مجله پژوهشهای گیاهی (زیست شناسی ایران)
سال سی و چهارم شماره 2 (تابستان 1400)

8 sites were selected in different wetlands of Guilan province to survey the habitat preference of invasive water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). At each site, a set of environmental variables (physico-chemical and structural variables in the given ecosystems) was seasonally and simultaneously sampled with 32 biological instances (16 presence samples and 16 absence samples of water hyacinth) during one year study period (2016-2017). The results of Mann-Whitney test showed that there was a significant difference between presence/absence of water hyacinth and electric conductivity, flow velocity, turbidity and bicarbonate (p < 0.01 for the first three variables and p < 0.05 for bicarbonate), while no significant difference was observed between the presence and absence of water hyacinth and other variables (p > 0.05 for all variables). Based on the results of the principal component analysis, electric conductivity, water turbidity and flow velocity were the most influential varaibles in the first to third components (more than 82 % of the total variations were related to these three components) so these variables had the major effect on the habitat suitability of water hyacinth in the wetlands. The results of generalized linear model showed that there was a significant difference between the presence and absence of water hyacinth in the sampling sites and electric conductivity, flow velocity, water turbidity and bicarbonate (p < 0.05 for bicarbonate and p < 0.01 for other 3 variables).

In this study, morphological characteristics of eleven species of genera Autonoe, Fessia, Othocallis, Prospero, Scilla and Zagrosia were studied by Light Microscopy (LM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and two species of F. bisotunensis and Z. persica was performed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Based on the results, the general shape of the pollen grains was classified as oblate and peroblate and medium to large pollen grains. Exine ornamentation varied at equatorial grained surface, near groove and intra-groove decorations and was microreticulate, microreticulate-fossulate, microreticulate-reticulate, reticulate-microreticulate, fossulate, microtuberculate, coarse-grained (macrotuberculate-reticulate), reticulate-tuberculate and a tuberculate was observed. In two species of F. bisotunensis and Z. persica, there was an external exit layer of semitectate and an endogenous exine layer in Z. persica. The dendrogram obtained from pollen grain qualitative characters were placed these taxa in three groups and six subgroups and the subgroups were partly matched by genera level. F. bisotunensis and Z. persica that belonged to two different genera were placed in one subgroup and the pollen grain ultrastructure was different between them. Therefore, the pollen grain morphological characters with ultrastructure characters have valuable role in the genus level taxonomy.

The purpose of this study was to identify, classify and investigate the biological and vegetative forms of plant species in Gandoman wetland, Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari province in Iran. For this aim, species were collected during the period of June 2016 to September 2017. Sampling was done in a nested, random-systematic manner. So, 11 transects, 55 main plots includes 275 subplots were deployed. Then, vegetation and litter cover percentage was recorded in each sub plot. Afterwards, the new Isopam classification method was implemented in RStudio software to classify ecological groups. The results showed that there are 60 species belonging to 17 families in the region. The richest plant families in this study were Poaceae with 15 species and Cyperaceae with 12 species. Hemicryptophyte plants with (49%) are accounted as the most abundant biological form in the region. The elements belonging to the Iran-Turanian region (IT) with the allocation of (30%) and a multi-region with (18%) are the most frequent. The results of classification also illustrated five ecological groups that are compatible with the vegetation communities of the region.

Determining and comparing biodiversity in different forest communities is important for accurate identification and forest management. The purpose of this study is an investigation the status of tree species diversity in three forest areas: Gorazbon district of Noushahr Kheyrod forest, Ashkateh Chal of Sefarood Ramsar forest and Haft Khal Neka forest. Species diversity of fixed plots was calculated by Margalf and Manhink (as species richness index), Simson and Shannon-Wiener (as heterogenity index), and Pielou and Hip (as evenness indices) indices. In all of 10R fixed plots, the DBH of alive trees was recorded. Statistically comparisons were done by one-way ANOVA and Duncan test. The results showed that all indices have significant differences at confidence level of 95%. The maximum and minimum of species richness were seen at Kheyroud and Neka forest, respectively. Also, Simpson and Shannon Wiener diversity indices are also maximum at the Kheyroud and minimum in the Neka forest. Ramsar forest has the most uniformity, then Kheyroud forest. The results show that the status of woody species diversity in Kheyroud forest is better than other forest areas in this study. The Neka forest, specially, has poor condition in terms of biodiversity indicators.

