The diversity of native plants and its application in environmental education and teaching
Keywords:
campus plants, native species, species diversityAbstract
Greening campuses is an integral component of creating campus environments. Students can learn about and observe campus plants, and teachers can use the plants as onsite teaching materials. This makes schools ideal for environmental education. This study conducted on-site surveys and analyzed the correlations between campus plant resource factors at 20 elementary schools in Chiayi area, Taiwan. Elevation, proportion of native plants, species diversity, campus area, and normalized difference vegetation index were the variables considered. There were 150 families, 518 genera, and 770 plant species in total for all campus, but only 322 (41.47%) species were native. Schools with a high elevation, a small campus area, and a rural location had a significantly greater proportion of native plants on campus and plant species per unit area than schools with other elevations, areas, and locations. The majority of campus plants are ornamental alien species. The lower proportion of native species hinders students' ability to comprehend native and endemic plant species of Taiwan. Going forward, the proportion of native plants planted on campus should be increased progressively, along with the incorporation of these plants into the curriculum, in order to strengthen administrators' knowledge of campus plant management.
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