Changes in the stomata traits of iron wood (Parrotia persica (DC.) C.A. Meyer) in Hyrcanian forests

Iron wood (Parrotia caspica (D.C) C.A. Mayer) is one of the endemic tree species of Iran that is widely distributed in Hyrcanian forests from west to east. Due to the fact that climatic factors in the northern forests are variable, the relationship between the ecological conditions of the habitat and the leaf stomata of Iron wood tree species was investigated in this study. For this purpose, leaves of 10 populations were collected from three provinces of Guilan, Mazandaran and Golestan and the morphological characteristics of their surface, density, length and width of the stomata were investigated. Also, habitat characteristics of diameter equal to tree trunk, altitude of habitat, temperature and rainfall were used for climate modeling. The results showed that with a 99% probability there was a significant difference between the stomata characteristics of Iron wood trees in different habitats (P<0.001). The trend of stomata density changes from west to east of northern forests was decreased, but stomata area increased from west to east. The predicted model showed that altitude and temperature had a significant effect on stomatal density (P<0.001). Temperature and rainfall had a significant effect on the stomata area (P<0.001) but the effect of altitude and diameter at breast height on the stomata area was not significant. In general, it can be said that the characteristics of the stomata are closely related to the climate conditions prevailing in the habitat.