University of Isfahan Taxonomy and Biosystematics 3115-9001 15 54 2023 05 22 Analysis of the Vegetation Characteristics at the Central Alborz Protected Area in the Nature Tourism Routes تحلیل خصوصیات پوشش گیاهی منطقه حفاظت‌شده البرز مرکزی در محورهای طبیعت‌گردی 83 106 27969 10.22108/tbj.2023.138554.1236 EN Hannaneh Sadat Sadat Mousavi PhD Student, Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Afshin Danehkar Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Ali Jahani Associate Professor, Assessment and Environment Risks Department, Research Center of Environment and Sustainable Development, Iran Environmental Protection Organization, Tehran, Iran Vahid Etemad Associate Professor, Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Farnoush Attar Sahragard PhD Student, Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Journal Article 2023 07 30 Identifying and introducing the plants of a region is particularly and locally important, which includes the possibility of accessing specific plant species in a certain place and time, determining the potential and vegetative capabilities of the region, the possibility of increasing the density of the species of the region, the possibility of obtaining a new plant species or species, and identifying the destructive factors of the region’s plants. The most obvious classification to explain and describe the structure of plants is to specify the life form of each plant species in each different plant community. The purpose of this research is to investigate the flora, life form, geographical distribution and some characteristics of plants in plant communities. in order to analyze the vegetation status at the central Alborz protected area in Alborz province. In this research, 101 plots were collected and a total of 152 plant species were identified. The identified species belong to 103 genera from 30 families. Asteraceae family with 16 genera and 21 species includes the largest existing taxon in the study area, followed by Poaceae and Fabaceae families with 14 and 12 genera and 18 and 17 species, respectively. The genera Salvia with 8 species and Astragalus with 7 species had the highest species diversity among the identified genera. The dominant vegetative form among the identified species was herbaceous, and tree and shrub elements had the least identified form. According to the Raunkiaer system, hemicryptophyte plants with 51.3% (79 species), therophyte plants with 29% (44 species), cryptophyte plants with 9.9%, chamaephyte plants with 6.6%, and phanaerophyte plants with 2.6% were the most abundant biological forms in this range, respectively. Also, the highest abundance of plant species according to the vegetation area is Irano-Touranian (81 species) and Irano-Touranian/ Hyrcanian (33 species). In general, it can be concluded from this study that the plant community in this area is heterogeneous because all the identified species were in presence code class I with an abundance percentage of 0 to 20%. Also, considering that the study area has a relatively high flora, it can be used to evaluate the current situation and predict the future situation of the region. Introduction Vegetation is one of the important factors in maintaining the balance of pastures and one of the main elements of physical and biological resources in the quality of recreation of Eco-tourist and tourists (Naghipour Borj et al., 2014). The life form, composition and order of the presence of plant species is determined by the compatibility with the vegetative elements of regions such as Sahara-Sandy, Iran-o-Touranian, Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian. How plants adapt to a specific climate determines the spectrum of dominant life form in that climate. Coverage percentage, density, frequency, presence, and abundance are among the important characteristics of plants that can participate in the process of management decisions (exploitation, protection, restoration and monitoring) (Babazadeh et al., 2015; Moghaddam, 2008). Therefore, studying the vegetation of an area is an effective factor in measuring and assessing the current situation and predicting the future situation, which plays a significant role in applying proper management (Abasi et al., 2014). Although the identification and investigation of plant elements present in a region is considered as a basic study for other researches (Ahvazi et al., 2011), therefore, the investigation of the vegetation of the central Alborz protected area was given attention. The purpose of this research is to investigate the flora, life form, geographical distribution and some characteristics of plants in plant communities in order to analyze the state of vegetation in the central Alborz protected area in Alborz province. Materials and Methods This study was done in the central Alborz protected area (southern part). In this study, in order to determine the abundance and frequency of vegetation and the type of plant community in the spring of 1401, sampling of plant species was done in the study area. In order to determine the sampling points, first ecologically homogeneous units were formed by the McHarg superimposition method (Makhdoum, 2021). Then 101 homogenous units were selected mostly on the side of the roads and random sampling was done in them. For this purpose, square-shaped sample pieces (plots) were used, sampling in dimensions of 2 x 2 meters (Jahani & Saffariha, 2021; Khosravi Mashizi et al., 2023; Moghaddam, 2008; Sadat Mousavi et al., 2023a). In this way, one plot was taken completely randomly in each unit. Then, based on the data recorded in the information form of the sample plot and the identified species, some important characteristics of the plant types, including percentage coverage, density, abundance, frequency and presence were calculated (Moghaddam, 2008; Raunkiaer, 1934). In the next step, the classification of plant species in different biological forms was done using Raunkiaer's system (Raunkiaer, 1934). Then, the geographical distribution of the species was determined according to their distribution areas in Iran and other countries and based on a consolidated basis of the geographical distribution of Iranian vegetation (Takhtajan, 1986; White & Leonard, 1991; Zohary, 1973). Research Findings In this research, a total of 152 plant species were identified in the samples. The results of species identification showed that the identified species belong to 103 genera from 30 families. The Asteraceae family with 16 genera and 21 species has the largest existing taxon and the highest species diversity in the study area, Poaceae and Fabaceae families are ranked with 14 and 12 genera and 18 and 17 species respectively. The results of species identification also showed that Salvia with 8 species and Astragalus with 7 species had the highest variety of species among the identified genera in the studied area. The dominant vegetative form among the identified species was herbaceous, and tree and shrub elements had the least identified form. This study showed that Lactuca orientalis had the highest frequency in the samples and the highest abundance belonged to Vaccaria yramidata and Neslia apiculate species. The average density of species in the sample plots harvested in the region was 14.89 and the average coverage was 18 percent. Also, the identified plant species were present in less than 20 percent of the sampling locations. The findings showed that hemicryptophyte plants with 51.9 percent (79 species), therophyte plants with 29 percent (44 species), cryptophyte plants with 9.9 percent, chamaephyte plants with 6.6 percent and phanaerophyte plants with 2.6 percent form the most abundant life forms in the study area, respectively. The abundance of identified plant species according to the vegetation zone showed that 53.3 percent of the species belong to the vegetation zone of Iran-o-Touranian and then 21.7 percent belong to the vegetation zone of Irano-Touranian/ Hyrcanian Iran. The results of checking the abundance of identified species also indicated that the highest abundance is related to Vaccaria pyramidata, Neslia apiculate and Psathyrostachys fragilis respectively. Also, in the results of the presence check using the Raunkiaer method, all 152 plant species were in the presence code category I with a frequency of 0 to 20 percent, which indicates that the investigated plant community is heterogeneous. Discussion of Results and Conclusion In general, it can be concluded from this study that the plant community in this area is heterogeneous because all the identified species were in presence code class I with an abundance percentage of 0 to 20 percent. Also, it can be concluded from this study that the studied area has relatively high flora, which can be used in assessing the current situation and predicting the future situation of the region. Finally, it is suggested that due to the relatively rich flora in the study area, in addition to this research, other studies should be done to complete and study the vegetation in this area as well as possible.

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