Page 253 - 7. State Of Environment Report Of Türkiye

F.1.2.Species Diversity of Türkiye
Türkiye has a position that can be considered quite rich in terms of plant species, especially in
terms of seed plants, considering the climate zone in which it is located.
Algae are the most primitive organisms in the plant group. The organisms in this group can be
small enough to be seen under a microscope, or they can reach 50-60 metres or even 100 met-
res in length.
Although the number of studies on algae has increased, the Algal Flora of Türkiye has not yet
been completed.
Distribution of Endemic Plant Species by Plant Geography
Regions (PGR)
(including subspecies and varieties)
Europe -Siberia 320
Mediterranean 1,325
Irano-Turanian 1,250
Not specific to Plant Geographical Regionsn 1,030
Total 3,925

Lichens are a living group based on the symbiosis of fungi with algae. They are distributed almost
everywhere in the world. The number of species known in the world is around 20,000. In Türkiye,
studies on lichens have increased rapidly in recent years. The number of lichen species known in
Türkiye today is around 1,000 and this number is increasing day by day.
Bryophytes are the group of plants with the most primitive, poorly developed vascular bundles.
In Türkiye, 3 anthoceratophytas, around 165 liverworts and around 740 bryophytes have been
identified.
Ferns are the best known plant group together with seed plants. Ferns are distributed in all re-
gions of Türkiye except the very arid regions, but the Black Sea region is the most widespread
region of this plant group. There are 8 species of characeae (Equisetales), 6 species of yellow
bugles (Lycopodiales) and about 80 species of true ferns in Türkiye.
The number of vascular plant species identified in Türkiye has reached 11.707 considering the
number of genera and subgenus taxa. This number is increasing day by day with the identificati-
on of new species. This species richness is not found in any country in Europe. Therefore, Türkiye
is a continent in terms of plant diversity. Because the number of species in the whole Europe is
around 12.500.
In the project studies carried out with the support of MoAF TAGEM, the genetic resources of
aquaculture products at the national level were determined and recorded in the National Food
Starter Culture Gene Bank, which became operational in 2021. In the sampling carried out in the
last 5 years, 27,550 genetic samples and 8,500 DNA samples belonging to 279 aquaculture spe-
cies were recorded.
F.1.2.1. Endemic / Endangered Plant Species

Türkiye is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of endemic plants due to its geog-
raphical zone. Since the species belonging to seedless plant groups are widely distributed as in
the whole world, the rate of endemism is also low. In addition, studies on seedless plant groups
in Türkiye are not yet at the desired level. The best known plant group among the seedless
plants is the Ferns (Pteridophytes). The number of species and subspecies of ferns identified in
Türkiye is 101 and only 3 of them are endemic.

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