Bioecology, Distribution, and Conservation Priorities of Rare Dicotyledonous Plants in the Sharur–Sadarak Region of Nakhchivan

Abstract

This field-based study examines the bioecological characteristics, local distribution, conservation concerns, and sustainable-use potential of rare and threatened dicotyledonous plants recorded in the Sharur–Sadarak region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan. Field investigations were conducted from February to 30 September 2026 through repeated botanical excursions and phenological observations. Eight rare taxa representing eight families were documented: Paronychia kurdica Boiss., Camphorosma lessingii Litv. (treated in current international databases within the Camphorosma monspeliaca complex), Calligonum polygonoides L., Acantholimon araxanum Bunge, Hypericum formosissimum Takht., Ecballium elaterium (L.) A.Rich., Asperuginoides axillaris (Boiss. & Hohen.) Rauschert, and Ficus carica L. The recorded species occupy ecologically heterogeneous habitats, including rocky and gravelly slopes, saline sites, sandy desert-like substrates, rock crevices, moist meadow or riparian microsites, and dry clay slopes. Their local populations were generally small, spatially restricted, or scattered, and the principal pressures identified in the field were habitat limitation, anthropogenic disturbance, grazing or other zoogenic impacts, and ecological stress. The study also distinguishes between conservation-compatible use and direct exploitation: ornamental, medicinal, educational, and genetic-resource values should be realized primarily through cultivation, ex situ propagation, seed conservation, and habitat-based management rather than harvesting from small natural populations. Updated taxonomic resources and recent global plant-conservation literature are used to place the local records in a wider context. The findings support continued population monitoring, micro-reserve approaches for highly localized populations, seed collection where biologically appropriate, and integration of local floristic data into regional conservation planning.