Low temperature is one of the important limiting factors of growth, development and distribution of plants. Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a sweet medicinal herb that is cultivated in many parts of world and may experiences low temperature in winter. In this study, we aimed to identify physiological and biochemical changes that occur in Stevia exposed to low temperature and enable the plants to survive at low temperature. Stevia grown in vitro and incubated under controlled conditions at 5, 10 and 25 ºC for one month and then physiological and biochemical indicators in leave and shoot were measured. Low temperature decreased the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids in the leaves. In addition, we observed increased accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde in leaves and shoot of Stevia exposed to low temperature. Low temperature increased the activities of Superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and guaiacol peroxidase in leaves and shoot of Stevia. Low temperature lead to increased accumulation of secondary metabolites (phenoloc compounds, flavonoids and anthocyanins) and also increased activities of the enzymes of their biosynthesis pathway (phenylalanine ammonia lyase and Tyrosine ammonia lyase) in leaves and shot of Stevia plants. In response to low temperature, Stevia plant increased the accumulation of total soluble sugar, reducing sugar, total amino acids and proline in their leaves and shoot. In general, to cope with low temperature, Stevia evolved a variety of physiological and biochemical mechanisms that can be suggested to use for identifying cold-tolerant stevia cultivars.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are one of the most important mycorrhizal symbioses in plants that improve the inorganic nutrition and growth. These fungi act as biofertilizers, bioregulators and bioprotectors. In this research, in order to evaluate the effect of Glomus mosseae‌ and G. intraradices on rooting and growth of olive (Olea europaea L.) cuttings in two cultivars Koroneiki and Yellow, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD) in two factors (olive cultivars and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi species) and three replications was done. The results showed that mycorrhizal inoculation create root colonization and colonization severity (the amount of mycorrhizal fungus penetration in the root) in both cultivars. Interaction effect of cultivar and fungi species was significant on all measured traits. Cultivar G. mosseae was significantly superior compared to cultivar G. intraradices and non-inoculated treatment in enhancing all measured traits except for proportion of shoot dry weight to root. Also, the concentration and uptake of phosphorus, iron, potassium and magnesium in leaves and whole plant increased in mycorrhizal treatments. According to the obtained results, it is recommended to use G. mosseae for acceleration of the rooting of cutting and establishment in olive cultivars.

This study aimed to identify plant species, introducing the flora, determination of life forms, and geographical distribution of plants in Sarba kahman, from the slopes of Garin Mountains. The highs and lows of slopes and rocks have created differences of microhabitats which of them has own plant species. Plant specimens were collected from different altitude of the region, between 1800 to 3550 m. Biological spectra of the area were plotted by determining the percentage of species belonging to each of the biological forms. The position of the area within Iran’s phytogeography classification was studied based on geographical distribution data and references. According to the collection of plants from Sarab-e-Kahman area, 375 species belonging to 229 genera and 56 families were identified. The largest plant family belong to Asteraceae with 49 species. After this family, Fabaceae with 34 species, Lamiaceae with 33 species, Brassicaceae with 30 species, Liliaceae with 28 species, Poaceae with 22 species and Apiacea with 18 species, have the highest number of species in the region. Hemicryptophytes with 40% were the most frequent life form. 190 species (50 %) were endemics of Irano-Turanian region; 32 species of them were endemics of Iran.

