| چکیده انگلیسی مقاله |
Acquaintance with the plants of a region is the first step in development planning, and collecting, preserving, and maintaining plants with medicinal, industrial, fodder, and food uses provides valuable resources. Qaravolkhaneh Mountain, with an area of about 1650 hectares, is located west of Hamedan province. The highest altitude of Qaravolkhaneh Mountain is 2648 meters above sea level. In this research, the plant samples of the region were collected based on the conventional method of taxonomic studies and were identified according to necessary references. Endemic plants of Iran, their conservation status, and the life forms of the plants were determined, and their biological spectrum was drawn. The percentage of regional vegetative elements was determined based on the available information on the geographical distribution of the identified plant species. Results showed that there are 45 families, 172 genera, and 255 plant species in this area, of which 23 are endemic to Iran. Asteraceae has the most diversity, with 30 genera and 41 species. The plants of Qaravolkhaneh Mountain in terms of life forms, include hemicryptophytes with 126 species (49.21%) and therophytes with 61 species (24.21%) respectively, followed by cryptophytes with 31 species (12.1%), chamaephytes with 29 species (11.32%), phanerophytes with seven species (2.73%) and helophytes with one species (0.39%) are in the following ranks. Irano-Turanian vegetative element with 55.46% has the largest share in the chorology of plants in the region. Introduction The diverse roles and applications of plants in human life make the need to study and know the flora of each region inevitable for macro-planning. Identification of plants in each region is, on the one hand, an indication of the natural power of that region. On the other hand, it is essential for research, especially in applied sciences (Dolatkhahi et al., 2011). The purpose of this research is to provide basic floristic information to identify the plant species in Asadabad Qaravolkhaneh Mountain (Hamedan Province) and recognize their potential. In this way, it is possible to carry out appropriate management plans to preserve its habitats. Without having information about the composition of the plants of this region, it is impossible to provide primary and correct solutions for the protection of its plant genetic reserves and to carry out detailed and conscious planning to preserve, revive, and expand them. Materials & Methods Qaravolkhane Mountain is located at the coordinates of 34° 48’ 36.87” N, 48° 11’ 59.66’’ E, in the east of Asadabad, about 5 km from Asadabad-Hamedan road (on the right side of Asadabad pass) and between Almabolagh and Karkasin mountains and It’s altitude is 2648 meters above sea level. The method used to collect plants, prepare herbarium samples, and identify plant samples in this research was the conventional method of taxonomic studies. Original specimens are deposited in the Herbarium of Hamedan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center. Herbarium specimens were identified and named according to Flora of Iran (Asadi et al., 2021-1988), the Flora Iranica (Rechinger, 2015-1963), the Flora of Iraq (Townsend et al., 1985-1966), the Flora of Turkey (Davis, 1985-1965) and Palestine Flora (Zohary, 1986-1966). The plant classification was based on the fourth edition of Angiosperm Phylogeny Group [APG IV: Angiosperm Phylogeny Group] (Chase et al., 2016). Correct spelling of scientific names by referring to the website of the International List of Plant Names (https://www.ipni.org) and their synonymy using the website "Plants of the World Online" (POWO, 2023) was investigated. Raunkiaer's classification system (Raunkiaer, 1934) was used to classify plant life forms. In order to determine the regional vegetative elements of each plant array, from monographs, reviews, and distribution information in Flora books such as Flora Iranica (Rechinger, 1963-2015), Flora of Iran (Asadi et al., 1988-2021), Flora of Turkey (Davis, 1985-1965) and the Flora of Iraq (Townsend et al., 1985-1966) were used. Based on the available sources about the medicinal plants of Hamedan province (Kalvandi et al., 2007), plants with medicinal or industrial value were identified in the list of plants of the region. Using the Red List of Iranian Plant Species (Jalili & Jamzad, 1999), the conservation classes of endemic Iranian plants distributed in the region were determined based on the International :union: for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification. Research Findings According to this study, a total of 255 taxa of vascular plants (including 35 monocots and 220 dicots) belonging to 45 families (including nine monocots and 36 dicots),
172 genera (including 24 monocots and 148 dicots) are present in Qaravolkhaneh Mountain. Asteraceae with 30 genera and 41 species, Lamiaceae with 13 genera and
29 species, Poaceae with 16 genera and 23 species, Fabaceae with nine genera and
22 species, Brassicaceae with 13 genera and 15 species, Caryophyllaceae with nine genera and 15 species, Apiaceae with ten genera and ten species was the most prominent families in terms of the number of species. Our results show that hemicryptophytes with 126 species (49.01 percent) and then therophytes with
61 species (24.31 percent) are the most abundant, followed by cryptophytes with
31 species (12.15 percent), chamaephytes with 29 species (11.37 percent), phanerophytes with seven species (2.74 percent) and halophytes with one species
(0.39 percent) are in the following ranks. 55.46 percent of the plants of the Qaravolkhaneh Mountain belong to elements of the Iranian-Turanian region,
1.17% belong to the Zagrosian elements, 2.73% Cosmopolitan and other species belong to two or more geographic areas. One hundred twenty-one species (47.2% of all species in the region) are considered medicinal or industrial plants. Twenty-three plant species in Qaravolkhaneh Mountain (8.98 percent of all plant species) are endemic to Iran, belonging to 11 families and 19 genera. Discussion of Results & Conclusion This research showed that 255 plant species belonging to 172 genera and 45 plant families are distributed in the Qaravolkhaneh Mountain. Considering that the studied area with an area of 16.5 square kilometers occupies 0.001 percent of the total area of the country, the presence of nearly 2.3% of the country's plant species in this small area indicates the floristic richness in it is the length of the mountainous heights of the region. Comparatively, the most prominent plant families of Qaravolkhaneh Mountain were Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, and Apiaceae, which also form the dominant families of some studied regions in Iran in a similar or slightly different order. The presence of a high percentage of Iranian-Turanian elements in the flora of Qaravolkhaneh Mountain (55.46%) is a confirmation of the division of the region within the range of Iranian-Turanian plant geography (Leonard, 1988; 1989). The main reason for the predominance of Iranian-Turanian elements may be the distance of this vegetation area from other areas and the particular environmental conditions (semi-arid climate) prevailing in the region. In addition, the presence of genera such as Allium L., Acantholimon Boiss., Ferula L., Echinops L., Astragalus L., Amygdalus L., Silene L., Scrophularia L., Phlomis L., Stachys L. and Tulipa L., which their elements are mainly gathered in the Iranian-Turanian vegetation area, it shows the predominance of Iranian-Turanian vegetation in Qaravolkhaneh mountain. In this region, the vegetative elements of two or more regions are ranked after the Iranian-Turanian vegetative elements, which shows the influence of this region on the climate, weather currents, and flora of other vegetative regions. Despite various destructive factors, Qaravolkhaneh Mountain has a high floristic diversity. Plant Identification in this area is not only the basis of ecological studies but also the identification of the vegetative potential of the region and the possibility of easy access to specific plant species in a particular place and time and provided their principled use, which plays a significant role in the implementation of management in the region. Considering the distribution of 23 endemic species of Iran in this area and the need to protect these critical species, it is necessary to carry out any exploitation of the pastures of the region based on their production potential and the study of the impact of destructive factors on the region and providing essential solutions to protect against these factors to prevent their destruction and extinction. Excessive grazing should be stopped in this area in order to protect its plants. Acknowledgment We would like to express our gratitude to the officials of Hamedan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center and the colleagues of Hamedan Center's Natural Resources Research Department, who provided sincere assistance and cooperation in carrying out this study. |