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Vegetation Patterns of the Irano-Turanian Steppe along a 3,000 m Altitudinal Gradient in the Alborz Mountains of Northern Iran

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Abstract

The Irano-Turanian floristic region is a major center of endemism in the Holarctic of Eurasia. The Alborz Mountains of northern Iran are a complex and heterogeneous environmental system with rich water resources and great habitat diversity. We have investigated steppe plant communities along an altitudinal gradient ranging from approximately 1,000 m a.s.l. in the semi-desert steppes near Tehran to a height of 3,966 m a.s.l. at the summit of Mount Tochal. Our two-way indicator species analysis of 1,069 vegetation samples resulted in classification of five major vegetation zones: (1) a semi-desert Artemisia steppe near Tehran, (2) a Stipa grassland in the alluvial undulating hills north and west of Tehran, (3) a submontane and steppe zone, (4) a subalpine cushion formation zone and (5) an alpine meadow and subnival zone of Mount Tochal. Annuals and ephemerals in the semi-desert vegetation decline as altitude increases and almost disappear in the alpine zone. Past human impacts of ancient Persian civilization and a traditional pastoral economy have affected the physiognomy of plant communities; thorny dwarf shrubs now dominate the treeless vegetation of the region. Lower competition for space, different phenology and the presence of edaphic and hydrological layers associated with anthropogenic impacts are major reasons for entanglement of different plant communities in the arid- and semi-arid steppe. The phytogeography of the region changes from omni-Irano-Turanian and Saharo-Sindian transgressive species at lower altitudes to a more limited range of western Irano-Turanian species and local endemics at higher altitudes.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support for this research was provided by the Research Council of University of Tehran under grant No. 6104037/1/02 and two studentship grants for Parastoo Mahdavi and Jalil Noroozi. We would like to thank Dr. M. Djamali (Marseille) for his critical reading and improvements of the geological and climatological aspects of this paper, and Prof. G. Prance (Lyme Regis) and Dr. Michael Gregg (McMaster University) for suggestions on English style. The original version of this paper has been extensively revised based on comments of three anonymous reviewers and the associate editor while the first author was on sabbatical leave at the Botanical Garden and Museum in Berlin supported by a grant from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

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  1. Parastoo Mahdavi

    Present address: Abteilung Vegetationsanalyse und Phytodiversität, Albrecht von Haller Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften, Universität Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

  2. Vajiheh Zarrinpour

    Present address: Islamic Azad University, Damghan Branch, Damghan, Iran

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Sciences, School of Biology, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6455, Tehran, Iran

    Hossein Akhani, Parastoo Mahdavi, Jalil Noroozi & Vajiheh Zarrinpour

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  1. Hossein Akhani
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Correspondence to Hossein Akhani.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 1 Synoptic table, diagnostic species, categorical frequency and fidelity index (phi coefficient) of five main community (sub) groups and 58 communities (comm.) recognized along a 3,000 m altitudinal gradient in the Alborz Mountains with their habitat types, average species richness (given in parenthesis), and main impacts and disturbing factors
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Akhani, H., Mahdavi, P., Noroozi, J. et al. Vegetation Patterns of the Irano-Turanian Steppe along a 3,000 m Altitudinal Gradient in the Alborz Mountains of Northern Iran. Folia Geobot 48, 229–255 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-012-9147-8

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