Research article

EXPLORING THE STREET TREE DIVERSITY, DENSITY, COMPOSITION, AND SHADE IN URBAN RESIDENTIAL AREAS OF VISAKHAPATNAM.

Allu Revathi Devi1 , Vijayalaxmi J2 and Ramesh Srikonda3 ,

Online First: November 21, 2022


Street trees form an essential part of green infrastructure which contributes to the resilience of the city. Stewardship and stake holder preferences are one of the factors in sustainability of street trees and their diversity and composition in residential areas. This study aims to understand the existing conditions and practices in the plantation of street trees in residential areas. Plotted residential layouts of areas ranging between 18-25acres with road widths less than 9mtrs., 9mtrs to 12mtrs and greater than12mtrs is taken to compare and assess for diversity, density, composition, and distribution along with the shade analysis across the six zones of the city of Visakhapatnam, India. A total stem count of 1896 trees accounting to 83 species, 73genus and 25 families are recorded across the selected neighborhoods. The diversity is rated high when evaluated against the Shannon index and Simpson’s index. It is found that the Sant amour formula of the species diversity as indicated 10/20/30 is not met with. The density of the trees per 100 metre length ranged from 9 trees to 20 trees but the tree sizes differ, which would have varying results in the ecosystem services provided. The composition of native to exotic trees is 60-40% respectively. As the neighborhood character keeps changing with re-densification, there are frequent replacement of trees resulting in younger trees accounting for more percentage as against old trees. The recent plantation drives also replace them with fast growing trees. The parameters assessed gives us evidence to the approach residents of the neighborhood take in the planting patterns. The patterns that evolve in this process can become indicators for evolving a framework and enable better practices.

Keywords

Street Trees, Diversity, Density, Composition Distribution and Neighborhoods