Introduction of the flora, life form and chorology of the Parrotia persica C.A. Mey. Habitats (case study: Izdeh-e Noor area)

The lowland Caspian habitats are remnant (relict) patches of deciduous Euro-Siberian forests distributed in the Iranian three Northern provinces. Izdeh-e Noor plain forest with 3123 hectors is one of the great patches. In spite of a few studies, broad knowledge upon the flora and biodiversity of these areas does not exist. A total of 157 species belonging to 137 genera and 67 plant families were collected from the Parrotia persica habitats in the plain forest. The largest families in terms of species richness, were Poaceae (17 spp.), Rosaceae (13 spp.), Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae (each with 6 spp.), respectively. The genera with the largest number of species were Carex (4 spp.) and Rubus, Viola (each with 3 spp.), respectively. In the assessment of life form spectrum, the dominant life forms were geophytes (36.9%), followed by the phanerophytes (24.2%), hemicryptophytes (21.7%) and therophytes (17.2%). The flora was mostly composed of Euro-Siberian elements with 45 taxa (28.7%), followed by pluriregional elements with 32 taxa (20.4%), Euro-Siberian/Irano-Turanian/Mediterranean elements with 31 taxa (19.7%) and Euro-Siberian/Irano-Turanian elements with 27 taxa (17.2%). Among taxa collected from this area, 51 taxa (32.5%) in forest habitats, 54 taxa (34.4%) in margin and gap of forest and 52 taxa (33.1%) are present in both habitats.