Priorities for conservation of endemic trees and shrubs of Iran: Important Plant Areas (IPAs) and Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) in SW Asia

Abstract

Owing to narrow geographical distribution, endemic species indicates higher vulnerability than other taxa, so they have been used as surrogate elements to identify the priorities. Little attention has been paid to distribution patterns, hot spots, and conservative zones of endemic trees and shrubs in scale of Iran. The main purpose of this study was to identify and introduce the Important Plant Areas (IPAs) as well as Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZEs) of endemic trees and shrubs in Iran. The total number of endemic trees and shrubs in the studied area included 75 species belonging to 32 genera of 22 plant families. Chorological elements mainly (65:86.6%) belong to the Irano-Turanian region. The geomorphological barriers have confined plant immigrations in the north-south as well as east-west slopes, appearing as a center of plant speciation in Iran. Our results indicate a significant percentage (36.2%) of these endemics classified in the threatened categories. Central as well as southern Zagros, Central Alborz and with more limited range N. Zagros, Kopet Dagh as well SW Iran are classified as AZE under both Criteria of AZE.