on revegetated soil slopes indicated the need for improvement work to provide more sustainable urban landscapes.
Highlights
• The seasonal variation in plant coverage, diversity and community composition of groundcovers on revegetated soil slopes in Hong Kong were assessed.
• A generally low plant cover was found on soil slopes, with higher growth performance in the wet season.
• Plant diversity and community composition of groundcovers did not vary between seasons but differed significantly among areas with different degrees of development.
• Slope angle, canopy openness and soil texture were significantly associated with plant community composition.
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Data availability
The authors confirmed that the data of this study are available within the article. Raw data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This study is financially supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC-FDS project UGC/FDS25/M02/18). We thank Andrew Wu of the Geotechnical Engineering Office, Civil Engineering and Development Department, HKSAR, for providing slope information on the study sites.
Funding
This study was funded by the Research Grants Council (RGC-FDS project UGC/FDS25/M02/18). The first author, Dr. CHAU Ngai Lung received funding support from the Research Grants Council and no non-finanical interest to disclose. The second author, Dr. LAW Man Suet Michelle, has no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, analysis and presentation were performed by the first author, Dr. CHAU Ngai Lung. The manuscript was written and reviewed by all authors, Dr. CHAU Ngai Lung & Dr. LAW Man Suet Michelle.
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
Abbreviations for species in Figs. 3 and 4:
Amol: Abrus mollis
Acon: Acacia confuse
Amil: Adinandra millettii
Afla: Adiantum flabellulatum
Acon: Ageratum conyzoides
Achi: Alangium chinense
Atre: Alchornea trewioides
Acat: Allamanda cathartica
Aobl: Alpinia oblongifolia
Amac: Alocasia macrorrhizos
Asin: Alyxia sinensis
Adio: Aporosa dioica
Aqui: Ardisia quinquegona
Aluc: Archidendron lucidum
Acre: Ardisia crenata
Alin: Ardisia lindleyana
Acoc: Asparagus cochinchinensis
Abac: Aster baccharoides
Bfru: Baeckea frutescens
Bcor: Bauhinia corymbosa
Bgla: Bauhinia glauca
Bflo: Berchemia floribunda
Bpil: Bidens pilosa var. radiata
Bori: Blechnum orientale
Bniv: Boehmeria nivea var. tenacissima
Bfrut: Breynia fruticose
Bjav: Brucea javanica
Btom: Bridelia tomentosa
Basp: Byttneria aspera
Cfis: Castanopsis fissa
Ctet: Calamus tetradactylus
Ccor: Cayratia corniculata
Csin: Celtis sinensis
Casi: Centella asiatica
Clap: Centotheca lappacea
Csin: Chirita sinensis
Ccom: Chlorophytum comosum
Cbur: Cinnamomum burmannii
Cpar: Cinnamomum parthenoxylon
Cunc: Clematis uncinata
Ccoc: Cratoxylum cochinchinense
Chyp: Cyclea hypoglauca
Cpara: Cyclosorus parasiticus
Cpat: Cyrtococcum patens
Dben: Dalbergia benthamii
Dcal: Daphniphyllum calycinum
Dvar: Dendrotrophe varians
Dhet: Desmodium heterocarpon
Dchi: Dicliptera chinensis
Dped: Dicranopteris pedata
Dlon: Dimocarpus longan
Dbent: Dioscorea benthamii
Dbul: Dioscorea bulbifera
Dfor: Dioscorea fordii
Dkak: Diospyros kaki
Dmor: Diospyros morrisiana
Dspat: Drosera spathulata var. loureirii
Dspa: Dryopteris sparsa
Dcap: Duhaldea cappa
Etom: Elephantopus tomentosus
Elae: Embelia laeta
Erib: Embelia ribes
Epre: Emilia prenanthoidea
Eson: Emilia sonchifolia
Etri: Eleutherococcus trifoliatus
Equi: Enkianthus quinqueflorus
Ecat: Eupatorium catarium
