Geographical Analysis of the Current State of Vegetation Cover in Yevlakh District (the Republic of Azerbaijan)

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 11. №5 2025

UDC 581.553; 574.34                               

Yevlakh district of the Republic of Azerbaijan with a total area of 1465.4 square meters borders Agdash, Barda, Tartar, Goranboy, Samukh, Qakh and Shaki districts and is located on a plain area on the right bank of the Kura River [9, 12].

The soil cover of the area or the edaphic factors has a significant impact on the development, growth and spread of plants. Therefore, when studying the current state of the vegetation cover in the area, besides climatic conditions, fertility indicators in the soil cover must be taken into account in the restoration of vegetation cover. The ecological parameters of the soils formed as a result of the physical-geographical conditions of the research area are of great importance in the study of the flora and vegetation cover of the area.

The study of the current state of plants found in the wild flora of Yevlakh district is also relevant in terms of the implementing the "Problem of efficient use and protection of the plant life based on biological principles". The research also reveals the need to conduct geobotanical studies in the area, analyze the geographical assessment of the current state of the vegetation cover and fulfill the tasks set in the "State Program for 2016-2020 on the development of the real estate cadastral system, investigation of the efficiency of the land use and its protection in the Republic of Azerbaijan".

Material and methods of research

The main object of the research was the study of the current state and geographical analysis of the plants found in the wild flora of Yevlakh district of Azerbaijan in 2023-2025.

The life forms or biomorphs of plants, their classification, taxonomic structure [1, 2, 7, 17], projected cover [14, 18], ecological groups [16], geographical types [15] were taken into account, and various methods were used to determine endemism, rare and endangered representatives [8, 10, 11] during geobotanical and floristic research. At the same time, various geobotanical field-research methods were carried out while recording phytocenoses found gray-brown, chestnut, gray, graymeadow, gray-brown, meadow-swamp, swamp, meadow-forest and tugay soils [4, 13] in the area.

Semi-desert vegetation has developed in the largest area in natural winter pasture in the wild flora of Yevlakh district of Azerbaijan. There are numerous floristic and geobotanical research works by various scholars regarding the improvement of natural winter pasture and the semi-desert vegetation found in the largest area of the research area [3, 5, 6].

However, despite the conducted research, global ecological changes are directly affecting the flora of the area. In this regard, research in the wild flora of Yevlakh district is relevant.

Discussion of results

The distribution of 176 plant species belonging to 27 families and 75 genera in the flora of the area was determined and a flora conspectus was developed during the conducted research. According to the analysis of the taxonomic structure or composition of the wild flora of Yevlakh district, it was clarified that 2 species belong to the gymnosperms and 174 species belong to the angiosperms.

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 11. №5 2025

While conducting the research on the wild flora of Yevlakh district, the analysis of the taxonomic structure revealed that 8 families ( Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Cyperaceae, Salicaceae, Polygonaceae, and Rosaceae) have the most dominance in terms of the number of genera and species.

Overall, the analysis by taxon shows that the mentioned species play a significant role in the formation of the wild flora of Yevlakh district, creating phytocenoses and organizing into formations and associations.

When analyzing the life forms or biomorphs of the species found in the area’s flora during the research, the methods provided by Serebryakov (1964) and Raunkier (1934) were used. According to Serebryakov (1964), when analyzing the life forms, it became clear that annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs and trees, predominated. Annual herbs, with 64 species, accounted for 36.5% of the total species, ranking first. Perennials, with 56 species, made up 31.8%, coming second, followed by shrubs with 22 species (12.5%), trees with 15 species (8.5%), biennial herbs with 10 species (5.9%), semi-shrubs with 4 species (2.4%), shrublets with 3 species (1.7%), and semi-shrubs with 1 species (0.7%).

According to Raunkier (1934), when analyzing the life forms of plants found in the flora of Yevlakh district, it was determined that therophytes predominated with 64 species (36.5%), followed by hemicryptophytes with 56 species (31.8%), phanerophytes with 37 species (21.0%), cryptophytes with 11 species (6.2%) and chamaephytes with 8 species (4.5%) among the 176 plant species.

Using the methods provided by A. A. Grossheym (1939-1961) and Portenier (2000), the distribution of plants found in the territory of Yevlakh district according to their areal types was analyzed. It was found that 97 species belonging to the Ancient Mediterranean areal type, representing 55.1%, predominated among the plants in the Yevlakh district. Species of the Boreal areal type were represented by 38 species (21.5%), species of the Caucasian areal type by 16 species (9.1%), species of the Desert areal type by 15 species (8.5%), species of the Steppe areal type by 2 species (1.1%), and species of the Adventive areal type by 1 species (0.7%). The areal type of 7 species was not observed, which accounted for 4.0% of the total species.

