Endemic Plants

With nearly 10,000 species of vascular plants and ferns, Turkey has the richest flora of any country in the temperate zone, with a level of endemism of almost 34%. New plant species are still being discovered in Turkey at a rate of more than once a week. Nearly 1000 endemic plant species are threatened from extinction and classified as CR, EN or VU according to IUCN Red List criteria. Many endemic and restricted range species have not even been evaluated yet. Most of these globally threatened endemic species are confined to grassland and Mediterranean ecosystems. Plants have the highest coverage among the KBA network in Turkey. 2096 of 2312 KBA trigger species in Turkey correspond to plants, most being endemics of Anatolia.

Doga has been working on conservation of endemics Sonchus erzincanicus, Muscari adili, Verbascum halophyla and Astragalus beypazaricus. Sonchus erzincanicus is known from a single site, Eksisu Marshes KBA in Erzincan, northeast Turkey. The population of the species has declined by an estimated 70 percent, and, the species is assessed as Critically Endangered by IUCN. Doga, with the support of Erzincan Municipality, has succeeded to germinate 3000 seedlings of the species and restored the natural habitat of it in 2008. Then, the last habitat of S. erzincanicus is declared as a protection zone by the National Wetlands Commission in 2010. Similar conservation work is also carried out for Muscari adili, Verbascum halophyla and Astragalus beypazaricus, Sarıyar Dam and Nallıhan Tepeleri KBAs in Ankara, Central Turkey.

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