Biodiversity indices for the Futog park (Novi Sad, Serbia)

Abstract

Biodiversity and biodiversity preservation are some of the most important topics in ecology. Protecting biodiversity in urban ecosystems is especially challenging. Urban parks are a valuable part of green infrastructure in cities, as they contribute to preserving natural habitats for many species. Biodiversity can be quantified by calculating different diversity indices, and in this paper, we have calculated alpha indices (Shannon, Simpson, Fisher, Berger-Parker and Margalef index) and beta indices (Sorensen index, Jaccard distance and Bray-Curtis index) for the Futog park in Novi Sad, Serbia, within two periods, 2005 and 2020. The goal of the paper is to analyze the current values of biodiversity indices in the park and compare them with the ones from 15 years ago. In addition to the analysis of biodiversity indices values, the paper provides the comparison of taxonomic structure of flora, and the abundance of native, endemic and invasive species in the park, in 2005 and 2020. The results show that the values of biodiversity indices have decreased in the indicated period of time, and one of the main causes can be related to the spread of invasive species within the park. For calculation purposes, we have used the R program and the R package “vegan”.

Keywords

• biodiversity
• species diversity
• urban parks
• futog park