As natural mutants, some rice varieties have brown pericarp and/or purple stem and leaves. The brown and purple colors caused by the accumulation of proanthocyanidin and anthocyanin pigments, respectively, belong to flavonoids. The anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin pigments are biosynthesized by the phenylpropanoid pathway and are modulated by several structural and regulatory gene families. In this study chromosome loci involved in the accumulation of anthocyanidin pigments in purple stems and leaves and the accumulation of proanthocyanidin pigments in brown pericarp were identified using 44K SNP array in 282 rice varieties based on association mapping method. Based on genes annotation database of rice and significant SNP signals obtained from association mapping analysis, 30 chromosome positions including Chalcone isomerase, Chalcone synthase, Leucoanthocyanidin reductase, bHLH, MYB, WDR, and B-Box coding genes were identified as candidate influencer genes in proanthocyanidin pigmentation in the rice grain pericarp. According the mentioned method, 39 genes were introduced as likely involved genes in purple stem appearance including, bHLH, MYB, WDR, B-Box, F3H, ChI, Glucosyltransferase and also 23 genes were detected for leaf pigmentation, including bHLH, Myb, WD40, B-Box and Glucosyltransferase coding genes. Considering to this fact that progenitor and domesticating process for all the rice cultivars are not the same, and many structural and regulatory genes are introduced for controlling anthocyanin pigment accumulation, it seems that in different cultivars, one or some of these introduced genes can be influencer gene for the accumulation of this pigment.

Fire as an ecological factor has both positive and negative effects on components of the ecosystem. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fire on composition, changes in vegetation and some soil properties in areas under fire of Juniperus communis stands in Angas village of Noshahr city. For this purpose, the flexible sample plots were used. Overall 50 sample plots were measured and the name of plant species with their cover percentage was recorded. In order to study of soil properties, a soil sample was taken from depth 0-25 cm from each plot. The richness and diversity species were calculated using PAST software. The results showed that out of 59 species identified, 3 species were exclusively found in the fire region, 12 species exclusively in the control region, and 44 species were shared between the two regions. Fire in the area reduced Shannon diversity index and Margalef and Menhinik richness index. Among soil properties organic carbon, organic matter, potassium, electrical conductivity and pH in the fire area was more than the control. It is recommended due to its not long time of occurrence of these types of fires and invasive species such as Stachys byzantina doesn’t invade whole parts of rangelands, restoration activities such as planting native species in the area is on the agenda.

In order to investigate the pre-harvest and priming application effects of gibberellic acid, salicylic acid and nitrogen on seed germination indices of Echinacea purpurea, this experiment was designed on factorial experiment in base completely randomized design with three replications at 2018 in field conditions and laboratory in the department of horticultural science of Ilam University. Experimental factors included gibberellic acid at two concentrations (100 and 200 mg/L), salicylic acid at two concentrations (100 and 200 mg/L) and nitrogen (from urea sorce) at two concentrations (3 and 6 g/L) that were investigated separately and in combination with each other. Treatments were applied with control samples as pre-planting (before maturity and seed harvesting) and seed priming (after seed harvesting). The results showed that the highest germination percentage, vigor index and shoot length were obtained in pre-harvest interaction with gibberellic acid 200 mg/L and nitrogen 6 g/L. The highest germination rate was observed in gibberellic acid 200 mg/L and the highest seed dry weight was obtained in gibberellic acid 100 mg/L. The highest root length was observed in pre-harvest treatment with 200 mg/L of gibberellic acid and 200 mg/L of salicylic acid. Also, pre-harvest nitrogen treatment had significantly higher germination percentage, germination rate, vigor index, shoot length and dry weight than their priming. Therefore, in present study, preharvest treatments of gibberellic acid in combination with nitrogen or salicylic acid were introduced for improving the seed germination of Echinacea purpurea.

