FLORAL DIVERSITY IN VADODARA GARDENS, GUJARAT, INDIA.

Garden biodiversity is an integral part of the urban ecosystem and play an important role in improving green infrastructure and aid in climate change adaptations. Little research is available on the floral diversity of the parks and gardens. The present study is an attempt to document the floral diversity of 77 gardens in Vadodara city and elucidate trends based on the size of the gardens. Study indicated presence of 217 species belonging to 72 families from the gardens of Vadodara city. The floristic data revealed that around 53% of the species represented indigenous species and 47% belonged to exotic species. Paper concluded that diversity is more in the small gardens as compared to large sized garden, where plantation of few species in undertaken. Species suitable to the semi-arid climate with low water requirement dominated the gardens indicative of better management practices and adapt to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]