First floristic investigation in archaeological sites of Iran: features and plant richness of the Pasargadae World Heritage Site

Vegetation Analysis in the Archaeological Area of Pasargadae WHS (Iran) Enhancing the Naturalistic Value of the Site within the Occurring Environmental Changes

“…Archaeological sites display the interaction of the natural environment and human activities [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In this interaction, multiple dynamics are involved, in which vegetation can have both a negative and sometimes a positive action in the conservation of archaeological structures [7].…”

“…Furthermore, wild plants can also show indications of buried archaeological structures, thus adding information to the history of the site [27][28][29][30][31]. In addition, archaeological areas, being better protected from anthropogenic disturbance compared to other human-managed areas, have proven to be valuable refuges for biodiversity conservation [5,6,32,33]. The permanence of natural habitats and the floristic richness found in these areas is considerable, with the occurrence of a high number of species of conservation interest [6,32,[34][35][36][37].…”

“…In the Mediterranean areas, while several studies have addressed the vegetation of archaeological areas, research carried out on archaeological sites in arid or semi-arid environments is limited [6,32,44], despite their relevance and fragility caused by the occurring climatic changes. Notably, the UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) of Pasargadae, dating back to the 6th century BC [45,46], is of significant historical importance for its age, and its value since it is the place where the Persian Garden originated.…”

“…The present desiccation of the river was the consequence of both direct human interventions and the current climate change [47,48]. Moreover, Pasargadae is located in the border zone of the Zagros mountains, and the Irano-Turanian region, and it results in a rich ecotone from a biodiversity point of view, as well as a high naturalistic interest [6]. Following our recent floristic assessment [6] and the biodeterioration evaluation due to plant growth [17,49], we wish to deepen the knowledge of the site, by adding detailed insights into the vegetation's naturalistic values that characterize the various parts of the site and the emerging issues linked to the climatic changes.…”

“…Moreover, Pasargadae is located in the border zone of the Zagros mountains, and the Irano-Turanian region, and it results in a rich ecotone from a biodiversity point of view, as well as a high naturalistic interest [6]. Following our recent floristic assessment [6] and the biodeterioration evaluation due to plant growth [17,49], we wish to deepen the knowledge of the site, by adding detailed insights into the vegetation's naturalistic values that characterize the various parts of the site and the emerging issues linked to the climatic changes. In particular, this study will analyze the different types of vegetation growing in the archaeological area to: (1) assess their ecological and syntaxonomic characteristics and enhance their bioindication values; (2) evaluate the naturalistic interest and the distribution in the area through their mapping; and (3) give a preliminary assessment of the effects of the increasing stresses induced by the warming and desiccation of the area.…”