A Study of Agrobiodiversity and the Impacts of Biophysical and Ecogeographical Factors on it in Ghalaje Protected Area / West of Iran.

ABSTRACT

It is considered that agrobiodiversity as a vital component for human food security is increasingly eroding and so making more attention to this section of biodiversity is necessary. This study was conducted in a protected area located in Kermanshah, Iran, in order to infer biodiversity characteristics and the effect of biophysical and ecological factors on it. Ten villages were selected randomly and the information was gathered through interviewing 25 to 30 percent of the household heads and visiting the area too. The mean Species richness for agricultural species of the villages was 2.31. Shannon-Weiner Index was in the range of 1.06 to 2.56 and it was associated with other biodiversity indices, calculated in this study. Comparing the biodiversity indices indicated that generally being in a protected area can be useful to protect agricultural biodiversity. Cultivated land area, annual precipitation and altitude were some factors having significant effects on Species richness of agricultural plants in this study.