Floristic Composition, Diversity, and Dominance Patterns of Roadside and Road-Divider Vegetation in Rajshahi City Corporation, Bangladesh

Md. Masud Rana , Tofael Ahmed , Md. Omar Faruq , Rony Rani

Department of Botany, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh

Corresponding Author Email: aronyarjun@gmail.com

DOI : https://doi.org/10.51470/ABP.2026.05.02.41

Abstract

Keywords

Download this article as:

Introduction

Urban vegetation is increasingly recognized as an important component of sustainable urban development because it supports biodiversity, improves environmental quality, provides ecosystem services, and contributes to human well-being[1–3]. In rapidly urbanizing landscapes, natural and semi-natural habitats are frequently fragmented, simplified, or replaced by impervious surfaces, resulting in marked changes in species composition, vegetation structure, and ecosystem functioning[4–6]. Within this context, roadside verges and central medians represent ecologically meaningful elements of urban green infrastructure[7]. Although these spaces are often established primarily for beautification, shading, and traffic management, they also provide important ecosystem services, including microclimatic regulation, dust interception, carbon storage, soil stabilization, and habitat resources for pollinators and other urban biota[8–11]. Consequently, roadside vegetation should be regarded not merely as ornamental planting, but as an integral component of the urban ecological network.

The ecological significance of roadside and median vegetation is particularly pronounced in tropical and subtropical cities, where urban heat, traffic-related particulate pollution, and rapid land-use conversion intensify environmental stress[12–14]. In such settings, roadside plant assemblages are typically shaped by deliberate planting, management practices, environmental filtering, and species-specific tolerance to drought, heat, pollution, and disturbance[15–17]. This often results in floras dominated by a limited set of hardy and visually attractive species. While such species may perform well under stressful urban conditions, excessive reliance on a narrow planting palette can promote compositional homogenization, reduce structural heterogeneity, and ultimately constrain the ecological resilience and conservation value of urban green spaces[18–20]. Therefore, evaluating roadside vegetation requires more than a simple inventory of planted taxa; it requires an integrated assessment of floristic composition, life-form structure, abundance status, dominance patterns, and functional uses[21].

Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC), a major metropolitan area in northwestern Bangladesh, provides a particularly relevant context for such an investigation[22]. Rajshahi has undergone sustained urban expansion, yet it is also widely recognized for its emphasis on urban greening through planned roadside and road-divider plantations[23]. These vegetated strips now constitute a visible and functionally important part of the city’s green infrastructure. Such plantations are commonly promoted to improve environmental quality by reducing dust, moderating urban heat, stabilizing roadside soils, and enhancing visual amenity across major urban corridors[24]. The study area is therefore especially suitable for examining how managed roadside vegetation contributes to urban biodiversity patterns within an urban landscape of Bangladesh[25].

Despite the ecological and managerial importance of these linear green spaces, a clear research gap remains. Urban plant studies in Bangladesh have largely focused either on broader metropolitan floras or on roadside vegetation in other cities, whereas a dedicated quantitative assessment of roadside and central-median vegetation in Rajshahi remains limited[23,26]. In particular, an integrated account for RCC that simultaneously documents species composition, family-level representation, growth-form structure, abundance categories, functional use patterns, dominant taxa, and spatial variation in diversity across the road network has been lacking in the available local context. This gap limits the capacity of city authorities and urban planners to evaluate whether existing plantation practices are taxonomically diverse, ecologically balanced, or overly dependent on a small set of dominant ornamental species. It also constrains evidence-based decisions regarding species selection, native species integration, and biodiversity-sensitive roadside plantation design.

Addressing this gap is important from both scientific and management perspectives. Scientifically, a systematic floristic assessment of roadside and median vegetation can improve understanding of how urbanization and planting practices shape local plant assemblages[27,28]. From a practical perspective, such information is essential for designing roadside plantations that balance aesthetic value with ecological functionality[8,9,29]. In a city such as Rajshahi, where roadside and divider plantations form a prominent component of the urban landscape, baseline data on species diversity and vegetation structure are crucial for developing sustainable greening strategies and for reducing the risk of ecological homogenization associated with repetitive planting schemes[30].

Against this background, the present study aimed to assess the floristic composition, diversity structure, abundance patterns, and functional uses of plant species occurring along roadsides and road dividers within Rajshahi City Corporation, Bangladesh. It documents the plant species present in these habitats, characterizes their taxonomic and structural attributes, and evaluates their habit, taxonomic group, flowering period, abundance status, and use categories. In addition, the study quantifies species richness, abundance, and diversity across the surveyed sites. By providing a systematic inventory of roadside vegetation in RCC, this research establishes a baseline for urban biodiversity conservation, evidence-based plantation planning, and ecologically informed management of roadside green infrastructure in Rajshahi.

