Botanical gardens are important habitats for plant biodiversity, yet the effects of routine management on herbaceous communities and their regenerative capacity remain poorly documented in tropical Africa, particularly Nigeria. This study investigated how management intensity influenced herbaceous species diversity, abundance, and soil seed bank composition in the Adekunle Ajasin University Botanical Garden, Nigeria. During the 2025 wet season, twenty 1 m × 1 m quadrats were randomly placed in each of two areas of the garden: the developed area (DA) and the undeveloped area (UA). Above-ground herbaceous vegetation was enumerated and identified to the species level, while soil samples (0–10 cm depth) from the same quadrats were assessed for seed bank over eight weeks period. Density, frequency, relative density, relative frequency, Shannon–Wiener diversity (H′), evenness (E), and association index were calculated. Eleven herbaceous species belonging to six families were found in the study area. Chromolaena odorata, Desmodium scorpiurus, and Cyperus rotundus occurred in both areas. The DA was dominated by Cynodon dactylon (density 5.75 ind. m⁻2, H′ = 0.36, E = 0.78), whereas the UA was dominated by Pennisetum purpureum (12.55 ind. m⁻2, H′ = 0.48, E = 0.84). Soil seed bank composition closely mirrored standing vegetation (Sorensen similarity 0.88–0.91), but the UA exhibited higher herbaceous diversity and seed density. Regular maintenance in the DA significantly reduced herbaceous diversity but favoured disturbance-tolerant species, while the UA contained greater diversity and richer seed bank than DA. These findings provide baseline data on Adekunle Ajasin University Botanical Garden, and highlight the need for management strategies that could integrate conservation objectives with aesthetic maintenance in tropical botanical gardens.
Kekere et al. (Sun,) studied this question.