Plant Biogeography and Vegetation of High Mountains of Central and South-West Asia (Plant and Vegetation (17))

This book presents an overview study about plant biogeography and vegetation of the high mountains of Central and South-West Asia, by a group of specialists familiar with its area and plant growth and ecology. This book discusses its ecological and evolutionary drivers and also its conservation priorities. Central and South-West Asia is one of the most diverse areas in the northern hemisphere and several biodiversity hotspots are concentrated in this region. Most of the biodiversity hotspots are associated with high mountain ranges of the region. Moreover, these mountains have been immigration corridors for the Central Asian flora to reach Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean regions. Despite its importance, there is no overview publication to present the plant biogeography and vegetation of these mountains and most of the publications are local or rather imprecise Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii The Pamir-Alai Mountains (Middle Asia: Tajikistan) (Arkadiusz Nowak, Sylwia Nowak, Marcin Nobis)....Pages 1-42 The Hindu Kush/Afghanistan (Siegmar-W. Breckle, M. Daud Rafiqpoor)....Pages 43-91 The Khorassan-Kopet Dagh Mountains (Farshid Memariani)....Pages 93-116 The Alborz Mountain Range (Jalil Noroozi, Amir Talebi, Moslem Doostmohammadi)....Pages 117-149 The Yazd–Kerman Massifs (Moslem Doostmohammadi, Amir Talebi, Jalil Noroozi)....Pages 151-183 The Zagros Mountain Range (Jalil Noroozi, Amir Talebi, Moslem Doostmohammadi, Ali Bagheri)....Pages 185-214 The Anatolian High-Mountain Ranges – Plant Diversity Between Two Seas (Gerald Parolly)....Pages 215-286 The Transcaucasian Highlands (George M. Fayvush, Alla S. Aleksanyan)....Pages 287-313 North-Western Caucasus (Alexey V. Egorov, Alexander S. Zernov, Vladimir G. Onipchenko)....Pages 315-360