Materials and methods

Study area

The study was conducted in Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC), Bangladesh, from June 2025 to January 2026. RCC is a major metropolitan area in northwestern Bangladesh, located between 24°20′ and 24°24′ N latitude and 88°32′ and 88°40′ E longitude. The city lies within the Barind Tract and the northern Bengal plain and has undergone substantial urban expansion in recent decades. Alongside this expansion, RCC has developed an extensive network of roadside and central-median plantations as part of its urban greening initiatives. These planted strips now represent an important component of the city’s urban green infrastructure. Rajshahi experiences a tropical wet-and-dry climate, with summer temperatures often exceeding 40 °C, annual rainfall of approximately 1,500 mm, and predominantly alluvial to clayey soils with mildly acidic to alkaline reaction. These climatic, edaphic, and management conditions make RCC a suitable urban system for assessing roadside and road-divider vegetation diversity.

Survey design and field sampling

A city-wide floristic survey was conducted through 20 field visits during the study period. Sampling covered 20 major roadside and road-divider corridors across RCC: Rajshahi University–Talaimari, Talaimari–Shaheb Bazar Main Road, Rajshahi College–C&B Road, C&B Road–Court Area Road, Court Area Road–Kashiadanga Bypass, Kashiadanga Bypass–Rajshahi Medical, Bornali–Rail Gate, Rail Station–Talaimari Traffic Point, Sapura–Shalbagan Road, Stadium–Aam Chattar, Aam Chattar–Airport, Uposhahar Main Road sector dividers, Vodra Mor–Budhpara Flyover Road, Padma River Embankment, Terokhadia–Cantonment Road, University Main Gate–Katakhali, Meherchandi–Binodpur, Kharkhori–Biman Bandar Road, Octroi More–Koroitola More, and New Market–Rail Gate.

At each corridor, 10 sampling locations were selected randomly, and vegetation was surveyed using 15-m line transects. In total, 200 line transects were surveyed across the 20 road corridors. Within each transect, all plant species occurring along the roadside and road-divider vegetation were recorded, and the number of individuals of each species was counted. The line-transect approach was used because roadside verges and central medians are narrow, elongated habitats[31]. Surveys were conducted across available flowering and fruiting periods whenever possible to improve field recognition and taxonomic verification.

Field documentation

During fieldwork, observations were recorded for each plant species, including scientific name, local name, family, growth habit, flowering period, abundance status, taxonomic group, and use category. Field notes were maintained throughout the survey, and representative individuals and plant stands were photographed to support post-field verification. This combination of direct observation, field notes, and photographic documentation was used to compile the floristic inventory and reduce uncertainty during subsequent identification.

Taxonomic identification and nomenclature

Plant taxa were identified to species level, where possible, using standard floristic and taxonomic literature, including Hooker (1877)[32], Prain (1903)[33], Cronquist (1981)[34], and Kirtikar and Basu (1987)[35]. Nomenclature was subsequently checked and updated using Huq (1986)[36], Pasha and Zaman (1988), Ahmed et al. (2008, 2009)[37], and Pasha and Uddin (2013)[38]. After identification, each species was assigned to the appropriate family, habit class, taxonomic group, abundance category, and functional use category.

Data classification

The recorded flora was classified according to structural, taxonomic, abundance, and functional attributes. Growth habit was categorized as tree, shrub, herb, or climber. Taxonomic grouping followed the broad categories of dicotyledons, monocotyledons, and gymnosperms. Species occurrence status was categorized as very common, common, rare, and very rare based on field occurrence across the sampled transects and road corridors. In this study, these abundance categories were used as relative field-status classes rather than formal population-size estimates. Functional use categories were assigned based on field observations and available ethnobotanical literature, and included ornamental, medicinal, food, edible, timber, landscaping, ecological, cosmetic, and multipurpose uses.

Quantitative analysis

Vegetation structure was quantified using standard phytosociological parameters, including frequency (F), relative frequency (RF), density (D), relative density (RD), abundance (A), relative abundance (RA), and Importance Value Index (IVI). These metrics were used to describe species occurrence, structural contribution, and ecological dominance within roadside and road-divider vegetation. Frequency measured the proportion of sampling units in which a species occurred, thereby reflecting its distribution within the study area. Density represented the number of individuals of a species per sampling unit, whereas abundance expressed the mean number of individuals per occupied sampling unit. Relative values were calculated to determine the proportional contribution of each species to total community structure. IVI was used as a composite measure of species dominance and was calculated as the sum of relative frequency, relative density, and relative abundance. Species with higher IVI values were considered more dominant within the sampled vegetation.

where H′ is the Shannon–Wiener diversity index and pi is the proportional abundance of the ith species. This index incorporates both species richness and relative abundance and was used to compare diversity patterns among the surveyed road corridors. Species richness and total abundance were also summarized for each site to evaluate spatial variation in floristic composition across Rajshahi City Corporation.

