State of Plant Biodiversity in Iran; Developing a National Strategy on Conservation and Use

The Islamic Republic of Iran with a land area of 164.8 million hectares situated between latitudes 25° and 40° N, where three contrasting climatic zones (the Mediterranean, the arid West Asian and the temperate humid/semi-humid Caspian) meet. As the average annual precipitation is just 240 mm, less than a third of the world average, Iran is considered predominantly dry. However, precipitation fluctuates in a great deal from 10 mm in the central desert up to 2000 mm annually in the Caspian Sea cost. Iran also encompasses two vast mountain ranges of Zagros and Alborz with peaks of higher than 5000 m above the sea level as well as large deserts and fertile low lands with land depressions below the sea level. Therefore, vegetation of different climatic zones and various cropping systems are grown in the country. Approximately, 8000 plant species of 1200 genera from 167 families have been recorded in Iranian ecosystems. Nearly 20% of these species are considered endemic. Existence of, varied climatic conditions, various cultures and ethnicities, and long history of small scale agriculture have resulted in a very rich and unique agro-biodiversity in this country. In fact, being a part of the Fertile Crescent, known as the cradle of world agricultural civilization, and located at the heart of four Vavilovian centers of crop origin (Near Eastern, Central Asian, Mediterranean and Abyssinian centers), Iran has one of the richest crop plant genetic resources in the world. Crop genetic resources of Iran has contributed tremendously to the development of agriculture and the world food security. In particular, Iran is the centre of diversity for a number of globally important crop plants such as cereals (wheat, barley, oat, rye and rice), food legumes (chickpea, lentil, etc.), oilseed crops (safflower, flax,…) many vegetables, forages, medicinal plant, fruit trees and nuts. Abundant number of various crop landraces and their relevant indigenous knowledge are found almost everywhere across the country within the traditional farming systems. Conservation of such plant diversity is a very challenging task. Iran has exhorted considerable efforts for conservation of plant genetic resources. According to the second state of the world report on plant genetic resources by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Iran has doubled the number of accessions conserved in the National Plant Gene-Bank of Iran during the period of 1998-2010, which has also been ranked among the top 10 national gene-banks of the world. Unlocking the economic potentials of plant genetic resources for achieving agricultural development and food security will require having national strategies, action plan and sustainable investments in place. Such national strategies should enhance, in particular, collaborations between germplasm curators, plant breeders and the seed sector. Scientific and technical capacities along with appropriate program should be developed. Such interventions must be driven by the combination of farmer skills and knowledge, end-user perspectives and be situated within an enabling policy environment, clearly articulated as national plant genetic resources strategies that fit well into overall national agricultural and environmental development plan. This paper will present the national sate of plant genetic resources and will give a synthetic account of policies, strategies, progresses and challenges affecting the conservation and use of these invaluable national resources.