Interactions among environmental tolerance parameters shaping the resilience of urban plant communities

Plants play a vital role in urban ecosystems by providing key ecosystem services, yet their functionality is increasingly challenged by climate change, drought, rising temperatures, and soil degradation. Despite this, the combined effects of multiple environmental stress parameters on plant community resilience remain poorly understood. This study examines the relationships among resilience parameters of tree and shrub communities in urban ecosystems and identifies the main factors influencing habitat health. The research was conducted on a university campus in Türkiye, where 4,504 individuals from 221 habitat patches across six regions were assessed using nine resilience parameters. Nine resilience parameters were calculated for each species, including light plasticity, soil plasticity, water demand, temperature plasticity, pollination potential, habitat health, provenance, allergy, and pest susceptibility. Correlation analysis showed strong positive relationships between habitat health and light, soil, water, and temperature plasticity, while pollination potential, provenance, and pest susceptibility were not significantly related. The allergy index showed only a moderate association with water demand. Overall, the results indicate that urban plant resilience depends on interactive adaptation to multiple stress conditions, emphasising the importance of evaluating combined tolerance traits for sustainable urban green space design.