Bioregions and geographical species richness patterns for brassicaceae family of türkiye

Anatolia is a unique geographical area characterized by remarkable biodiversity and a significant number of endemic species. The region's rich flora is also notable for its high plant diversity. Understanding the distribution of these plants will enhance our knowledge of Anatolian geography. However, large-scale investigations into the distribution of plants in Turkey remain insufficient. The Brassicaceae family is distributed globally, though it is more densely distributed in the northern temperate zone, particularly in the Mediterranean basin and Central and Southwest Asia. This family, which holds the highest number of taxa among plant families, has an endemism rate of 34.52% in Turkey. The aim of this thesis is to prepare an updated taxon list for Turkey, to create a distribution map, to identify bioregions (regions exhibiting common patterns in terms of the distribution of taxa) and to reveal the geographical species richness pattern of the Brassicaceae family, whose center of origin is the Irano-Turanian phytogeographic region. In accordance with the aforementioned objectives, it was established that the Brassicaceae family is represented by 765 taxa in Turkey following a comprehensive examination of the existing literature and herbarias. A richness analysis was conducted to ascertain the areas within Turkey where the Brassicaceae family is particularly diverse in terms of species and taxa. The results indicated that richness exhibited a significant correlation with topographical variables. Furthermore, the patterns of richness were also determined for endemic taxa, tribes, and genera with a high number of species. The results of the richness analyses indicate that the Taurus Mountains exhibit high richness, while the Anatolian Diagonal represents a richness area and corridor for the family. The analysis of the distribution of taxa and species of the Brassicaceae family in Turkey led to the identification of 13 bioregions. It was found that these bioregions largely correspond with the biogeographic and phytogeographic boundaries of Turkey.