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The National Botanical Garden of Iran, approximately 150 hectares, is recognized as one of the most important botanical gardens in the Middle East. By more than 4000 plant species, it plays a vital role in the genetic conservation of native and endangered plant species in the country. Different Plants in the botanical garden require successful pollination for survival, biodiversity, high yield, and quality, in which pollinating insects play a significant role. Research findings indicate that the pollination of over 95% of plants depends on insects. In the botanical garden, a large portion of plant species also rely on pollinating insects for flowering. In addition to plant pollination and the preservation of natural ecosystems, pollinating insects also play a key role in food security. Therefore, the conservation of pollinating insects is considered a crucial priority. Unfortunately, today, with climate change, the tendency of people towards urbanization, and human interventions such as urban development, which lead to the destruction of natural habitats and their detrimental effects on pollinator insect populations, a gradual decline in pollination, a reduction in plant products, and ultimately the destruction of plants will occur. Therefore, considering the importance of conserving plant biodiversity, especially the plants of the National Botanical Garden of Iran, the conservation of pollinator insect biodiversity is also of great importance as the most critical factor in preserving plant biodiversity and the country's genetic resources. The first step in pollinator insect conservation is having sufficient information about the status of species and the species diversity of pollinator insects. Despite the great importance of this issue, no study has been conducted on it to date. The present study was conducted to identify pollinator insects in the National Botanical Garden of Iran and to investigate the biodiversity of pollinator insects in different habitats of the botanical garden. In this study, plant selection in the garden was based on the flowering period and the general and specialized nature of the pollinating insects. Sampling of pollinator insects was carried out during the insects' active season using two methods: trapping and direct observation. The collected samples were separated and identified based on order and family. After counting the identified samples, information related to each of the different insect species was recorded to examine biodiversity indices. Shannon and evenness indices were used to assess biodiversity in this study. In this research, 28 species of pollinator insects belonging to 10 families and 4 orders were identified. The results of the species diversity indices in this research showed that diversity in the order Hymenoptera was higher than in other orders. After the order Hymenoptera, the order Diptera showed higher diversity compared to other orders. Abundance in the order Diptera belonged to the family Syrphidae, and in the order Hymenoptera, it belonged to the family Apidae. Among the order Lepidoptera, butterflies of the family Pieridae, and among the order Coleoptera, pollinating beetles of the family Scarabeidae had the highest abundance. Among the different habitats of the National Botanical Garden of Iran, species diversity was highest in the systematic, American, and medicinal habitats, respectively, compared to other habitats of the botanical garden. The rocky habitat and the chrysanthemum plot had the lowest diversity of pollinator insects. Among other habitats, species diversity did not show a significant difference. The results of this research will be of great importance for the conservation of pollinator insects and plant species in the National Botanical Garden of Iran.
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