Urban Plant Diversity and Air Pollution Tolerance in Simpang Lima City Park, Semarang, Indonesia

Sanina Kafina; Jumari Jumari; Lilih  Khotimperwati

doi:10.51264/inajl.v7i1.141

Authors

Sanina Kafina Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia
Jumari Jumari Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia
Lilih Khotimperwati Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51264/inajl.v7i1.141

Keywords:

Air pollution tolerance index, Leaf traits, Semarang, Urban catchment, Urban green space

Abstract

Urban parks in tropical cities are exposed to traffic-derived air pollution, and their vegetation also lies within urban drainage catchments that carry deposited pollutants to rivers and lakes. This study documented plant species diversity, the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI), and leaf morphological characteristics, including leaf area and stomatal index, in Simpang Lima City Park, Semarang, Indonesia. A complete vegetation census and leaf sampling at four points around the park were carried out in March–April 2025, and APTI was calculated from foliar ascorbic acid, total chlorophyll, leaf-extract pH and relative water content. The census recorded 21,135 individuals of 21 species from 14 families (Shannon–Wiener H? = 1.92; evenness E = 0.63). Diversity was lower in the tree stratum (H? = 0.90) than in the understory (H? = 1.75), where densely planted ground covers dominated. APTI ranged from 8.87 in Pandanus pygmaeus to 40.84 in Pedilanthus tithymaloides; fourteen species were classified as sensitive, six as intermediate and one as tolerant. Leaf area and stomatal index were documented as additional morphological characteristics of the recorded plant species. Ambient pollutant concentrations, pollutant removal, runoff and receiving-water quality were not measured, so the results are a physiological screening baseline. For limnology, they identify species likely to persist in polluted urban green spaces and frame testable hypotheses on how park vegetation modifies the atmosphere–drainage–river pathway in Indonesian cities.

Author Biographies

Sanina Kafina, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

Cluster for Paleolimnology, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

Jumari Jumari, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

Cluster for Paleolimnology, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

Lilih Khotimperwati, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

Cluster for Paleolimnology, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

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