Results

Floristic composition of roadside and road-divider vegetation

The floristic survey conducted across roadside and road-divider habitats within Rajshahi City Corporation recorded a total of 161 plant species belonging to 114 genera and 56 families, indicating considerable taxonomic richness within the urban roadside flora of the study area. The complete floristic inventory, including scientific name, family, local name, habit, taxonomic group, abundance status, use category, and flowering period, is presented in Table 1. Family-level analysis revealed that Fabaceae was the most species-rich family, represented by 22 species, followed by Euphorbiaceae (14 species) and Arecaceae (10 species). Other comparatively well-represented families included Meliaceae (6 species), Verbenaceae (5 species), and Lythraceae and Rutaceae (4 species each), whereas Lauraceae, Oxalidaceae, Solanaceae, and Zingiberaceae were each represented by a single species. The family-wise distribution of species is illustrated in Fig. 1, which shows that a limited number of families contributed disproportionately to overall species richness.

.

Growth-form composition and taxonomic structure

The recorded flora was structurally dominated by woody species. Of the 161 species, 73 were classified as trees, 62 as shrubs, 19 as herbs, and 7 as climbers. This growth-form distribution, shown in Fig. 2, indicates that roadside and road-divider vegetation in RCC is overwhelmingly composed of arboreal and shrubby taxa. Taxonomic grouping further revealed a marked predominance of dicotyledons, which accounted for 141 species (87.6%), followed by monocotyledons with 17 species(10.6%) and gymnospermswith 3 species(1.9%). The relative contribution of these major taxonomic groups is presented in Fig. 3. Collectively, these results indicate that the roadside flora of RCC is characterized by strong dominance of woody dicotyledonous taxa, consistent with plantation preferences in urban transport corridors.

Abundance pattern of the recorded species

The abundance pattern of the recorded flora is presented in Fig. 4, whereas species-wise abundance categories are provided in Table 1. Among the 161 species recorded, 94 species (58%) were categorized as common, 13 species (8%) as very common, 48 species (30%) as rare, and 6 species (4%) as very rare. The common category constituted the largest proportion of the recorded flora, whereas the very common and very rare categories were represented by comparatively few species. This abundance pattern indicates that the vegetation assemblage consisted of a recurrent group of frequently encountered species together with a substantial proportion of less represented taxa. Thus, although the study area supported relatively high species richness, species distribution across sites was uneven, and many taxa occurred only sparsely within the surveyed urban landscape.

Functional use categories of the recorded plant species

The functional use categories of the recorded flora are presented in Fig. 5, with species-level details provided in Table 1. Ornamental species constituted the dominant use category (104 species), followed by medicinal species (44 species) and timber-related species (19 species). By comparison, comparatively few taxa were assigned to food, edible, ecological, landscaping, and dye/cosmetic categories.

The predominance of ornamental taxa indicates that roadside and divider plantations in the study area were structured mainly around aesthetic and landscape-oriented objectives. Representative ornamental species included Allamanda cathartica, Nerium oleander, Ixora coccinea, Bougainvillea spectabilis, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Canna indica, and Mussaendaerythrophylla, whereas medicinal taxa such as Justicia adhatoda, Alstoniascholaris, Azadirachta indica, Terminalia arjuna, and Moringa oleifera were present in lower proportions the functional composition of the flora reflects the dominant influence of ornamental planting preferences in the urban green infrastructure of the study area.

Dominance pattern of plant species based on phytosociological attributes

The dominant taxa in the roadside and road-divider vegetation, as assessed through phytosociological parameters, are presented in Table 2. According to importance value index (IVI), Nerium oleander ranked highest (28.77), followed by Canna indica (27.79), Mussaendaerythrophylla (27.51), Helianthus annuus (26.68), Ixora coccinea (24.60), and Polyalthialongifolia (20.33). Additional species with notable dominance values included Allamanda cathartica (17.94) and Tabernaemontanadivaricata (16.90).

The elevated values of relative density, relative frequency, and relative abundance recorded for these taxa further confirm their strong numerical and spatial prominence within the study area. Collectively, these results indicate that the structural dominance of the roadside plantation system was disproportionately concentrated in a relatively small subset of taxa, notwithstanding the broader floristic richness documented across the study area. The predominance of ornamental species among the highest-ranking taxa further suggests that managed planting preference played a major role in shaping the phytosociological composition of the surveyed urban vegetation.

Spatial variation in species diversity across sampled sites

Spatial variation in plant species diversity among the surveyed road segments is shown in Table 3, which presents species richness, total abundance, and the Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H’)for each site. The highest diversity was recorded at C&B Road–Court Area Road (H’ = 2.98), followed by Rajshahi University–Talaimari (H’ = 2.81) and Talaimari–Shaheb Bazar Main Road (H’ = 2.65). The relatively higher diversity values at these sites corresponded with greater species richness and higher numbers of individuals, suggesting assemblages with broader taxonomic representation and comparatively greater evenness.

