Ramsar international wetlands of Alagol, Almagol and Ajigol in eastern parts of the Caspian Sea: a floristic and habitat survey

Ramsar international wetlands of Alagol, Almagol and Ajigol with a surface of 3027 ha are located in the vast Turkmen-Sahra plains (Golestan prov.) in east of Caspian Sea and in the vicinity of the Iran-Turkmenistan political border. Flora, vegetation and habitat diversity of the wetlands were surveyed during growing seasons of 2014 and 2015. A total of 159 plant taxa belonging to 123 genera and 42 families were determined in the studied wetlands. Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae (including Chenopodiaceae) and Poaceae were the most species rich families and Suaeda, Salsola, Atriplex, Plantago and Tamarix were the most species rich genera. A floristic analysis indicated that therophytes and pluriregional elements predominated life form and chorological spectra, respectively. Studied sites were physiognomically classified into aquatic, emergent, and dry upland habitats which represent 6, 68 and 26 percent of all plant taxa, respectively. Halophytic species constitute a large part of flora, among them Puccinellia poecilantha recently recorded in the area is considered as a rare plant. The results may be applied in designing conservation areas and developing conservation strategies for this unique wetland ecosystem.