MEASURING PLANT SPECIES DIVERSITY IN ALPINE ZONES: A CASE STUDY AT THE KAZDAGI NATIONAL PARK, IN TURKEY

Abstract

Biodiversity includes three main concepts: genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity: mountain ecosystems, alpine regions above the timberline, have to be rich in terms of plant compositions and plant species diversity. Richness and evenness are two main factors in measuring the diversity of a habitat. Richness takes into account individual species, while evenness contributes towards the relative abundance of each species. According to the results of this study, 52% of the total endemic plant taxa of the Kazdagi National Park is determined in the alpine regions and therefore the alpine zones, with their rich endemic and rare plant species, are important from the aspect of biodiversity and species conservation. In addition, this study describes the relation between environmental factors and plant species diversity and evenness.