By contrast, the lowest diversity values were recorded at New Market–Rail Gate (H’ = 1.08), Octroi More–Koroitola More (H’ = 1.23), and Padma River Embankment (H’ = 1.34). These lower values indicate assemblages with reduced richness and stronger concentration of individuals within a restricted number of taxa. Several sites showed intermediate diversity, including Rajshahi College–C&B Road (H’ = 2.42), Court Area Road–Kashiadanga Bypass (H’ = 2.15), and Kharkhori–Biman Bandar Road (H’ = 1.98). Collectively, the observed range of H’ values (1.08–2.98) demonstrates substantial spatial heterogeneity in the diversity structure of roadside and road-divider vegetation across the study area.

Discussion

The present study demonstrates that roadside and road-divider habitats in Rajshahi City Corporation support substantial floristic richness, with 161 species representing 114 genera and 56 families. This finding indicates that these linear urban green spaces function as important components of the city’s green infrastructure rather than merely as ornamental strips. However, the recorded richness was accompanied by clear unevenness in taxonomic representation, growth-form composition, functional use, dominance structure, and site-level diversity. Thus, the roadside flora of Rajshahi may be interpreted as a relatively rich but management-shaped urban assemblage, in which observed diversity patterns are strongly influenced by plantation choice, site conditions, and maintenance practices. This pattern is consistent with broader urban ecological evidence showing that managed roadside and urban green spaces can support considerable plant richness, while their composition often remains strongly shaped by human-mediated planting preferences and management regimes[41,42].

The concentration of species within a limited number of families, particularly Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Arecaceae, and Malvaceae, indicates that the roadside flora was taxonomically uneven despite its relatively high overall richness. This pattern is ecologically meaningful because urban roadside habitats are typically exposed to recurrent disturbance, heat stress, dust deposition, restricted rooting space, and regular maintenance, all of which can favor hardy, stress-tolerant, and easily maintained taxa. Similar family-level dominance has been reported in managed urban floras, where a small number of species-rich families often contribute disproportionately to total richness due to repeated use of ornamental, shade-providing, or disturbance-tolerant plants[43,44]. Therefore, the family composition observed in Rajshahi likely reflects the combined influence of environmental filtering, nursery availability, and municipal planting preference rather than purely spontaneous species assembly[45,46].

The predominance of trees and shrubs further indicates that the vegetation structure is organized primarily around perennial woody taxa. Such a structure is typical of managed roadside systems because woody species provide long-term canopy cover, visual continuity, shade, and relatively stable landscape performance. This pattern is also functionally relevant, as woody vegetation can contribute to microclimatic moderation, particulate interception, and urban landscape stability. Comparable dominance of woody growth forms has been observed in many urban roadside and avenue plantations, where trees and shrubs are commonly prioritized for their durability, aesthetic value, and environmental buffering capacity. Nevertheless, the comparatively low representation of herbs and climbers in the present study suggests reduced structural heterogeneity in lower vegetation strata. Increasing life-form diversity through carefully selected herbs, ground covers, and climbers could therefore enhance habitat complexity and improve the ecological value of these linear green spaces[29,47,48].

The strong predominance of dicotyledonous taxa is also consistent with the plantation character of the study area. Many commonly used avenue trees, flowering shrubs, and ornamental species belong to dicotyledonous groups, which explains their numerical dominance in the recorded flora. However, this pattern also suggests that the vegetation system is less taxonomically balanced than total species richness alone might imply. From an ecological perspective, concentration within similar taxonomic groups may reduce resilience by increasing dependence on a narrower set of structural and functional traits[43,49]. This interpretation agrees with urban vegetation studies indicating that high species richness does not necessarily ensure ecological balance when richness is concentrated within a limited range of growth forms or taxonomic groups. Therefore, future roadside planting should consider not only species number but also taxonomic breadth and functional complementarity[43,49–51].

The abundance structure of the flora indicates the coexistence of a recurrent core of frequently encountered taxa and a substantial number of less represented species. Although many taxa were classified as common, a considerable proportion remained rare or very rare, suggesting that species were not uniformly distributed across the surveyed landscape. This pattern is characteristic of designed urban vegetation systems in which a limited number of preferred species are repeatedly planted across multiple sites, while many other taxa occur only locally or at lower abundance[17,43]. Similar uneven abundance patterns have been reported in managed urban green spaces, where repeated plantation of a limited species pool can create high city-level richness but relatively uneven site-level representation[48,52,53]. Consequently, the relatively high richness recorded in Rajshahi should be interpreted alongside abundance distribution and site-wise recurrence[43,53].

