The Hyrcanian forests ( fa, جنگل های هیرکانی) are a zone of lush lowland and montane forests covering about adjoining the shores of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and part of that of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

. The forest is named after the ancient region of

Hyrcania Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian ...

. In the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

categorization, the

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

is referred to as the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests. Since 5 July 2019, the Hyrcanian Forests have been designated a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Geography

In Iran, the Hyrcanian ecoregion comprises a long strip along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and the northern slopes of the

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...

mountains. It covers parts of five provinces, from east to west: North Khorasan, Golestan ( being its south and southwest plus eastern regions of the Gorgan plain), Mazandaran, Gilan and

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

. The

Golestan National Park Golestan National Park ( fa, پارک ملی گلستان), commonly known as the Golestan Jungle (), is an Iranian National Park in Golestan Province, northeastern Iran. Geography The park is located in the eastern Alborz (Elburs) Mountains ra ...

spans the boundary of Golestan and Mazandaran provinces. In the Mazandaran province, where the Hyrcanian forest is estimated at , are used commercially, are protected and the rest are regarded as forest lands or over-used forests. The total of the forest woods used in this province is estimated at . The Kojoor, Dohezar and Sehezar forest watersheds are in Mazandaran province, Gilan province (these forests are graded from 1 to 3 with an area of ; and , respectively. The commercial utilization is and the non-commercial utilization is . The Masooleh, Ghaleh Roodkhan and Astara forest watersheds are in Gilan province) and Ardabil Province. At higher elevations to the south, the ecoregion grades into the

Elburz Range forest steppe The Elburz Range forest steppe ecoregion is an arid, mountainous 1,000-kilometer arc south of the Caspian Sea, stretching across northern Iran from the Azerbaijan border to near the Turkmenistan border. It covers and encompasses the southern and ...

. In southeastern

the ecoregion spans through the

Lankaran Lowland The Lankaran Lowland ( az, Lənkəran ovalığı, tly, Lankoni çoləriyə, script=Latn) is a narrow strip of lowland in southern Azerbaijan by the Caspian Sea. It is the southward extension of the Kura-Aras Lowland which in itself is an extension ...

and the

Talysh Mountains Talysh Mountains ( tly, Tolışə Bandon, script=Latn, fa, کوه‌های تالش, Kuhhâye Tâleš; az, Talış dağları) is a mountain range in far southeastern Azerbaijan and far northwestern Iran within Ardabil Province and Gilan Provin ...

. The ecoregion's climate is

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

at lower altitudes; at mid-altitudes it has

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

features, while in the mountains it is

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

. Summer is a humid but low-precipitation season. Alborz is the highest mountain range in the Middle East and it captures, by

relief precipitation Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discipl ...

and

dew point The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...

mists, much of the evaporation of the southern Caspian Sea. Annual rainfall ranges from in the east to in the west, making the forests much lusher than the desert, semi-desert, and steppe regions which it borders.

Flora

The natural forest vegetation is temperate

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

broadleaved A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with ne ...

forest. 32.7 percent of volume of Hyrcanian forest is of oriental beech ('' Fagus orientalis''). A main feature of the region is the lack of conifers; only relics of coniferous species are present, which include European yew (''

Taxus baccata ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe (including Britain and Ireland), northwest Africa, northern Iran, and southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain ...

''), junipers (''

Juniperus Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

'' spp.), Mediterranean cypress ('' Cupressus sempervirens'' var. ''horzontalis'') and Chinese arborvitae ('' Platycladus orientalis''). The Caspian Sea coastal plains were once covered by chestnut-leaved oak ('' Quercus castaneifolia''), European box (''

Buxus sempervirens ''Buxus sempervirens'', the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Buxus'', native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco ...

''), black alder (''

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations wh ...

''subsp.'' barbata''), Caucasian alder ('' Alnus subcordata''), Caspian poplar ('' Populus caspica'') and Caucasian wingnut (''

Pterocarya fraxinifolia ''Pterocarya fraxinifolia'' is a species of tree in the Juglandaceae family. It is commonly known as the Caucasian wingnut or Caucasian walnut. It is native to the Caucasian region Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Tur ...

''), but these forests have been almost entirely converted to urban and agricultural land. (Mosadegh, 2000; Marvie Mohadjer, 2007) The lower slopes of

Talysh Talysh may refer to: *Talysh people * History of Talysh *Talysh language *Talysh Khanate, in existence from 1747 to 1828 *Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, a self-declared autonomy, which existed briefly in the south of Azerbaijan in 1993 *Talysh ...

and Alborz Mountains below harbor diverse humid forests containing chestnut-leaved oak, European hornbeam ('' Carpinus betulus''), Persian ironwood (''

Parrotia persica ''Parrotia persica'', the Persian ironwood, is a deciduous tree in the family Hamamelidaceae, closely related to the witch-hazel genus ''Hamamelis''. It is native to Iran's Caspian region (where it is called ) and Iranian Azerbaijan (where it ...

