BIODIVERSITY OF WATER VASCULAR PLANTS OF MONGOLIA AND CONSERVATION STATUS Urgamal M. & Dulmaa A. Institute of General and Experimental Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract The findings of checklist of water (aquatic) vascular plant species to the flora of Mongolia, which was on the species level have been made by last conspectus of the “Conspectus of the vascular plants of Mongolia (Urgamal et al. 2014)”. At a present, a total of 186 species (included 18 subspecies, varietes) are water plants (5.88%) belonging to 83 genera and 40 families to the vascular flora of Mongolia updated. The most of families and genera richnest in water species are Cyperaceae (24 species), Ranunculaceae (20 species), Potamogetonaceae (17 species) families and Potamogeton (13 species), Ranunculus (19 species) and Juncus (8 species) genera. The article reports on the new records of 3 species (Typha joannis Mavrodiev, T. tzvelevii Mavrodiev, Mentha aquatica L., Oenanthe javanica (Blume) DC.) in the Mongolia since publication (Dulmaa & Urgamal 2014) and last conspectus. The water plants includes to 2 species (Batrachium mongolicum, Knorringia sibirica subsp. ubsunurica) as “sub-endemic (SE)”, 6 species (Nuphar pumila, Nymphaea candida, Acorus calamus, Sagittaria natans, Scheuchzeria palustris, Typha minima) as “very rare (VR)”, 17 species (Nymphaea tetragona, Butomus junceus, Najas marina, Potamogeton lucens, P. natans, P. obtusifolius, P. praelongus, Sparganium glomeratum, Juncus articulatus, Juncellus pannonicus, Scirpus radicans, Phragmites australis, Batrachium kauffmannii, B. mongolicum, Crassula aquatica, Callitriche hermaphroditica, Oenanthe javanica) as “rare (R)”, and 3 species (Nuphar pumila, Nymphaea candida, N. tetragona) as “relict (RL)” to the vascular flora of Mongolia. The a total 7 species (EN-3, VU-1, NT-1, LC-2) in the Mongolian Red List Book (Nyambayar et al. 2011) to the vascular flora of Mongolia by criteria of IUCN (2001 and 2003). The includes to 3 species (Nuphar pumila, Nymphaea candida, N. tetragona) as “endangered (EN)”, one species (Acorus calamus) as “vulnerable (VU)”, one species (Typha minima) as “near threatened (NT)”, and 2 species (Sagittaria natans, Scheuchzeria palustris) as “least concern (LC)”. The areas in north phytogeographical regions (Khentii, Khangai, Mongol Daurian, and Depression of Great lakes) of Mongolia show the highest richness of known water plant species with 105 to up species per region and lowest species numbers are found in south (East Gobi, Trans Altai Gobi, and Alashan Gobi regions). The most of water species spreaded Depression of Great lakes regions (121 species), Khangai mountain (116 species), and Mongol Daurian mountain regions (112 species). .