The functional use profile clearly shows that ornamental considerations were the principal driver of species selection in the study area. Ornamental taxa constituted the dominant use category, whereas medicinal, timber-related, food, ecological, and other functional categories were represented in lower proportions. This indicates that roadside and road-divider plantations in Rajshahi have been structured mainly around aesthetic and landscape-oriented objectives. The predominance of ornamental species is widely recognized in urban roadside plantations, where visual quality, flowering display, and streetscape beautification often receive greater priority than ecological multifunctionality. While such planting is understandable in highly visible public corridors, it may limit the broader ecological role of roadside vegetation if habitat-supporting, native, and functionally complementary species are underrepresented. Thus, future plantation planning should aim to balance aesthetic value with ecological performance[8,9,17,29,49,54].

The phytosociological analysis reinforces this interpretation by showing that dominance was concentrated in a small subset of taxa, particularly Nerium oleander, Canna indica, Mussaendaerythrophylla, Helianthus annuus, Ixora coccinea, and Polyalthia longifolia. Their high IVI values and associated relative density, relative frequency, and relative abundance indicate strong numerical and spatial prominence within the roadside vegetation matrix[55,56]. Similar dominance patterns, in which a few repeatedly planted species account for high structural importance, have been documented in other managed urban vegetation systems and are commonly interpreted as evidence of planting preference and compositional homogenization[17,47,48]. Although reliance on a limited group of hardy ornamental taxa may simplify maintenance and ensure predictable performance under urban stress, it may also reduce compositional distinctiveness among road segments. Broader taxonomic and functional diversification would therefore be beneficial for improving long-term ecological resilience[42,43,51,57].

The marked spatial variation in Shannon–Wiener diversity among road segments further demonstrates that roadside vegetation is not organized uniformly across Rajshahi City Corporation. Sites with higher diversity, such as C&B Road–Court Area Road and Rajshahi University–Talaimari, likely reflect broader species representation and comparatively greater evenness. In contrast, lower-diversity sites such as New Market–Rail Gate and Octroi More–Koroitola More appear to be characterized by reduced richness and stronger dominance by fewer taxa. Spatial heterogeneity in roadside vegetation diversity has also been reported in other urban systems, where differences in road width, median size, land-use intensity, disturbance pressure, and maintenance regimes influence local plant assemblages[29,45,46]. This suggests that a uniform city-wide plantation model may not be sufficient; instead, site-specific planting strategies should be developed according to corridor width, soil depth, traffic pressure, and management capacity.

Overall, the findings suggest that roadside and road-divider vegetation in Rajshahi City Corporation represents a floristically rich but compositionally selective urban flora. The current plantation system has clear value for urban greening, landscape enhancement, and public visual amenity, but its long-term ecological contribution could be strengthened through greater diversification in species choice, growth-form structure, and functional composition. This interpretation is consistent with broader urban ecological research emphasizing that sustainable green infrastructure should integrate biodiversity conservation, ecological function, and aesthetic quality rather than prioritizing beautification alone. Therefore, the present study provides an ecological basis for shifting from predominantly ornamental roadside planting toward a more balanced model of urban greening that incorporates native species, habitat-supporting taxa, structural heterogeneity, and site-sensitive plantation design.

Conclusions

This study provides a systematic baseline assessment of roadside and road-divider vegetation in Rajshahi City Corporation by documenting floristic composition, growth-form structure, abundance pattern, functional uses, phytosociological dominance, and site-wise diversity. The recorded flora showed considerable species richness, comprising 161 species under 114 genera and 56 families, but its composition was strongly shaped by woody, dicotyledonous, and ornamental taxa. Dominance was concentrated in a limited number of widely planted ornamental species, while Shannon–Wiener diversity varied markedly among road segments, indicating spatial heterogeneity in the urban plantation system. These findings suggest that roadside vegetation in Rajshahi contributes meaningfully to urban green infrastructure, but its ecological value and resilience could be strengthened through greater taxonomic, structural, and functional diversification. Future plantation planning should therefore prioritize site-specific species selection, increased use of native and habitat-supporting taxa, and a balanced integration of aesthetic, ecological, and biodiversity-oriented objectives.

Data availability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

Ethics statement

This study did not involve human participants or animals. Therefore, formal ethical approval was not required. Field observations were conducted only for plant documentation within roadside and road-divider habitats.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Declaration of Competing Interests

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Plant Taxonomy Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh, for providing the laboratory facilities and research support essential to the successful completion of this study.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Md. Masud Rana: Writing – original draft, Software, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. Tofael Ahmed: Writing – review and editing, Validation, Software, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Visualization, Data curation, Conceptualization. Md. Omar Faruq: Writing – review and editing, Supervision, Methodology, Investigation. Rony Rani: Writing – review and editing, Supervision, Formal analysis, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Conceptualization. 

References

1.         Richards, D.R.; Belcher, R.N.; Carrasco, L.R.; Edwards, P.J.; Fatichi, S.; Hamel, P.; Masoudi, M.; McDonnell, M.J.; Peleg, N.; Stanley, M.C. Global Variation in Contributions to Human Well-Being from Urban Vegetation Ecosystem Services. One Earth2022, 5, 522–533, doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2022.04.006.

