A Study On The Change And Preference Of Seasonal Landscape Characteristics Of Spontaneous Ground Cover Communities And Artificial Lawns In Guanzhong Area

Artificial lawn in urban green space often caused a series of problems such as declining urban biodiversity,landscape homogenization,and excessive resource consumption.However,due to the lack of information on seasonal landscape characteristics and public preferences,it was difficult to select the type of ground cover that could improve and maintain the biodiversity level of urban green space while being popular among the public.Therefore,this study investigated and compared the differences in plant diversity,ornamental characteristics and preferences of different ground cover communities throughout the year,and further explored the influence of seasonal landscape characteristics and respondents’ social attributes on ground cover community preferences,using spontaneous ground cover and artificial lawn in a typical Guanzhong area as research objects.The main conclusions drawn were as follows:(1)A total of 67 species of herbaceous plants were observed and recorded throughout the year,belonging to 22 families and 52 genera,among which the largest number of species of spontaneous herbaceous plants accounted for 88.1%.Asteraceae and Poaceae dominated absolutely,accounting for about 41.79% of all species;most of the plants were native plants,accounting for 70.1%;and perennial herbs had the most species,accounting for 47.8%.Overall,the species diversity and evenness of spontaneous ground cover were significantly higher than those of artificial lawn,indicating the important potential of spontaneous ground cover for enhancing biodiversity in urban green spaces.The plant diversity level of the spontaneous groundcover community " Cynodon dactylon-Poa annua-Veronica persica-Coronilla varia "(CPVC)remained at a high level throughout the year,which may play an important role in improving and maintaining the biodiversity of urban green spaces.(2)The ornamental characteristics of different ground covers were analyzed at the species level as well as the community level.Some species had excellent single ornamental characteristics,such as Geranium wilfordii and Gueldenstaedtia verna.However,because most herbaceous plants were low ornamental characteristics are not obvious,can be planted and managed through some artificial measures to form a group effect will also have some ornamental,such as Medicago lupulina dense planting.When comparing plant communities in terms of color and texture,autochthonous ground cover had richer color and seasonal changes than artificial lawn,and reasonable application of spontaneous ground cover communities can effectively enrich the seasonal landscape of urban green space.Artificial turf had delicate textural ornamental characteristics,which were mainly achieved by intensive maintenance management.(3)There was no significant difference between the preference of spontaneous ground cover and artificial lawn,but there was significant difference in preference between the 13 ground cover communities,with the highest preference scores for Dianthus deltoides×hybrida(D)and Oxalis corymbosa(O),while the preference scores for CPVC were behind only to D and O.(4)In terms of landscape characteristics,season,color composition,color quantity,and color category all had significant effects on groundcover preference.Plant diversity only had a significant positive relationship with autochthonous ground cover preference;community texture only had a significant effect on the preference of artificial lawn.In general,the more colorful and contrasting ground cover communities had higher preference scores.The color composition of "green-yellow-blue" was the most popular among the public,and this color composition was found in the spontaneous groundcover community CPVC.(5)Respondents’ gender,age,education level,profession or industry,and concern for grasses had significant effects on ground cover preference,while occupation,monthly income level,and living environment did not have significant effects on ground cover preference.Overall,males,people aged 51-60 or younger than 18,people not engaged in agriculture,forestry,ecology,environmental science,landscape architecture,or other related professions/industries,and people who frequently observe grasses have higher preference for ground cover.The public’s familiarity with plants influenced the public’s preference,so it was necessary to educate the public about spontaneous ground covers.(6)The spontaneous groundcover community CPVC has a high level of plant diversity and excellent ornamental characteristics throughout the year,while the community preference ranks high throughout the year,which to a certain extent could balance and harmonize the relationship between biodiversity and public aesthetics,providing an example of rich ground cover plant landscape design.The results of the above study were intended to provide a theoretical basis and reference for enriching the landscape design of ground cover plants in the future,so as to realize the comprehensive functions of urban green space to a greater extent.