Data from: Colonial history impacts urban tree species distribution in a tropical city

Urban forests associated with green infrastructure for sustainable
outcomes are particularly critical in the Global South, where some of the
world’s fastest-growing cities are located. However, compared to temperate
cities, the drivers of urban tree species distribution in tropical cities
remain understudied. In this study, we quantify the spatial distribution
and abundance of urban forests in the tropical city of Georgetown, Guyana.
British colonialism has shaped this city, including forced movement of
peoples under slavery from Africa and indentured servants from the Indian
Subcontinent. We studied how this multicultural context has influenced
tree species distributions in the capital city of the only Anglophone
country in South America. We quantified the abundance of tree species
using a stratified sampling design to distribute transects across fifteen
neighborhoods that vary in distance to the colonial center of the city and
ethnic composition. We recorded a total of 57 unique species, the majority
of which (73%) were cultivated for their edible fruits. We identify tree
species that likely represent Guyana’s unique multicultural heritage by
comparing our species list to flora in nine cities in neighboring
countries (Venezuela and Brazil) with different colonial histories. This
international comparison identified a set of tree species that occurred
only in Guyana. Relationships between ethnic composition and colonial
history and tree species distribution were weak at the neighborhood scale,
where proportion of East Indian residents had little explanatory power and
distance to colonial center was correlated with abundance of only some
species groups. This apparent discrepancy between neighborhood and
national scales may relate to the establishment of Guyanese food as a
unifying national identifier across ethnicities. The prominence of edible
fruit trees in our study suggests a set of species that could be
incorporated into urban planning to strengthen biocultural linkages,
foster cultural integration, and promote food security.