Strawberry fruit is rapidly degraded after harvest and in some cases, due to the length of time of marketing; consumers do not reach good quality. Therefore, the use of natural ingredients to enhance its shelf life and maintain its quality seems to be the most important factor in the sensitivity of strawberry fruits to cold damage that limits their storage at low temperatures for a long time. Treatments such as the essential oils with antioxidant properties increase the shelf life of fruits. In the present study, we investigated the effects of anisone essential oil immersion on quality and increasing the shelf life of Albion strawberry fruit. Strawberry fruits were treated with zero (control) essential oil, 250, 500, 750 μl/l and stored at 5±1 at 85% relative humidity for 30 days. Parameters such as fruit weight loss, titrable acidity, pH, total soluble solids, total phenolic content, total flavonoid contents, antioxidant capacity (DPPH assay), anthocyanin content and peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes activity were investigated. Results showed that weight loss, water loss and organic acids decreased in all treatments during storage, but these parameters more decreased in fruits treated with 500 μl/l anisone essential oil. Total phenolic content, titrable acidity, total soluble solids, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase activities were higher in 500 mM treated fruits.

Assessing the floristic resources of each region is very important because it serves to identify it’s the genetic potential. The Lailakh region with about 13600 hectares, is located in the west of Iran, neighboaring the Dehgolan city. In order to identify the flora, life form and chorology, plants of the region were collected during the growing seasons of 2015 and 2016. 261 species belonging to 197 genera and 50 families of vascular plants were recognized in the region. Asteraceae with 36 species, Lamiaceae with 23, Fabaceae with 20, Poaceae with 21, Apiaceae with 18, Brassicaceae and Boraginaceae each with 16 species are the largest families of this region flora. The largest genera were Astragalus, Salvia, Silene, Vicia, Centaurea, Euphorbia, Amaranthus, Allium , Bromus and Veronica each with 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3 species, respectively. Studying the biological spectrum of species showed that Hemicryptophytes with 49 % is the dominant life form. The largest proportion of the chorological elements belonged to Irano-Turanian floristic region (52%), followed by Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian elements (11%), which indicated that the area was strongly influenced by Irano-Turanian floristic elements. Thirteen species (0.7 percent) in this habitat are endemic for Iran. In addition, 103 species used as medicinal plants.

Lilium ledebourii is a native ornamental plant in Iran that has medicinal properties beside ornamental aspects. In the present study, the effects of different concentrations of BA on morphologic traits and secondary metabolite production in L. ledebeourii were evaluated. For this purpose, MS medium Supplemented with 1 mg/l NAA and 1, 2, 3 and 4 mg/l BA has been used. Results showed that maximum number and length of roots and Highest indexes of leaves (number, area and length), plantlet height, number and diameter of bulblets, number of scales, chlorophyll, Anthocyanin, Total phenol and flavonoid contents were obtained in control medium and medium Contained 1 mg/ l BA, respectively. With increasing concentrations of BA in the medium, previously described indexes were enhanced. Also, direct regression observed between chlorophyll content and Anthocyanin, Flavonoids and total phenols. This indicated a key role of photosynthesis in secondary metabolite production under in vitro condition. Generally, It Seems necessary that determined optimum Cytokinin concentration and Cytokinin/Auxin ratio in the Culture medium.

GGeobotanical studies of taxa with a high proportionof richness and endemism plays a prominent role on conservation strategies. Iran is one of the main diversitycenters of the genus OnosmaL. in context the richness as well endemism that represent the necessity its conservation assessments. In this study the distribution patterns of the mentioned taxa have been evaluated in Western Azarbaidjan as well western areas of Eastern Azarbaidjan based on filed works and herbarium assessment by GIS teqnicues.93 populations of 10 species collected and studied. The results showing that mentioned taxa mainly distributed between 1100-2900 m as wellsedimentary and quaternary geological formations in studied area. Besides abundance and diversity of subsect. Haplotricha is more than other subsections in studied area. In this study distribution maps preprated for studied species and the most important species and habitats are introduced for conservation priority. Generally, climate change and droughts, excessive grazing and habitat destructionare the main threats for this genus in studied area. It should be noted that rare taxa have small populations and have been mostly reported from restricted localities that appear high vulnerability to threatened factors. The results of this study can be effective for prepare conservation plans of this valuable genus.

