Plant species microendemism, rarity and conservation of pseudo - alpine zone of Kazdaği (Mt. Ida) national park - Turkey

Kazdag (Mt. Ida) forms a natural border between the Provinces of Canakkale and Balikesir in the north-western part of Turkey. It was declared as National Park in 1993 because of its rich plant cover, a restricted zone of Abies nordmanniana ssp. equi-trojani forest, natural beauty and mythology. The pseudo-alpine zone consists of 189 specific and infraspecific taxa of vascular plants. A total of 55 endemic taxa (29.10%) were recorded from this area. Out of these 22 (40%) taxa are restricted only to this area, and 5 taxa are non-endemic but rare in Turkey. In this paper, habitat characteristics, conservation strategies and management of these taxa are given. Our investigations revealed that, out of 55 taxa, 12 are critically endangered (CR), 10 endangered (EN), 11 vulnerable (VU), 9 not threatened (NT) and 18 with lower risk (LC). Although Hieracium idae, Dianthus arpadianus var. trojanus, Minuartia garckeana and Paronychia sintenisii are recorded as data deficient (DD) category in IUCN criteria, these taxa are transferred to CR category.