2.         Wang, D.; Xu, P.-Y.; An, B.-W.; Guo, Q.-P. Urban Green Infrastructure: Bridging Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Urban Development through Adaptive Management Approach. Front. Ecol. Evol.2024, 12, 1440477, doi:10.3389/fevo.2024.1440477.

3.         Miguez, N.G.; Mason, B.M.; Qiu, J.; Cao, H.; Callaghan, C.T. Urban Greenspaces Benefit Both Human Utility and Biodiversity. Urban For. Urban Green.2025, 107, 128791, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128791.

4.         Rojas-Botero, S.; Dietzel, S.; Kollmann, J.; Teixeira, L.H. Towards a Functional Understanding of Rehabilitated Urban Road Verge Grasslands: Effects of Planting Year, Site Conditions, and Landscape Factors. Flora2023, 309, 152417, doi:10.1016/j.flora.2023.152417.

5.         Theodorou, P. The Effects of Urbanisation on Ecological Interactions. Curr. Opin. Insect Sci.2022, 52, 100922, doi:10.1016/j.cois.2022.100922.

6.         Ruas, R.D.B.; Costa, L.M.S.; Bered, F. Urbanization Driving Changes in Plant Species and Communities – A Global View. Glob. Ecol. Conserv.2022, 38, e02243, doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02243.

7.         Leonard, R.J.; McArthur, C.; Hochuli, D.F. Habitat Complexity Does Not Affect Arthropod Community Composition in Roadside Greenspaces. Urban For. Urban Green.2018, 30, 108–114, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2018.01.016.

8.         Phillips, B.B.; Bullock, J.M.; Osborne, J.L.; Gaston, K.J. Ecosystem Service Provision by Road Verges. J. Appl. Ecol.2020, 57, 488–501, doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13556.

9.         Säumel, I.; Weber, F.; Kowarik, I. Toward Livable and Healthy Urban Streets: Roadside Vegetation Provides Ecosystem Services Where People Live and Move. Environ. Sci. Policy2016, 62, 24–33, doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2015.11.012.

10.       Jeong, M.; Bae, J.; Yoo, G. Urban Roadside Greenery as a Carbon Sink: Systematic Assessment Considering Understory Shrubs and Soil Respiration. Sci. Total Environ.2024, 927, 172286, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172286.

11.       Dietzel, S.; Rojas-Botero, S.; Kollmann, J.; Fischer, C. Enhanced Urban Roadside Vegetation Increases Pollinator Abundance Whereas Landscape Characteristics Drive Pollination. Ecol. Indic.2023, 147, 109980, doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109980.

12.       Aram, F.; Higueras García, E.; Solgi, E.; Mansournia, S. Urban Green Space Cooling Effect in Cities. Heliyon2019, 5, e01339, doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01339.

13.       Uka, U.N.; Belford, E.J.D.; Hogarh, J.N. Roadside Air Pollution in a Tropical City: Physiological and Biochemical Response from Trees. Bull. Natl. Res. Cent.2019, 43, 90, doi:10.1186/s42269-019-0117-7.

14.       Vailshery, L.S.; Jaganmohan, M.; Nagendra, H. Effect of Street Trees on Microclimate and Air Pollution in a Tropical City. Urban For. Urban Green.2013, 12, 408–415, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2013.03.002.

15.       Shrestha, S.; Baral, B.; Dhital, N.B.; Yang, H.-H. Assessing Air Pollution Tolerance of Plant Species in Vegetation Traffic Barriers in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Sustain. Environ. Res.2021, 31, 3, doi:10.1186/s42834-020-00076-2.

16.       Barwise, Y.; Kumar, P. Designing Vegetation Barriers for Urban Air Pollution Abatement: A Practical Review for Appropriate Plant Species Selection. Npj Clim. Atmos. Sci.2020, 3, 12, doi:10.1038/s41612-020-0115-3.

17.       Conway, T.M.; Vander Vecht, J. Growing a Diverse Urban Forest: Species Selection Decisions by Practitioners Planting and Supplying Trees. Landsc. Urban Plan.2015, 138, 1–10, doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.01.007.

18.       Chen, Y.; Ge, Y.; Wu, Z.; Ouyang, Y.; Yang, G.; Du, Y.; Pan, K.; Chang, J. Homogenization of Tree Species Diversity in Urban Green Spaces along a Temperature Gradient in Eastern China. Urban For. Urban Green.2021, 66, 127388, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127388.

19.       Groffman, P.M.; Cavender-Bares, J.; Bettez, N.D.; Grove, J.M.; Hall, S.J.; Heffernan, J.B.; Hobbie, S.E.; Larson, K.L.; Morse, J.L.; Neill, C.; et al. Ecological Homogenization of Urban USA. Front. Ecol. Environ.2014, 12, 74–81, doi:10.1890/120374.

