Neor Lake, the largest permanent fresh water lake in Ardabil Province

Neor Lake is the largest permanent freshwater lake in Ardabil province. The region has a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic plants.There are 147 plant species, belonging to 34 families, in this area. Overall, about 60 percent of plant species in the study area are accounted for Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and Apiaceae. The aquatic plants are found in three life forms, including water floating, submerged and emerged. Some of these species, such as Astragalus aegobromus and Launaea acanthodes­, are endemics of Iran. The most abundant animal population in the lake is macroscopic crustacean, called Gammarus fasciatus. The abundant reserves of Gammarus (49% of total benthos of wetland) provide a suitable environment for salmon farming. Neor Lake is a habitat for some species of migratory birds. Due to the specific conditions of the region, Neor Lake has been announced as an environmental protected area since 1969 under the supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency. The wetlands of this lake have ecotourism, beekeeping, agriculture and animal husbandry values. Plant species such as Carex hordeistichos, Eleocharis mitracarpa, Eleocharis palustris subsp. iranica, Cephalaria hirsuta and Veronica anagalis-aquatica subsp. michauxii in Ardabil province have been only reported from Neor Lake.