Urban Biodiversity Under Global Trends and Drivers—A Comparative Study of Urban Parks in Poznań (Poland) and Salzburg (Austria)

Our research aimed to evaluate the role of urban parks in plant biodiversity conservation. Parks diversified in terms of climatic conditions, origin, greenery composition and maintaining practice were investigated. Plant species richness and diversity of spontaneous vascular flora were the main focus points of the research. We investigated the matter in the parks in Poznań (Poland) and Salzburg (Austria). A relationship between the plant biodiversity and the architectural pattern of park greenery, as well as maintenance standards, was examined. There were types of vegetation patches that differ in physiognomy and way of their care management. We mapped each patch of spontaneous vascular flora. We considered the species composition of the flora of each type taking into account such species traits as taxonomic position, Raunkiaer’s life form, geographic element, oceanic index, geographical and historical status, syntaxonomic rank and ancient woodland plant indicator. The types of vegetation patches that are friendly to biodiversity have been identified. A negative impact of excessive manicured greenery on plant species richness and diversity has been proved. Despite a few mistakes in care management, parks should be in general considered as green spaces of high native plant richness and diversity.