Native and Introduced Plants in a Managed Campus Landscape: Habitat Associations, Functional Overlap, and Taxonomic...

Managed landscapes support diverse vascular plant assemblages, with composition shaped by both regional species pools and human planting and maintenance. This study assessed floristic composition, habitat associations, growth forms, and taxonomic structure of vascular plants across managed landscapes on the Youngstown State University (YSU) campus, Ohio. In total, 112 species from 56 families were recorded, comprising 77 introduced and 35 native taxa. Introduced species were disproportionately associated with managed habitats, particularly flowerbeds and beds, while native species occurred more frequently than expected in lawns. Life-form composition also differed between nativity groups, with native assemblages dominated by woody species (~63%) and introduced assemblages enriched in herbaceous and shrubby taxa (~61%). Trait-based clustering revealed substantial overlap between native and introduced species in functional-taxonomic space, although introduced taxa were concentrated within a limited number of species-rich families. These findings demonstrate clear association among species origin, habitat type, growth form, and taxonomic composition within this managed campus landscape. The observed patterns suggest a strong influence of horticultural selection and landscape management on campus floristic composition. However, the observational, single-season design does not allow for the distinction of demographic processes, propagule pressure, competitive interactions, or invasion dynamics. Managed campuses therefore provide valuable case-study systems for documenting the distribution of native and introduced floras under intensive human management and for developing hypotheses that can be tested through longitudinal and demographic research.