THE RELATION BETWEEN ROAD CRACK VEGETATION AND PLANT BIODIVERSITY IN URBAN LANDSCAPE

Abstract

The objective of this study is to collect basic information on vegetation in road crack, especially
in curbside crack of road, for evaluating plant biodiversity in urban landscape. A curbside crack in this study was
defined as a linear space (under 20 mm in width) between the asphalt pavement and curbstone. The species
composition of plants invading curbside cracks was surveyed in 38 plots along the serial National Route, over a
total length of 36.5 km, in Fukuoka City in southern Japan. In total, 113 species including native plants (83
species, 73.5%), perennial herbs (57 species, 50.4%) and woody plants (13 species, 11.5%) were recorded in
curbside cracks. Buried seeds were also obtained from soil in curbside cracks, which means the cracks would
possess a potential as seed bank. Incidentally, no significant differences were found in the vegetation
characteristics of curbside cracks among land-use types (Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, P > 0.05). From these
results, curbside cracks would be likely to play an important role in offering habitat for plants in urban area.