The geographic distribution of Astragalus (Fabaceae) in Iran was analyzed using a database of 7606 georeferencedobservations. Astragalus occurs in all provinces of Iran, but 88% ofthe observations are in five provinces including Tehran, West-Azerbaijan, Esfahan, Kordestan, and Khorasan-e Razavi.Most species are rare and narrowly endemic: Thelargest distance between two observations of the same ...

BACKGROUND The Hajar Mountains of Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the highest mountain range in Eastern Arabia. As a result of their old geological origin, geographical isolation, complex topography and local climate, these mountains provide an important refuge for endemic and relict species of plants and animals with strong Indo-Iranian affinities. Among vertebrates, the rock climbi...

The Kura-Araxes cultural tradition existed in the highlands of the South Caucasus from 3500 to 2450 BCE (before the Christian era). This tradition represented an adaptive regime and a symbolically encoded common identity spread over a broad area of patchy mountain environments. By 3000 BCE, groups bearing this identity had migrated southwest across a wide area from the Taurus Mountains down int...

Allochthonous masses are common structures in Zagros fold-thrust belt. They are generally considered as collapse structures formed by the influence of gravity and in rock units with competency contrast. However, large allochthonous masses mapped in Dowgonbadan area in Dezful Embayment near the Mountain Front Fault (MFF) of Zagros show characteristics different from the belt common collapse stru...

Biogeographic barriers for freshwater biota can be effective at various spatial scales. At the largest spatial scale, freshwater organisms can become genetically isolated by their high mountain ranges, vast deserts, and inability to cross oceans. Isolation by distance of aquatic plants is expected to be stronger across than alongside mountain ridges whereas the heterogeneity of habitats among p...

The morphometry of 187 cirques like forms is performed in the selected regions of Zagros Mountain with the use of GIS. The cirques like forms were delimitated manually and their headwall and floor boundaries were modified based on the classified slope map. The power law functions were fitted to 187 longitudinal cross-sections of the cirque like forms and their parameters were analyzed. All the ...

Study area is located in the higher folded belt in the Zagros Mountain in the Iraqi Kurdistan. Analyzed geomorphic indices included sixteen sub basins: the stream gradient index (SL), drainage basin asymmetry (AF), hypsometric integral (Hi), Valley floor width-valley height ratio (VF) and mountain front sinuosity (J) is obtained relative of tectonic activity in the study area. These indices abo...

BACKGROUND HLA genes are highly polymorphic and certain alleles are frequent only in specific populations. Therefore, HLA is a unique tool for studying the genetic relation between different populations. Iranians are ethnically diverse people and one of the major ethnic groups in Iran is Lur population inhabiting along the central and southern parts of Zagros Chain Mountain. OBJECTIVE Genetic...