Species distribution patterns of Ferula sect. Merwia

Ferula, one of the largest genera of Apiaceae, phytogeographically is distributed in the central and eastern parts of the Irano-Turanian, Mediterranean and northern parts of the Saharo-Sindian regions. Ferula sect. Merwia contains several economically important species that have a distinctive distributional pattern in the Irano-Turanian region. In the present study, a clustering distance analysis was performed with 608 recorded points for 29 species of the sect. Merwia and compared with the phylogenetic analysis on nrDNA ITS sequences. Distribution maps of the species together with richness and prediction maps were drawn through DIVA-GIS program. Through clustering analysis, the sect. Merwia as an Irano-Turanian element is classified into seven groups and the concentration of several groups correlated with the richness areas. It encompasses three regions as hotspots with the highest species richness, including Zagros Mts., Khorassan-Kopet Dagh, and central Afghanistan. The habitat suitability map follows the richness areas with more widespread towards mountainous district. According to AOO criterion of IUCN, the species of sect. Merwia have been categorized as EN and CR that need to be severely conserved from extinction risk.