Wetland flora of Kermanshah Province, Iran

Abstract

Distribution of rivers, pools and grasslands, being large or small and perennial or temporary, have created conditions suitable for the establishment of wetlands, especially in the highland regions of the Country. These habitats are highly important for the preservation of biodiversity and other ecological aspects. The present study aimed to identify wetlands in the Kermanshah Province, Iran, and map their distribution. The investigation was carried out on the basis of the conventional taxonomic studies of the region by doing field observation in 31 aqueous habitats in Kermanshah Province. The flora of each habitats and the life form and geographical distribution of the species were investigated. In total, 617 plant specimens, belonging to 288 species, 218 genera and 62 families, were collected identified and stored in the herbarium of the research center of agriculture and natural resources of Kermanshah Province (RANK). Asteraceae with 41 species, Poaceae with 31 species, Fabaceae with 31 species and Brassicaceae with 24 species were found to be the most important families of the wetlands studied. Trifolium with 11 species and Bromus with 6 species were the most important genera, in terms of species richness. Detection of the biological forms showed that 40.3% of the species were trophytes, 35/5% were hemicryptophyts, 6/1% were phanerophytes, 14/23% were cryptophytes and 3/72% were chamaephytes. The chorology of species showed that 93 species belonged to more than two elements (32%), 92 species (31%) to the Irano-Touranin elements, 32 species to Irano-TouraninMediterranean (11%), 9 species to Irano-TouraninEuro-Siberian with (3%) and 23 species were found to be cosmopolitan elements (8%).