According to the conducted research, it has been concluded that the distribution of species formed in the Ancient Mediterranean areal type and corresponding classes (Sarmatian, Mediterranean, and Near Eastern) in the wild flora of the area is related to migration from the Atropatene group. Furthermore, the plant species belonging to the relevant areal types found here are formed numerous classes.

When analyzing the ecological groups of plants found in Yevlakh district, groups such as xerophytes, mesoxerophytes, mesophytes and hydrophytes were identified, taking into account the relief they occupy, their water requirements and the granulometric composition of the soils.

During the research, the analysis of the distribution of plants found in Yevlakh district according to ecological groups revealed that xerophytes predominated with 110 species (62.5%). Mesoxerophytes were represented by 19 species (10.8%), mesophytes by 30 species (17.0%) and hydrophytes by 17 species (9.7%).

The endemism of plants found in Yevlakh district was also determined during the research. A number of references were used in this process. According to the information provided by A. M. Asgarov (2016), the higher plants distributed in the flora of Azerbaijan are represented by 5,000 types belonging to 176 families and 1,142 genera. The author also notes that endemics consist of 181 species belonging to 31 families and 86 genera in the Republic of Azerbaijan [1].

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 11. №5 2025

The comparative analysis revealed that a total of 22 endemic species are found in the flora of the area, of which Caucasian areal endemics make up 15 species (8.5%), and Azerbaijani endemics make up 7 species (4.0%).

The types of vegetation found in the area were also identified during the geographical analysis of the current state of the flora of the Yevlakh district. It was revealed that the flora of the area includes desert, semi-desert, meadow, forest, swamp and other types of vegetation. While studying the vegetation types, the species composition and structural characteristics of the phytocenoses found there were also determined, and the geobotanical description of the formations was made. As a result of the research, it was determined that semi-desert vegetation is the more widespread among these vegetation types. It was found that plants of economic importance, particularly leguminous plants predominate in the semi-desert vegetation of Yevlakh district.

The classification of phytocenoses of leguminous plant revealed 2 formation classes, 2 formation groups and 2 associations belonging to 1 vegetation type in the semi-desert vegetation of the Yevlakh district during the research. The semi-shrubby-perennial herbaceous semi-deserts and perennial herbaceous-ephemeral semi-deserts can be mentioned among the identified formation classes.

It was determined that the semi-shrubby-perennial herbaceous semi-desert formation class is represented by the Salsoleta - Alhagietum formation group with the Salsoleta dendroides -Alhagietum pseudoalhagi association, while the perennial herbaceous-ephemeral semi-deserts formation class is represented by the Glycyrrhieta - Ephemeretum formation group with the Glycyrrhieta glabra - Ephemeretum association.

The forage qualities of the species found in the semi-desert vegetation of Yevlakh district, such as ( Medicago minima Grub.), ( M. caucasica Vass.), ( M. tribuloides Desr.), ( M. arabica All.), ( M. agrestis Ten.), ( Trifolium echinatum M.B.), ( T. parviflorum Ehrh.), ( T. scabrum L.), ( T. striatum L.), ( Astragalus caucasis Pall.), ( A. contortuplicatus L.), ( A. brachyceras Ledeb.), ( G. macedonica Boiss. & Orph.), ( Alhagi pseudalhagi (Bieb.) Desv.), and others are high, and when planted together with cereal crops, they are considered nutritious forage. At the same time, the products obtained from these leguminous plants are widely used in agriculture, medicine for pharmaceuticals, landscaping for decoration, honey production, soil protection and the establishment of forest strips, as well as in various other fields.

Conclusion

It was determined that 176 plant species belonging to 27 families and 75 genera are spread in the area during the geographical analysis of the current state of the plant cover of Yevlakh district in the Republic of Azerbaijan. A flora conspectus was developed for the species identified during the research, which included the taxonomic structure of the area’s flora, life forms, geographical and areal types, ecological groups and endemism. It was found that the Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Cyperaceae, Salicaceae, Polygonaceae, and Rosaceae families are represented by the greatest number of species in the studied area.

The conducted research has led to the conclusion that the occurring climate changes, as well as anthropogenic factors are affecting the flora of Azerbaijan. In this regard, conducting a geographical analysis of the current state of the flora in Yevlakh district area creates a necessity for future geobotanical or phytosociological studies within the area.

At the same time, the research has shown that the forage, straw and silage of the economically important species found in the vegetation types of Yevlakh district, especially in the semi-desert vegetation type, are rich in proteins, fats, as well as substantial amounts of minerals and vitamins. By studying these valuable economically important species, high results can be achieved in

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 11. №5 2025 increasing the winter forage reserves and improving the development of agricultural livestock in the Republic of Azerbaijan. This highlights the relevance of the conducted work.