''), Caucasian zelkova ('' Zelkova carpinifolia''), Persian silk tree (''

Albizia julibrissin ''Albizia julibrissin'', the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to southwestern Asia and eastern Asia. The genus is named after the Italian nobleman Filippo degli Albizzi, w ...

''), and date-plum (''

Diospyros lotus ''Diospyros lotus'', with common names date-plum, Caucasian persimmon, or lilac persimmon, is a widely cultivated species of the genus ''Diospyros'', native to subtropical southwest Asia and southeast Europe. Its English name derives from the sma ...

'') along with shrubs holly ('' Ilex hyrcana''), '' Ruscus hyrcanus'', ''Danaë racemosa'' and '' Atropa pallidiflora'', and lianas ''

Smilax ''Smilax'' is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found (39 of which are endemic), while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico. They are climbing flowering ...

excelsa'' and ''

Hedera pastuchovii ''Hedera pastuchovii'', (Araliaceae) is a species of ivy native to eastern Transcaucasia and listed in ''The Red Book of the Azerbaijan SSR, 1989''. It is an evergreen woody climber, growing in mixed forests to 20–30 m high where suitable tre ...

'' (Mosadegh, 2000; Marvie Mohadjer, 2007). Persian Ironwood is endemic to the Talysh Mountains and northern Iran and nearly pure stands of the tree can be particularly dramatic, with lichen-covered branches twisting together and only dead leaves in the deep shade of the forest floor. In addition, the ironwood's yellow leaves turn a faint lilac in the fall. At the medium elevations between , oriental beech is the dominant tree species in this cloudy zone in pure and mixed stands with other noble hardwoods such as chestnut-leaved oak, Caucasian oak ('' Quercus macranthera''), European hornbeam ('' Carpinus betulus''), Oriental hornbeam ('' C. orientalis'') and sweet chestnut (''

Castanea sativa ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the Temperate climate, temperate world. A substa ...

''). From its floristic composition, these beech forests are linked with European forests and with affinities to the beech forests of the Balkans. However, local conditions of

aspect Aspect or Aspects may refer to: Entertainment * ''Aspect magazine'', a biannual DVD magazine showcasing new media art * Aspect Co., a Japanese video game company * Aspects (band), a hip hop group from Bristol, England * ''Aspects'' (Benny Carter ...

and

edaphic Edaphology (from Greek , ''edaphos'', "ground",, '' -logia'') is concerned with the influence of soils on living beings, particularly plants. It is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology includes the stu ...

factors, such as soil moisture and depth, are all of importance in determining the composition of the vegetation, which leads to the establishment of different beech subcommunities. (Mosadegh, 2000; Marvie Mohadjer, 2007) Upper mountain and subalpine zones are characterized by Caucasian oak, Oriental hornbeam, shrublands and steppes. Alpine tundra and meadows occur at the highest elevations. Other native tree species include Caspian locust ('' Gleditsia caspica''), velvet maple ('' Acer velutinum''), Cappadocian maple (''

Acer cappadocicum ''Acer cappadocicum'', the Cappadocian maple, is a maple native to Asia, from central Turkey (ancient Cappadocia) east along the Caucasus, the Himalayas, to southwestern China.Mitchell, A. F. (1974). ''A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and No ...

''), European ash (''

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

''), Wych elm (''

Ulmus glabra ''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches i ...

''), wild cherry (''

Prunus avium ''Prunus avium'', commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, gean, or bird cherryWorld Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. is a species of cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, ...

''), wild service tree (''

Sorbus torminalis ''Sorbus torminalis'', with common names wild service tree, chequers, and checker tree, is a species of tree in the mountain ash or rowan genus (''Sorbus'') of the rose family (Rosaceae), that is native to Europe, parts of northern Africa and we ...

'') and lime tree (''

Tilia platyphyllos ''Tilia platyphyllos'', the large-leaved lime or large-leaved linden, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Malvaceae (Tiliaceae). It is a deciduous tree, native plant, native to much of Europe, including locally in sout ...

'').

Fauna

The

Caspian tiger The Caspian tiger was a ''Panthera tigris tigris'' population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan, and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the M ...

('' Panthera tigris tigris'') was once the apex predator of the biome before its extinction. The remaining large mammals include the Persian leopard ('' Panthera pardus tulliana''), lynx ('' Lynx lynx''), brown bear (''

Ursus arctos The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

''), wild boar ('' Sus scrofa''), wolf (''

Canis lupus The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

''), golden jackal ('' Canis aureus''), jungle cat (''

Felis chaus The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littora ...

