Drivers of diversity and tree cover in gardens, parks and streetscapes in an Australian city

Abstract

While we know that urban vegetation is often distributed unequally, most studies have been undertaken in cities with relatively high levels of income inequality, using a single measure of distribution (usually tree cover) and in a single land use. This study explores predictors of both tree cover and species richness in gardens, streetscapes and parks in Ballarat, Australia. Spatial regression models found that education level was a more important predictor of tree cover than household income across all land uses in Ballarat which can be explained by some people with high incomes relative to education level choosing to live in new residential developments with disproportionately low levels of tree cover. Inequality in tree cover was greater in streetscapes than in residential gardens, suggesting that ‘top down’ political factors are more important than individual behaviours in determining tree cover in Ballarat. In contrast, physical rather than socioeconomic factors were better predictors of species richness across all land uses, highlighting that different measures of vegetation distribution are not necessarily correlated.