Heritage conservation and environmental threats at the 192-year-old botanical garden in Pondicherry, India

摘要

Urban botanical gardens conserve historical flora, improve the local environment and promote human wellbeing. Unfortunately they are often undervalued due to lack of public awareness or resources. Analysis of species diversity and turnover at long-lived gardens can improve the understanding of long-term plant resilience and help adapt management actions to align with rapidly changing urban contexts. Given the various threats faced by urban botanical gardens, we examined tree species diversity, historical changes and survival of plants at the Botanical Garden in Pondicherry (BGP), southern India, which was established 192 years ago by the colonial French government.