''), Caucasian badger (''Meles canescens''), and Eurasian otter ('' Lutra lutra''). This ecoregion is the main green resting area for birds migrating between central-northern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

so a key habitat for many bird species. Notable birds seen here are the greylag goose ('' Anser anser''), white-fronted goose ('' Anser albifrons''), Little bustard ('' Tetrax tetrax''), glossy ibis ('' Plegadis falcinellus''), Eurasian spoonbill ('' Platalea leucorodia''), night heron (''

Nycticorax nycticorax The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...

''), red-breasted goose ('' Branta ruficollis''), peregrine falcon (''

Falco peregrinus The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, ...

''), Dalmatian pelican ('' Pelecanus crispus''), cattle egret ('' Bubulcus ibis''), squacco heron (''

Ardeola ralloides The squacco heron (''Ardeola ralloides'') is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East. Behaviour The squacco heron is a migrant, wintering ...

''), greater flamingo ('' Phoenicopterus roseus''), white-headed duck ('' Oxyura leucocephala''), and Caspian snowcock ('' Tetraogallus caspius'').

Endemic species

The Hyrcanian forests are thought to have served as a refugium for certain species during changing climatic conditions. The

Iranian edible dormouse The Iranian edible dormouse or Iranian fat dormouse (''Glis persicus'') is a species of dormouse native to Western and Central Asia. It is one of only two species in the genus ''Glis''. Taxonomy It was long considered conspecific with the Euro ...

(''Glis persicus'') is an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

of this ecoregion, and is thought to have evolved when mid-

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

climatic change led to the fragmentation of the ancestral ''

Glis Glis was an electronic music project founded in 2001 by Shaun Frandsen of Seattle, WA. The band experienced several lineup changes and guest appearances, with frontman Shaun Frandsen acting as primary producer, vocalist, songwriter, and instrume ...

'' population, with one such population fragment surviving in these forests and evolving into a new species. The bat '' Myotis hyrcanicus'' is likely also endemic to this region. The region is also known to preserve a unique lineage of

bicolored shrew The bicolored shrew or bicoloured white-toothed shrew (''Crocidura leucodon'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in eastern, central and southern Europe and in western Asia. It is a nocturnal species and feeds on insec ...

(''Crocidura leucodon'') that diverged from the other lineages during the mid-

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

, about 1 million years ago.

Protected areas

The diversity and endemism of the species make the Caspian Hyrcanian forests a priority and unique feature for species conservation. Habitats are threatened by conversion into tea, vegetable, fruit, and vine plantations, unsustainable forestry and poaching. Protected areas in Azerbaijan include: *

Gizil-Agach State Reserve Ghzil-Aghaj State Reserve ( az, Qızılağac dövlət qoruğu), meaning golden tree, was established on July 3, 1929 by the Committee on Protection of the Ancient and Art Monuments of Azerbaijan on an area of 884 km² on Kyzylagach Bay at the so ...

– * Hirkan National Park - Protected areas in Iran include: *

* Jahan Nama Protected Area * Central Alborz Protected Area * Lisar Protected Area * Siah Keshim Protected Area * Dodangeh Wildlife Refuge * Neka Miankaleh Wildlife Refuge * Selkeh Wildlife Refuge * Dashtenaz Wildlife Refuge

Gallery

File:Crossing the Alborz Mountains on a private train (41141181750).jpg File:Caspian Forests (207720547).jpeg File:Sisangan National Forest.jpg File:3615551 تصاویر هوایی جاده های پاییزی جنگل های هیرکانی.jpg File:3615550 تصاویر هوایی جاده های پاییزی جنگل های هیرکانی.jpg File:3615567 تصاویر هوایی جاده های پاییزی جنگل های هیرکانی.jpg File:Light pollution impact over Mt. Damavand from Hyrcanian forest.jpg File:هفت آبشار جنگلهای هیرکانی روستای تیرکن شهرستان بابل.jpg

References

External links

Coastal Profiles - I.R.Iran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caspian Hyrcanian Mixed Forests Ecoregions of Azerbaijan Ecoregions of Iran Ecoregions of Asia Ecoregions of Europe Forests of Azerbaijan Forests of Iran * * Alborz (mountain range) Astara District Lankaran District Lerik District Masally District Yardimli District Geography of Gilan Province Geography of Golestan Province Geography of Mazandaran Province Mountain ranges of Azerbaijan Mountain ranges of Iran Palearctic ecoregions Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests World Heritage Sites in Iran