Distribution Patterns And Influencing Factors Of Plant Diversity In Chinese Temple Gardens

With the rapid development of urbanization,ecological sustainability has become a subject that must be studied for a landscape architect.In this paper,meta analysis was performed.From public database,59 existing Chinese temple gardens that meet the analysis requirement were selected.Based on the composition and characteristic of plants in these 59 objective Chinese temple gardens,the intrinsic correlation between plant diversity and temple attributes was analyzed.Linear regression,stepwise regression and principal component analysis were performed to determine the plant diversity,composition,and the main influencing factors by using the R software.The result shows 1)The temple is dominated by woody evergreen plants in the selection of plant species;Ginkgo biloba L.,Osmanthus sp.,and Nandina domestica are the most commonly used plants in Chinese temple garden.2)The flowers selected in temples are mainly spring and summer blooming flowers,whose color is white and yellow;the most frequently used flowers are Osmanthus sp.and Lagerstroemia indica L..The proportion of fruit-planting plants is low,the fruiting period is mainly distributed in autumn.The fruit color is mainly red and yellow,and the most frequently used is Nandina domestica.3)The diversity and configuration of the temple plants vary greatly.The plant species richness is hight in Huazhong and Northwest China but low in North China.The plant is most colorful in Southwest China,while monotonous in the northwest region of China.4)The ratio of woody and herbaceous,and leaf area are the main components that cause differences in the configuration of garden plants in different places.5)Natural factors are the main driving force for the diversity of temple garden plants on the national scale;they affect the plant configuration of local temples by affecting the richness of plant leaves,flowers and fruit,and the effect of annual precipitation on plant richness.Human factors mainly affect the species richness of temples while social factors have a greater impact on the ornamental attributes of plants,mainly affecting the flowering and fruit color of plants.6)The leaf area of plants is most sensitive to changes in comprehensive factors,while the leaf texture is more stable.In this study,a basic database was established and analyses for the diversity in Chinese temple plants were performed.The results would provide an instruction for the selection of plants in the landscape temple gardens and contributs to the protection of biodiversity;in addition,they are meaningful to the renovation and maintenance of temple gardens,the modernization of the city,and the ecological sustainable development.