Ehir: Euphorbia hirta
Enit: Eurya nitida
Ffis: Ficus fistulosa
Fhir: Ficus hirta
Fhis: Ficus hispida
Fpum: Ficus pumila
Fvar: Ficus variegata
Fvari: Ficus variolosa
Fvario: Ficus variolosa
Gobl: Garcinia oblongifolia
Gjas: Gardenia jasminoides
Geri: Glochidion eriocarpum
Glan: Glochidion lanceolarium
Gluo: Gnetum luofuense
Ghir: Gonostegia hirta
Gpic: Graphistemma pictum
Hacu: Hedyotis acutangula
Hhed: Hedyotis hedyotidea
Hjap: Heterosmilax japonica
Hcoc: Homalium cochinchinense
Hnem: Hypolytrum nemorum
Iasp: Ilex asprella
Imem: Ilex memecylifolia
Ipub: Ilex pubescens
Inil: Ipomoea nil
Ichi: Itea chinensis
Lcam: Lantana camara
Lleu: Leucaena leucocephala
Lsin: Ligustrum sinense
Lens: Lindsaea ensifolia
Lorb: Lindsaea orbiculata
Lfor: Liquidambar formosana
Lspi: Liriope spicata
Lcub: Litsea cubeba
Lglu: Litsea glutinosa
Lrot: Litsea rotundifolia
Ljap: Lonicera japonica
Lgra: Lophatherum gracile
Lcon: Lophostemon confertus
Ljap: Lygodium japonicum
Lalp: Lysimachia alpestris
Lsca: Lygodium scandens
Mtan: Macaranga tanarius var. tomentosa
Mche: Machilus chekiangensis
Mpau: Machilus pauhoi
Mtor: Macrothelypteris torresiana
Mper: Maesa perlarius
Mpan: Mallotus paniculatus
Mdod: Melastoma dodecandrum
Mmal: Melastoma malabathricum
Msan: Melastoma sanguineum
Mpte: Melicope pteleifolia
Mner: Microcos nervosa
Mcil: Microstegium ciliatum
Mhoo: Microlepia hookeriana
Mmic: Mikania micrantha
Mnit: Milletia nitida
Mflo: Miscanthus floridulus
Mpar: Morinda parvifolia
Mpub: Mussaenda pubescens
Naur: Nephrolepis auriculata
Nbis: Nephrolepis biserrata
Ojap: Ophiopogon japonicus
Oema: Ormosia emarginata
Ocor: Oxalis corniculata
Psca: Paederia scandens
Pcer: Palhinhaea cernua
Pden: Paraixeris denticulate
Pdal: Parthenocissus dalzielii
Pedu: Passiflora edulis
Ppel: Peperomia pellucida
Pcoc: Phyllanthus cochinchinensis
Pret: Phyllanthus reticulatus
Pcat: Piper cathayanum
Pcal: Pityrogramma calomelanos
Pchi: Polygonum chinense
Paxi: Polyspora axillaris
Pchin: Pothos chinensis
Pzey: Pouzolzia zeylanica
Pcle: Praxelis clematidea
Pasi: Psychotria asiatica
Pser: Psychotria serpens
Pens: Pteris ensiformis
Psem: Pteris semipinnata
Pvit: Pteris vittata
Plob: Pueraria lobata var. montana
Rind: Rhaphiolepis indica
Rtom: Rhodomyrtus tomentosa
Rchi: Rhus chinensis
Rhyp: Rhus hypoleuca
Rref: Rubus reflex
Slim: Sabia limoniacea
Sgla: Sarcandra glabra
Stri: Saurauia tristyla
Ssca: Senecio scandens
Shep: Schefflera heptaphylla
Ssup: Schima superba
Sdoe: Selaginella doederleinii
Spal: Setaria palmifolia
Schi: Smilax china
Sgla: Smilax glabra
Slan: Smilax lancefolia
Sant: Soliva anthemifolia
Sarv: Sonchus arvensis
Sole: Sonchus oleraceus
Schi: Sphenomeris chinensis
Sbif: Stenoloma biflorum
Slon: Stephania longa
Slan: Sterculia lanceolata
Sdiv: Strophanthus divaricatus
Scoc: Symplocos cochinchinensis var. laurina
Slan: Symplocos lancifolia
Shan: Syzygium hancei
Ttri: Tadehagi triquetrum
Tasi: Tetracera asiatica
Tpro: Tridax procumbens
Ulob: Urena lobate
Vcin: Vernonia cinerea
Vdif: Viola diffusa
Vsem: Viburnum sempervirens
Vdif: Viola diffusa
Vneg: Vitex negundo var. cannabifolia
Wtri: Wedelia trilobata
Yjap: Youngia japonica
Zavi: Zanthoxylum avicennae
Znit: Zanthoxylum nitidum
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Chau, N.L., Law, M.S.M. Impacts of seasonality and urbanization on groundcover community: a case study on the soil slopes of Hong Kong. Urban Ecosyst 26, 1113–1129 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01362-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01362-8