Mixed diversity of spontaneous and landscape plants in urban linear informal green spaces: adaptive configuration patterns and functional evaluation

Urban informal green spaces (IGS) are an important component of urban ecosystems. They play a significant role in biodiversity conservation and enhancing residents’ quality of life. However, research on IGS plant configuration patterns, especially those based on plant diversity characteristics, is still insufficient. This study selected three linear informal green spaces along the Panlong River in Kunming, the Yunnan Vietnam Railway, and the Changchong Mountain Ring Road as research objects. Based on this, 29 evergreen, fruit and leaf viewing, and flower viewing garden plants were selected from the “Recommended List of Garden Plants in Kunming City”. A multidimensional evaluation model was constructed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, which includes ecological adaptation, aesthetic value, social benefits, cultural value, aesthetic effects, and ecological diversity protection. The results show that Grevillea robusta, Pistacia chinensis, and Albizia kalkora outperformed other species in comprehensive performance, receiving the highest scores among the three tree types.Further analysis also revealed the close relationship between various factors in the evaluation model and the advantages of various plants in a single performance. Based on these results, we have drawn plant configuration pattern diagrams for three study areas to visually demonstrate the optimization direction of plant configuration at each research point. This study enriches the theoretical system of urban plant community ecology, provides practical guidance for the configuration of mixed plant communities in linear informal green spaces, and assists in the standardized transformation of informal green spaces and the improvement of urban ecological resilience.