Flora, life form and chorology of plants in Pallas's cat habitat (case study: Jashloobar, Semnan)

The Otocolobus manul is a small cat of Felidae family and Felinae subfamily. The Pallas cat is protected in many countries in its range. According to the laws of Iran’s Department of Environment, it is classified as a protected species. Although this species is found in a wide range of habitats including steppes, dry mountains to grasslands and mountainous and rocky areas, but now the suitable habitats of this species are fragmented and reduced due to habitat destruction. In the conservation of the fauna habitats, correct and scientific knowledge of their habitat as basic studies is essential. Therefore, considering the role of plants as hiding spot, den and food source for its preys, the present study was conducted to identify plant flora in Jashloobar habitat of Semnan province. ۷۲ species was identified based on plant samples collected in ۲۰۱۹, which belong to ۲۲ families. The largest plant families are Asteraceae ،Poaceae ، Fabaceae و Apiaceae with ۱۸%, ۱۸%, ۱۱% and ۸% of species frequency, respectively and the largest genus is Astragalus of Fabaceae. The diagram of plant life formed by the Raunkiaer method showed that the dominant life forms of the area were hemicryptophytes with ۵۴%, therophyte with ۹.۷% and geophytes (Cryptophytes) with ۸.۳۳%, whose high percentage demonstrate the cold climate and mountainous region. The chorotypes of plants species showed that about ۶۰% of the plant species belong to Irano-Touranian zone. In addition, forbs, grasses and bushes have the most vegetative forms in this region, respectively. The dominance of these plants in the region provides a favorable environment for the presence of rodents, both in terms of nutrition, den and shelter, which are the main prey of Pallas cat, and creates a suitable habitat for this species.

کلیدواژه ها:

Raunkiaer ، Life form ، Chorotype ، Flora ، Semnan.