Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant professor at the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Semnan
2 Assistant Professor, Farzangan Campus, Semnan University, Iran. .
Abstract
In the Iranian Red Data Book, Gypsophile Nepeta (Nepeta eremokosmos Rech. F.) is listed as a threatened species. It is naturally adapted to gypsum habitats. Understanding the relationships between environmental variables and N. eremokosmos distribution helps us apply these findings to establish preservation and cultivation programs. To understand the main adaptive mechanisms of N. eremokosmos to gypsic soils, anatomical analyses were performed. RDA (Redundancy Analysis), Pearson's correlation coefficients between explanatory variables were used to evaluate the effect of environmental factors on the abundance of N. eremokosmos species. Physicochemical characteristics of the soil were investigated in terms of factors including CaCO3, pH, EC (Electrical Conductivity), calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Idioblasts were clearly observed in this species' leaf parenchyma. There are also mineral crystals such as calcium oxalate in the leaf parenchyma that enable the plant to adapt well to gypsic soils. The calcium content was twice as large in N. eremokosmos habitats as in control sites. EC, pH, and nitrogen factors negatively impact this species' frequency and distribution. Our findings revealed that potassium, gypsum, CaCO3, and sand percentage had an essential role in N. eremokosmos abundance. In the future, this study will screen the critical factors for the domestication and cultivation of this species based on its habitat properties.
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