QaraDagh Mountain is a part of Irano- Turanian Region and Zagros mountain steppe ecoregion (www.wwf.org); Floristically, this region is not only one of the richest in number of species and genera, but the most active  in the formation of the species; Vegetationally, the region is rich in forests, various alpine and subalpine grassy, and herbaceous communities; finally this area is one of the richest and hot spots for biodiversity in the world and also according to the historical data there were about 30-40 local and regional endemic species recorded in this mountain such us Cousinia kopi-karadaghensis Rech.f., Allium qaradaghense Feinbrun, Galium qaradaghense Schonb.-Temb., Ornithogalum kurdicum Bornm., and Scilla kurdistanica Speta

Disturbance in the QaraDagh region was rather limited over the past many decades, except perhaps for picnicking during the Nawrooz (Kurdish new year) season and early spring. However, the situation has deteriorated tremendously since the liberation of Iraqi Kurdistan two decades ago, especially after 2010 when the oil drilling began.

    The Floristic study of QaraDagh mountain lasted for three years and finished by the end of 2018. Approximately 8200 specimens were collected from 200 waypoints of 65 field trips for different locations. In order to avoid repetition and confusion during data collection and identification process, each species collected was given a unique number of a continuous series. After finishing the identification process for all different collections, more than 960 species were identified. Out of this number at least12 species were identified as a new to science (Nova). These outcomes have been sent to different international journals for publication and they are currently in the process of publishing. 

 to see some photos click here