Ecological classification of plant species using isopam method (Case study: Gandoman wetland in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province)

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.