Floristic Study and Estimation of Medicinal Plant's Biodiversity in Different Slopes of Akhordagh Rangelands in Bojnourd City

Analyzing the biodiversity is of prime significance in ecological studies. Many researchers attribute high species diversity to ecological bio-systems’ stability. In this study, the flora and biodiversity of medicinal plants were studied in the rangelands of Akhordagh in Bojnourd city. In different slopes, five 100-meter transects were placed horizontally and vertically. Along each transect, 10 one-meter-square quadrates were located. Sampling was carried out following the random systematic procedure. In each sampling unit, in addition to the identification of the medicinal species, canopy coverage and the number of individuals per species were recorded. After that, species diversity, richness, and evenness indices were calculated. The results indicated that the diversity of medicinal plants was acceptable in the region under the study. With respect to species diversity in different slopes, it was observed that the northern slope had the highest amount of diversity. The findings of this study indicated that Akhordagh rangeland contains 147 medicinal species belonging to 42 families. Labiatae, Compositae, Rosaceae, and Papilionaceae were respectively the most abundant plant families in the region. Raunkiaer's Life form spectrum showed that hemi-cryptophytes, with 34.01% of the species, were the dominant and geophytes, with 13.62%, were the least frequent plant types in the area.