Diversity and distribution of endemic and threatened plant species in the Sorkhabad Protected Area, Zanjan, NW Iran and identification of the biodiversity hotspots in the area

Abstract

Protected areas are a mainstay of biodiversity conservation. All over the world, plant biodiversity is at risk and every year the number of threatened species increases dramatically. Many of these species are endemic. Sorkhabad Protected Area is situated in Zanjan Province, NW Iran, and is located in the Irano-Anatolian global biodiversity hotspot. The aim of this study is to investigate endemic and threatened vascular plant species, classify the local rarity of these species and identify hotspots of them in this area. 81 endemic species belonging to 59 genera within 22 families and 116 threatened species belonging to 86 genera within 46 families were collected from the area. Fabaceae with 16 and Asteraceae with 14 endemic species are the two largest families and Astragalus L. with 13 endemic species is the largest genus in terms of the number of endemic species. The degree of endemism in the Sorkhabad Protected Area is 15.2 percent. The distribution map of species was prepared using ArcGIS 10.3. The hotspots in terms of endemic and threatened species richness were identified, occupying all told 50,709 ha (41.35%) of the Sorkhabad Protected Area. Identifying the hotspots will help to obtain a proper management program and consequently preserve the biodiversity of this area.