In order to investigate the resistance of different wheat cultivars under drought stress, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The first factor was drought stress at three levels (85%, 65% Field Capacity and control) and second factor includes ten wheat cultivars (Line 27, Kuhdasht, Zagros, Line 24, Gonbad, Line 28, Line 40, Line 39, Line 25 and Line 23) and the third factor was consisted of putrescin spraying with concentrations (0, 0.088 and 0.176 g / L-1). Foliar application of Putrescine was applied to the pots in a three leaf plants. One day after application of Putrescin's spray solution, drought stress was applied based on field capacity and one week after placement of the plant in the desired stress sample was taken. For this purpose, total protein, soluble sugars, lysine and methionine amino acids, anthocyanin pigments and antioxidant enzymes (catalase, peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase) and proline were evaluated. Studies have shown that, under putrescin treatment, increased the concentration of amino acids proline and carbohydrates, which plays a fundamental role in plant defense mechanisms. Catalase and peroxidase activity decreased with increasing putrescine concentration and polyphenoloxidase activity increased in Kohdasht, Line 23, Line 24, Line 25, Line 27, Line 39 and Line 40 and decreased in Gonbad, Zagros and Line 28 cultivars. Also, with increasing drought stress, protein content increased in Gonbad, Kouhdasht, Line 25, Line 27 and Line 28 and decreased in Zagros, Line 23, Line 24, Line 39 and Line 40 respectively.

Identification and introduction of flora in a region has a particular importance in various aspects. In this regard, plant species were identified and named in Darreh Anar watershed basin in Baghmalek. Plant species were identified and their chorology, life form, endemic and rare plants determined through laboratory examinations and by using reference books. Floristic surveys resulted in identification of 132 plant species, belonged to 103 genera and 43 families. The families of Poaceae (23 species), Papilionaceae (20 species), Asteraceae (16 species) and Apiaceae (6 species), were the most important families which include? percent of total species. The dominance of Therophytes and Hemichryptophytes (92%) Life forms indicates the specific flora of mountainous regions and the cold climates in this region. From the 132 species of flora, 74 species (55.6%) are soil conservation plants, 71 species (53.4%) have forage value, 55species (41.35%) are medicinal plants and 11 species (8.3%) are edible plants. Irano-Turanian (63 species) and multi-regional (54 species) were the most dominant (87.97%) Chorotypes. The dominance of Irano-Turanian and multi-regional, can be referred to the dry and warm climate in Khuzestan and simultaneous effects of water and disturbance on the flora of this region. The threat status also indicated that none of the plant species exists in the range of threatened species. Only one species (Tribulus terrestris L.) was recognized in the domain of vulnerable plants, 14 species (10.5%) in the domain with less threat (slightly vulnerable), and 17 species (12.8%) was endemic species.

In order to evaluate effect of water superabsorbent application on yield and some physiological characteristics and water productivity of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) in water stress conditions, a split plots experiment based on RCBD design with three replications was conducted during 2015-2016 growing season, in Research Farm of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. Irrigation levels (50 and 100 percent of water requirement) and application (80 kg.ha-1) and non-application of water superabsorbent assigned to main and sub plots, respectively. The results showed that in bean, the highest seed yield (2191kg.ha-1), dry matter yield (4588 kg.ha-1), weight seed per plant (10.89 g), height plant (97 cm), LAI (9.39), CGR (8.35 g.m-2.day-1), soil nitrogen (0.163%), phosphorous (0.0082%) and pH (9.68) obtained in treatment of 100 percent of water requirement and application of water superabsorbent. In sesame, application of water superabsorbent in drought stress conditions (50 percent of water requirement) increased seed weight per plant (22.17 g), plant height (91 cm), LAI (9.70), CGR (6.58 g.m-2.day-1) and soil nitrogen (0.101%), phosphorous (0.0063%) and pH (9.32) by 24, 30, 32, 59, 20, 44 and 17 percent compared to control, respectively. In maize, the highest seed yield (22522 kg.ha-1), dry matter yield (39502 kg.ha-1), seed weight per plant (332 g), plant height (194 cm), LAI (8.10), CGR (9.43 g.m-2.day-1) and soil nitrogen (0.095%) and pH (9.70) observed in treatment of 100 percent of water requirement and application of water superabsorbent.

