CBD Fourth National Report - Azerbaijan (English version)

Country Study on Biodiversity and Fourth National Report
The Republic of Azerbaijan
A total of 171 species of fungi have been described from Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic,
some of which (notably Phylostica and Septoria spp.) cause agricultural diseases (affecting
tobacco, tea, apple and pear plants, as well as natural vegetation). Further details are shown in
Table 3.3.
1.1.5.4. Flora
Lower plants
Among the lower plants recorded from Azerbaijan, some 249 species of algae have been
described from the Caspian Sea, and of these 197 are microscopic (phytoplankton; see Table
3.4). In addition, a high diversity in mosses is recorded from Azerbaijan, with 774 species
described from 44 different orders.
Table 3.4 The number of species within the main algal classifications found from the
Azeri area of the Caspian Sea
Group of algae Number of species
Red algae (Rhodophyta) 20
Brown algae (Phaeophyta) 5
Green algae (Chlorophyta) 25
Microscopic species:
Diatoms (Bacilliariopyta) 197
Blue-green algae (Cyanophyta) 80
Dinophyte (Dinophyta) 16
Golden algae (Chrysophyta) 1
In Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic a range of blue-green algae (approximately 25
species) were recently discovered associated with mineral springs, and many of these are
newly described in Azerbaijan, being previously only found in other countries. Diatoms have
also been found in these same mineral springs, from which 46 species have now been
identified. Nakhichevan also supports 24 species of mosses.
Higher plants
Approximately 4,500 species of higher plants are recorded in Azerbaijan (Table 3.5) , which
represents around 65% of the floral diversity of the Caucasus region, and 11% of the world’s
flora. The main areas of plant diversity in Azerbaijan are the highlands of Nakhichevan (60%
of the species occur here), the Kura-Araz plain (40%), the Devechi-Kuba region east of the
Greater Caucasus (38%), the centre of the Lesser Caucasus (29%), Gobustan (26.6%), the
Lenkoran region in the Talysh Mountains (27%), and the Absheron region (22%).
Table 3.5 Number of plant species in different groups
Group
Azerbaijan Nakhichevan
Number of species
Briophyta (mosses) 346 39
Sporophyta (ferns and horse tails) 63 14
Gymnosperms (non flowering plants) 24 18
Angiosperms (flowering plants) 4,413 11 2887 12
Total 4,846 2958
Over 2958 species of higher plants have been recorded from the Autonomous Republic of
Nakhichevan (see Table 3.5). Over half of the plants in the country are xerophytpes, but
11 Including 910 monocotyledons, and 3,503 dicotyledons
12 Including 627 monocotyledons and 2260 dicotyledons
33
2009