Flora and plant species diversity in coniferous and deciduous plantations (Case study: plantation of Remela, Lorestan)

The purpose of this study was to investigate flora and plant species diversity in a mixed plantation in western Iran. Therefore, a 20-year mixed coniferous and deciduous plantation (Pinus brutia Ten., Cupressus arizonica Green. and Amygdalus scoparia Spach) was selected in Remela region, Lorestan province. In each of the three stands, 10 plots of 100 m2 (10 ×10m) each were randomly established, in each of which 5 subplots (2.5 ×2.5 m) were positioned in center and corner points. Plant species cover (%) and diversity indices were calculated for each site. Totally, 93 plants from 24 families and 8 genera were identified. The results showed that the main families included Asteraceae (18 species), Leguminosae (17 species), Labiatae (13 species), Graminae (12 species), and Apiaceae / Caryophyllaceae (6 species). The most frequent life form was therophytes (64.51%). From the chorotypical perspective, the highest frequency belonged to Irano-Turanian region (36.55 %(. The result also indicated that Shanon-weaver's diversity index and species richness (SR) were higher in coniferous plantation compared to the deciduous one, yet no significant difference was observed among the Hill's evenness indices of the three test sites. All in all it can be concluded that the habitats are associated with a high diversity due to the presence of 93 species, which is presumably driven by the climate and geomorphologic conditions of the region.