Ecological Niche models are ways that allow approximating the area of suitability for a species, thereby allowing elaboration of conservation strategies. In order to creat a model the habitat of Onobrychis cornuta Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) method in a Biomapper software has been used. In this study, the presence points of species used as a dependent variable and 14 environmental variables used as an independent variable. First this layers were prepared and then analyzed by Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) method. Influential environmental variables such as A.m.t, Aspect, Ec, Slop, and TNV have been used. The results of species marginalization shows that this species tends to live in habitat of marginalization. Also, the evaluation of the model using the Cross Validation (0.8) indicate high accuracy model of Ecological Niche Factor Analysis for Onobrychis cornuta in the study area. This way of modeling could be widely used to identify appropriate areas for protecting of valuable native plant species

The genus Satureja is one of the main plants in food, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries by having important secondary metabolites. In this study, three Satureja species including S.sahendics, S.hortensis, S. atropatana were cytogenetically investigated. According to the results, the average chromosome lengths of the Satureja species ranged from 1.39 µm in S.sahendica to 4.82 µm in S.atropatana. The largest chromosome was observed in S.atropatana (5.940 µm) and the smallest in S.hortensis (1.022 µm). Between the studied species there were significant differences in long arm length (TL), arm ratio (AR), centromeric index (CI), total form percentage (TF%), difference of range relative length (DRL%), intra-chromosomal symmetry index (A1) and inter-chromosomal asymmetry index (A2). The chromosome types were determined “metacentric” and “submetacentric”. The Karyotype formula in S.sahendica, S.hortensis and S.hortensis species were respectively 14m, 20m+4sm and 4m+2sm. The S.sahendica species had the smallest values of Romero-Zarco index (A1 and A2), which is probably linked to its high capability with hard environmental conditions. In compared to the other species, S.sahendica showed the smallest DRL% and the largest TF%. It can be concluded that S.sahendica has more symmetrical karyotype and is more primitive species than two others. Because of the obvious genomic differences, it is expected that the direct crossing between S. atropatana and shandica with cultivated savory would be impossible and use of these species in savory breeding may need the ploidy manipulation and bridge species.

Biological activities are underlying strategies against dust storms. The leaves, because of the larger surface in comparison with other parts of plant organs, are considered importantly for atmospheric dust filtration. The main purpose of this study was to compare the amount of dust deposited on the leaf surfaces of Quercus castaneifolia, Platanus orientalis, Pinus eldarica, and Ailanthus altissima in Chitgar Forest Park. Leaf samples were collected randomly from different heights of 5 individual trees in four main directions and washed thoroughly by distilled water. Dust particles of the solutions were dried-oven and were weighed. The leaf area was measured by Image J software. Results showed that dust precipitation on the leaves of pine trees are significantly higher compared to broadleaved trees. The average amount of precipitated particulate material was measured as 1.06 mg/cm2 in pine trees compared to 0.2, 0.23, and 0.28 mg/cm2 for Tree of heaven, Oak and Plane trees, respectively. Also, the area to perimeter ratio of studied species was lowest for pine (0.05) and the broadleaved species was calculated as 1.03, 1.02, and 1.55 respectively. Totally, our results showed that pine trees can better absorb the clouds of dust from the air.