An Introduction to the Flora, Life Form, and Growth Form and a Study of the Durability of Plant Life in Bagh-e Shadi Protected Area of Yazd

Through a floristic study and plant sample collection during two growing seasons in 2008 and 2009, a total of 157 plant species was detected in BagheShadi protected area. These species belong to 44 families and 112 genera of plants. Most of the species belong to the family of Asteraceae with 27 (17%), Poaceae with 16 (10%), Faboideae with 15 (9%), and Rosaceae with 12 (7 %) species of the total. The classification of plans with respect to the life form was carried out according toRaunkiersystem. The Hamaephyte form is the most common and consists of 41 species (41% of total species) and closely next to that are Phanerophytes and Hemicryptophytes forms respectively with40 and 29 species. After these are Therophytesand Geophyteswith 27 and 10 species, respectively. The classification of plants based on the growth form shows that most of the plants in this area, which is about 40% of the total area, are herbaceous. Next to that are the bush, shrub, grass, tree, and the climbing forms with 27%, 17%, 9%, 6%, and 1%, respectively. The last experiment related to the analysis of the plants with respect to the durability of their life which indicated that the species with a few years of lifespan are the most frequent, comprising 53% of all species. Next to them are the perennial, annual, and two-year-old species, respectively with 26%, 16%, and 5%.