Evalution of red plant biodiversity in Markazi province

This research was carried out to identify and introduce the threatened and endemics plant species of Markazi province, determine the habitat of these plants and define important effective environmental factors on the species. The database of the red species list of Markazi province flora, was obtained from literature, and then in field surveys, the present of each individual listed species and information about life form, some topographic, edaphic, and distribution factors in each habitat, were registered. The results showed that in Markazi province there are 202 red plant species belonging to 30 families and 98 genera of which 182 species (90.09 %) are endemics of Iran flora. The families with high number of red species include, Papilionaceae (42 species) and Asteraceae (34 species), and the main genera were Astragalus (35 species) and Cousinia (15 species). There are 10 endemic species in Markazi province flora, of these 6 species are in Data Deficient (DD), 3 species in Vulnerable (VU) and 1 species in Low Risk (LR) status and also three species Allium hirtifolium, Ferula Assa-foetida and Dracocephalum kotschyi are in Endangered (EN) status. Herbaceous perennials (50 %) and bush & sub-shrubs (28.21 %) were the most important life forms of red species, and also 66.67 % of VU and EN species was herbaceous perennial. The mountainous areas of this province (> 2000 m altitude) contain 66 % of total province red species flora. The habitats with high number of red species were: Rasvand mountain (69 species), Mowdar mountain (35 species), Sefid-Khani mountain (23 species), Arak (22 species), Alvand mountain (20 species) and Lathe-dar mountain (17 species). As a result, the main factors affecting on red species are limited geographical distribution and human impacts.