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Kasf forest, with an area of over 12 ha, running in the east-west direction and located at a distance of 20 kilometers in the north of the city of Bardaskan in a mountainous arid region. The minimum and maximum temperature of the area ranges between -10° C and +45° C. The average annual precipitation of the region is 155 mm.  The altitude of the forest is about 1600 m above sea level with a 15% slope. The vegetation of this forest was studied using floristic methods 2 years after a devastative fire and life forms and geographical distributions of plant species were determined. Sixty nine plant species belonged to 29 families (25 Dicots, 3 monocots and one gymnosperm). The largest families were the Lamiaceae with 11, Asteraceae with 9 and Caryophyllaceae with 5 species. The percentages of life forms were determined as follows: Therophytes with 36% (25 species), Hemicryptophytes with 29% (20 species), Chamaephytes with 16% (11 species), Phanerophytes with 13% (9 species) and Cryptophytes with 6% (4 species) of total investigated species. The high percentage of Hemicryptophytes indicated the dominance of cold mountainous climate and the presence of Asteraceae species such as harmala (Peganum harmala) showed that a severe disturbance had taken place in the region, which indicated a poor ecological administration in the studied region.

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To investigate the Artemisia vegetation in Isfahan Province, two rangelands of Khorous Galu in the southwest and Ashan in the west of Isfahan were selected. These rangelands are mountainous with semiarid climate. In Khorous galu, 68 species belonging to 50 genera and 24 families were identified. Life forms included hemicryptophytes (39%), therophytes (27.5%), chamaephytes (19%), geophytes (13%) and phanerophytes (2%). Chrotypes existent in Khorous Galu were composed of 56 Irano-Turanian species, 3 Euro-Siberian-Irano-Turanian species, 4 Euro-Siberian-Irano-Turanian-Mediterranean species, 2 Irano-Turanian-Mediterranean species, 1 Irano-Turanian-Saharo-Sindian species and 1 cosmopolitan species. In Ashan area, 88 species belonging to 67 genera and 29 families were identified. Hemicryptophytes (39%), therophytes (28%), geophytes (17%), chamaephytes (15%) and phanerophytes (1%) were the life form composition of the region flora. 73 Irano-Turanian species, 7 Euro-Siberian-Irano-Turanian species, 4 Irano-Turanian-Mediterranean species, 1 Irano-Turanian-Mediterranean-Euro-Siberian species and 1 cosmopolitan species were identified. 2 species were recorded from Isfahan Province for the first time. With regard to the similarity of flora in both regions, that is due to effective similar environmental factors, a uniform management plan for A. aucheri rangelands in Isfahan Province could be selected.

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Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran have important tree and shrub elements of Euro-Siberian and rare forest communities, among them beech community widely covers the mountainous forests from Western to Eastern (Gorgan) Hyrcanian region. In order to identify the floristic characteristics and affecting factors on the species richness in pure beech stands in Eastern Guilan, using systematic-random method 54 plots were recorded. A total of 111 plant species belonging to 84 genera and 44 families were identified, with Orchidaceae having 9 species and genus Carex with 6 species being the largest family and genus, respectively. The highest frequency inter-species is Galium odoratum, an understory herb species forming communities in different areas of beech forests in Hyrcanian region. Since the studied region is forest and mountainous, hemicryptophytes and geophytes are the most life forms, respectively in these areas and Euro-Siberian elements (with 30.6 %) form the highest frequency from a chorological point of view. Also, the size of the microrelief and percentage of tree cover create different ecological conditions in plots such as moisture retention and change in the amount of incoming light into the plots, which are the most influential factors on species richness of these areas.

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Floristic study is one of the most efficient methods of gaining knowledge about biological capacities, as well as management and conservation of plant genetic resources in ecological systems. Zanjan county town is located in a mountainous region with an area of 6763 km² and the average altitude of 1663 m.a.s.l. Its favorable vegetation diversity is the result of suitable ecological conditions, diverse habitats and appropriate water resources in the region. The central district of Zanjan county town, with an area of 2600.2 km², was chosen as a representative to show tree and woody shrub species diversity. In order to identify tree and shrub species, life forms and chorology of plants, samples were collected by the conventional method of floristic studies and were, then, identified using taxonomic references. In total, there were 122 tree and woody shrub species, belonging to 76 genera and 39 families, in the studied area. The richest families included Rosaceae (29 species) and Oleaceae (9 species), which comprised 31.15% of the arboreal and woody shrub species. Mesophanerophytes (37.7%) and microphanerophytes ‌(32.79%) ‌were the dominant life forms in the area studied as determined by the Raunkiaer method. The Irano-Turanian vegetative elements were the most important elements in this area based on Zohary approach. Prunus lycioides was found to be endemic to Iran.

 

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Golestankooh, with an area of 130000 ha, is located in Isfahan Province. The present study was carried out in order to identification of flora of the aforementioned region, as a result, 620 taxa in total, belonging to 61 families and 303 genera, were identified. Asteraceae, represented by 104 species, was the largest family, following with Fabaceae, Lamiaceae and Brassicaceae with 63, 60 and 59 species, respectively. Astragalus, with 33 species, was the most diverse among the genera studied. Hemicryptophytes with 41% and therophytes with 34% are dominant life forms in the region. With regard to geographical distribution, 300 species (48%) were found to be Irano-Turanian elements. Moreover, 130 species, 21% of the identified plant taxa from the region, were found to be endemic to the flora of Iran. Due to high species diversity in the Golestankooh area, it seems necessary to use appropriate strategies for their conservation.
 

 

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Distribution of rivers, pools and grasslands, being large or small and perennial or temporary, have created conditions suitable for the establishment of wetlands, especially in the highland regions of the Country. These habitats are highly important for the preservation of biodiversity and other ecological aspects. The present study aimed to identify wetlands in the Kermanshah Province, Iran, and map their distribution. The investigation was carried out on the basis of the conventional taxonomic studies of the region by doing field observation in 31 aqueous habitats in Kermanshah Province. The flora of each habitats and the life form and geographical distribution of the species were investigated. In total, 617 plant specimens, belonging to 288 species, 218 genera and 62 families, were collected identified and stored in the herbarium of the research center of agriculture and natural resources of Kermanshah Province (RANK). Asteraceae with 41 species, Poaceae with 31 species, Fabaceae with 31 species and Brassicaceae with 24 species were found to be the most important families of the wetlands studied.  Trifolium with 11 species and Bromus with 6 species were the most important genera, in terms of species richness. Detection of the biological forms showed that 40.3% of the species were trophytes, 35/5% were hemicryptophyts, 6/1% were phanerophytes, 14/23% were cryptophytes and 3/72% were chamaephytes. The chorology of species showed that 93 species belonged to more than two elements (32%), 92 species (31%) to the Irano-Touranin elements, 32 species to Irano-Touranin- Mediterranean (11%), 9 species to Irano-Touranin- Euro-Siberian with (3%) and 23 species were found to be cosmopolitan elements (8%).