20.       Qian, S.; Qi, M.; Huang, L.; Zhao, L.; Lin, D.; Yang, Y. Biotic Homogenization of China’s Urban Greening: A Meta-Analysis on Woody Species. Urban For. Urban Green.2016, 18, 25–33, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2016.05.002.

21.       Arshad, F.; Iqbal, M.; Riaz, A.; Haq, S.M.; Waheed, M.; Qadeer, S.; Bussmann, R.W.; Shoaib, M.; Hashem, A.; Fathi Abd-Allah, E. Road Corridors Vegetation in the Semi-Arid Region: Functional Trait Diversity and Dynamics. Sci. Rep.2024, 14, 25212, doi:10.1038/s41598-024-76484-w.

22.       Alam, Md.S.; Mamun, Md.A.A.; Rahman, Md.A.; Sultana, R.; Salauddin, Md.; Rahman, N.; Sultana, Mst.R.; Ahsan, M.T. Towards Green and Climate-Resilient Urbanization in Rajshahi City: Urban Growth Meets Climate Action in Northern Bangladesh. Chin. J. Urban Environ. Stud.2025, 13, 2550001, doi:10.1142/S2345748125500010.

23.       Tanjina Hasnat, G.N. Assessment of Spatiotemporal Distribution Pattern of Land Surface Temperature with Incessant Urban Sprawl over Khulna and Rajshahi City Corporations. Environ. Chall.2022, 9, 100644, doi:10.1016/j.envc.2022.100644.

24.       Roy, R. Urban Heat and Vegetation Dynamics in Rajshahi City: A Google Earth Engine- Based Analysis from 2005 to 2024 2026.

25.       Rahman, A.H.M.M. Angiospermic Flora of Rajshahi District, Bangladesh. Am. J. Life Sci.2013, 1, 105, doi:10.11648/j.ajls.20130103.15.

26.       Akter, S.; Say, K.M.A.; Parvin, N.; Jamil, M.; Da, H.M.; Chowdhury, M.K.; Hossain, Md.I.; Mahato, S.; Prokriti, S.A.; Islam, S.; et al. Urban Main Roadside Plantation Enhances Species Richness, Diversity and Carbon Storage than Sub Roadside Plantation: An Empirical Study in Dhaka City 2025.

27.       Kafy, A.-A.; Sattar, G.S.; Mahmud-ul-islam, S. Reduction of Vegetation Cover in Rajshahi City Corporation of Bangladesh. 2019.

28.       Grimm, N.B.; Faeth, S.H.; Golubiewski, N.E.; Redman, C.L.; Wu, J.; Bai, X.; Briggs, J.M. Global Change and the Ecology of Cities. Science2008, 319, 756–760, doi:10.1126/science.1150195.

29.       O’Sullivan, O.S.; Holt, A.R.; Warren, P.H.; Evans, K.L. Optimising UK Urban Road Verge Contributions to Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services with Cost-Effective Management. J. Environ. Manage.2017, 191, 162–171, doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.12.062.

30.       Kafy, A.-A.; Rahman, Md.S.; Faisal, A.-A.-; Hasan, M.M.; Islam, M. Modelling Future Land Use Land Cover Changes and Their Impacts on Land Surface Temperatures in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Remote Sens. Appl. Soc. Environ.2020, 18, 100314, doi:10.1016/j.rsase.2020.100314.

31.       Canfield, R.H. Application of the Line Interception Method in Sampling Range Vegetation. J. For.1941, 39, 388–394, doi:10.1093/jof/39.4.388.

32.       Hooker, J.D.; Hooker, J.D. The Flora of British India; L. Reeve: London, 1875;

33.       Prain, D.; Prain, D. Bengal Plants : A List of the Phanerogams, Ferns and Fern-Allies Indigenous to, or Commonly Cultivated in, the Lower Provinces and Chittagong, with Definitions of the Natural Orders and Genera, and Keys to the Genera and Species; Botanical Survey of India: Calcutta, 1903;

34.       Cronquist, A. An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants; Columbia University Press, 1981; ISBN 978-0-231-03880-5.

35.       Kirtikar, K.R.; Basu, B.D. Indian Medicinal Plants; M/S Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1975;

36.       Huq, A.M. Plant Names of Banglad National Herbarium. BARC Dhaka Banglades1986.

37.       Ahmed, Z.; Tahmida Begum, Z.N.; Abul Hassan, M.; Khondeker, M.; Kabir, S.M.H. Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh. No Title2008.

38.       Pasha, M.K.; Uddin, S.B. Dictionary of Plant Names of Bangladesh (Vascular Plants). Janokalyan Prokashani Chittagong Dhaka Bangladesh2013, 1, 434.

39.       Shannon, C.E.; Weaver, W. The Mathematical Theory of Communication; University of Illinois Press, 1998; ISBN 978-0-252-09803-1.

