The Islamic Republic of Iran contains a vast diversity of ecosystems, including two important mountain ranges, 10 Biosphere Reserves, 24 Ramsar listed wetlands and unique drylands and forests. Woodlands cover 12.4 million hectares and there are 10,000 hectares of Avicenna mangroves along the Persian Gulf. The number of species indicates biodiversity richness: 8,200 species of plants (of which 1,900 are endemic), over 500 species of birds, 160 species of mammals and 1,035 species of fish. Iran is also the origin of many genetic resources of the world, including commercially valuable plant species such as wheat.