endemic species

Aiming to understand the habitat conditions of Prunus chorassanica (Pojark.) A.E.Murray as an endemic shrub species of Iran, this study was conducted in Khorasan Razavi Province. To measure the canopy coverage percentage and density of plant species in the three studied sites located in Dargaz County, three transects of 100 meters were established. Along each transect, a 5 m2 plot was established every ten meters and sampling was done by systematic random method. Also, the ecological conditions of the species growth and distribution; including climate, topography and edaphic characteristics of the sites were investigated. The canopy cover of P. chorassanica in the three studied sites were 7.87 to 11.7% and the density were between 50 to 75 tree per ha. In the shrub's sites, 34, 38.5 and 27.5% of the soil was sand, silt and clay and the desired soil texture was loam. The average pH and electrical conductivity of the soil are equal to 7.73 and 0.8 dS/m, respectively. This species grows and spreads in altitudes above 2000 meters and on slopes between 30 and 55%, generally in the northern direction. Considering the value of this species, in the form of action for protection outside the main site, it is necessary to collect the seeds of this species and store them in the Iran's Natural Resources Gene Bank. Also, it should be planted in the National Botanical Garden of Iran so that, if necessary, it is possible to revive its population in nature.

Climate change can be a major threat to the endemic species of the Hyrcanian forests. However, there have been almost no studies in terms of determining consequences of climate change on the distribution patterns of Populus caspica Bornm. In this study, ecological niche theory and MAXENT software as well as P. caspica presence data across the Hyrcanian forests of Iran were used to identify the relationships between species data to the climatic predictor variables under current and future (RCP 8.5) (2070) climate conditions. According to analysis of area under the ROC curve, the high value of AUC index (0.993) indicated the efficiency of the model in determining the potential habitat of P. caspica. Precipitation of driest month, temperature annual range, mean annual temperature, and isothermality were the most important bioclimatic variables in the determination of potential habitat for P. caspica. Moreover, our results demonstrated that the habitat suitability area of this species was 88317.3 km2 under current climate condition and 38.75% area was identified as a "good potential" level for the presence of P. caspica. Whereas under projected future climate (RCP 8.5), suitable areas would be decreased by 48.4% compared to the current condition. The results of this study can be applied in approaches management, conservation planning and reforestation by taking into account the effect of climate change on habitat suitability and species response to its changes and conservation strategies will be compiled for this species.

In this survey، we investigated the flora and habitat conditions of wild Fig (Ficus johannis Boiss.) in a part of its natural habitat in Yazd province. To obtain climatic information، the required data were obtained from the closest climatologic stations. With average precipitation of 177. 4 mm/year and the average annual temperature of 14. 4 °C، the study area is a dry temperate region. Physiochemical analyses were conducted on previously-taken soil samples. Floristic investigation was conducted in two subdistricts (Sadegh-Abad and Mazrae-Ghebleh). Moreover، qualitative and quantitative characteristics of trees were recorded via transect sampling. Results of soil analysis indicated that F. johannis grows in the soils featuring a pH ranging between 7. 74 and 8. 39 with sand-silt texture. Results also showed that there were 27 families، 64 genera and 73 species in the study area. The family of Compositae with 22% (16 species) and Labiatae with 14% (10 species) presented the highest richness among all families. In terms of biological forms، the following composition was indicated: Chaemoephytes with 34% (25 species)، Throphytes with 12% (7 species)، Hemicryptophytes with 40% (27 species)، Microphanerophytes and Nanophanerophytes with 5% (4 species)، Geophytes with 6% (5 species) and Mezophanerophytes with 1 % (one species). Among the total 90 species، 15 species were found to be endemic to Iran. F. johannis was evaluated as a hydrophyte species according to its frequent growth in valley margins which is due to higher moisture content. The transect sampling resulted in calculating the population density and cover in Mazrae-Ghebleh (46 ha-1 and 3. 51 %. ha-1) as well as in Sadegh-Abad district (49 ha-1 and 7. 76 %. ha-1)، respectively. Overall qualitative features of trees were moderate. Partial withering of branches was observed in majority of trees but no damage was observed on stems.