40.       Spellerberg, I.F.; Fedor, P.J. A Tribute to Claude Shannon (1916–2001) and a Plea for More Rigorous Use of Species Richness, Species Diversity and the ‘Shannon–Wiener’ Index. Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr.2003, 12, 177–179, doi:10.1046/j.1466-822X.2003.00015.x.

41.       Aronson, M.F.J.; La Sorte, F.A.; Nilon, C.H.; Katti, M.; Goddard, M.A.; Lepczyk, C.A.; Warren, P.S.; Williams, N.S.G.; Cilliers, S.; Clarkson, B.; et al. A Global Analysis of the Impacts of Urbanization on Bird and Plant Diversity Reveals Key Anthropogenic Drivers. Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci.2014, 281, 20133330, doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.3330.

42.       McKinney, M.L. Urbanization as a Major Cause of Biotic Homogenization. Biol. Conserv.2006, 127, 247–260, doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.09.005.

43.       Kendal, D.; Dobbs, C.; Lohr, V.I. Global Patterns of Diversity in the Urban Forest: Is There Evidence to Support the 10/20/30 Rule? Urban For. Urban Green.2014, 13, 411–417, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2014.04.004.

44.       Conway, T.M.; Vander Vecht, J. Growing a Diverse Urban Forest: Species Selection Decisions by Practitioners Planting and Supplying Trees. Landsc. Urban Plan.2015, 138, 1–10, doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.01.007.

45.       Williams, N.S.G.; Hahs, A.K.; Vesk, P.A. Urbanisation, Plant Traits and the Composition of Urban Floras. Perspect. Plant Ecol. Evol. Syst.2015, 17, 78–86, doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2014.10.002.

46.       Truscott, A.M.; Palmer, S.C.F.; McGowan, G.M.; Cape, J.N.; Smart, S. Vegetation Composition of Roadside Verges in Scotland: The Effects of Nitrogen Deposition, Disturbance and Management. Environ. Pollut.2005, 136, 109–118, doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2004.12.009.

47.       Uddin, M.Z.; Shomrat, A.; Hasan, M.S.; Khan, M.R.; Fahad, A.R.; Md Al Amin, – Evaluation of Plant Species Diversity in the Road Dividers of Dhaka City. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon.2021, 28, 141–154, doi:10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54214.

48.       Faruque, M.O.; Rudra, S.; Rahman, M.K.R.; Hossain, M.A.; Hossen, I.; Barman, S.C.; Mustakim, M.; Hossain, M.I.; Uddin, S.B. Plant Community Structure and Biodiversity Patterns In Chattogram Metropolitan City of Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon.2022, 29, 313–344, doi:10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63532.

49.       Sjöman, H.; Morgenroth, J.; Sjöman, J.D.; Sæbø, A.; Kowarik, I. Diversification of the Urban Forest—Can We Afford to Exclude Exotic Tree Species? Urban For. Urban Green.2016, 18, 237–241, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2016.06.011.

50.       Aronson, M.F.; Lepczyk, C.A.; Evans, K.L.; Goddard, M.A.; Lerman, S.B.; MacIvor, J.S.; Nilon, C.H.; Vargo, T. Biodiversity in the City: Key Challenges for Urban Green Space Management. Front. Ecol. Environ.2017, 15, 189–196, doi:10.1002/fee.1480.

51.       Alvey, A.A. Promoting and Preserving Biodiversity in the Urban Forest. Urban For. Urban Green.2006, 5, 195–201, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2006.09.003.

52.       Uddin, M.Z.; Shomrat, A.; Hasan, M.S.; Khan, M.R.; Fahad, A.R.; Md Al Amin, – Evaluation of Plant Species Diversity in the Road Dividers of Dhaka City. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon.2021, 28, 141–154, doi:10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54214.

53.       Akter, E.; Uddin, M.Z. Tree Diversity, Abundance And Dominance In The Lakeside Vegetation of Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon.2023, 30, 263–275, doi:10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70502.

54.       Roy, S.; Byrne, J.; Pickering, C. A Systematic Quantitative Review of Urban Tree Benefits, Costs, and Assessment Methods across Cities in Different Climatic Zones. Urban For. Urban Green.2012, 11, 351–363, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2012.06.006.

55.       Curtis, J.T.; McIntosh, R.P. The Interrelations of Certain Analytic and Synthetic Phytosociological Characters. Ecology1950, 31, 434–455, doi:10.2307/1931497.

56.       Cottam, G.; Curtis, J.T. The Use of Distance Measures in Phytosociological Sampling. Ecology1956, 37, 451–460, doi:10.2307/1930167.

57.       Kühn, I.; Klotz, S. Urbanization and Homogenization – Comparing the Floras of Urban and Rural Areas in Germany. Biol. Conserv.2006, 127, 292–300, doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.06.033.