Introduction of Flora, life form, geographical distribution and threatened status of Kowsar County

The flora of each region is the result of the biological community's response to the current environmental conditions and the evolution of plants in the past. The evaluation of flora of each region, including the determination of the floristic list, the spectrum and the geographical distribution of its plant species, is important for recognizing biodiversity and managing natural resources. The Kowsar County, with the center of Givi city in Ardabil province, has an approximate area of 1245 square kilometers and it is located 85 km from Ardabil city. In order to study the vegetation, after the initial surveys and field visits, plant samples were collected according to the diversity of elevation and aspect. Overall 110 species, which consist of 26 families, were identified in the study area. Fabaceae families with 27 species have the highest frequency in these areas. 35 species (31% of identified species) are in threatened status based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) criteria and Iran's Red Book. According to the Rankaier's system, hemicryptophytes with 50%, therophytes, chamaephytes and phanerophytes each with 15% are the growing life forms in the study area. In terms of geographical distribution, 55 species (50%) are belong to Iran-Turonian region, 21 species (19%) of those to Iran-Turanian, Europe-Siberian and Mediterranean, and 34 species (31%) is belong to other regions. Keywords: Flora; Life form; Geographic distribution; Threatened status; Kowsar; Ardabil