The Caucasus mixed forests is a

temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These f ...

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 ...

in the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

, as well as the adjacent

Lesser Caucasus The Lesser Caucasus, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main mountain ranges of Caucasus mountains, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east Turkey and northwest Iran. It runs ...

range and the eastern end of the

Pontic Mountains The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Kuzey Anadolu Dağları'', meaning North Anatolian Mountains) form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the ''Parhar Mountains'' in the local Turki ...

Geography

The ecoregion covers an area of , extending across portions of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

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 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

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 ...

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

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. The main Caucasus chain, known as the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...

, run from northwest to southeast, extending from north of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

eastwards to 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 ...

. The Caucasus forms the traditional border between

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. The highest point in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m). The ecoregion also includes the Lesser Caucasus or Anti-Caucasus range, which lies south of the Caucasus, as well as the eastern end of the

, which extends along the southern shore of the

Climate

The climate is temperate, and varies with elevation. Average annual rainfall is generally higher in the western portion of the ecoregion, ranging from 1500 to 2000 mm in the western ranges along the Black Sea, to 600 to 1000 mm at the eastern and southern portions of the range.

Flora

The ecoregion's plant communities vary with elevation. Temperate mixed forests extend from 400 to 2200 meters elevation, covering about 70% of the ecoregion's area. Broadleaf trees are predominant at lower elevations, transitioning to conifer-dominated forests at higher elevations. Between 400 and 1000 meters elevation, Georgian oak (''Quercus iberica'') and European hornbeam (''Carpinus betulus'') are the dominant trees, along with

sweet chestnut ''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 world. A substantial, long-lived ...

(''Castanea sativa'') in the more humid western mountains. Oriental beech (''Fagus orientalis'') is dominant between 1000 and 1500 meters elevation, with Caucasian oak (''Quercus macranthera'') dominant in drier areas. Conifers become dominant above 1500 meters elevation, including

Nordmann fir ''Abies nordmanniana'', the Nordmann fir or Caucasian fir, is a fir indigenous to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia and the Russian Caucasus. It occurs at altitudes of 900–2,200 m on mountains with precipi ...

(''Abies nordmanniana''), Caucasian spruce (''Picea orientalis''), and Caucasian pine (''Pinus sylvestris'' var. ''hamata''). Dwarf forests occur near the

treeline The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

at 1800 to 2000 meters elevation, mostly of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

es (''

Betula pubescens ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

'' var. ''litwinowii'' and '' Betula raddeana'') in more humid areas, and oriental oak and Caucasian pine in drier areas. Subalpine grasslands occur from 1800 to 2500 meters elevation, and alpine meadows from 2500 to 3000 meters, interspersed with thickets of '' Rhododendron caucasicum'' between 2000 and 2800 meters, and areas of rock scree. Sub-nival plants and lichens grow from 3000 to 4000 meters elevation.

Fauna

Large hoofed mammals include the East Caucasian tur (''Capra cylindricornis''),

West Caucasian tur The West Caucasian tur (''Capra caucasica'') is a mountain-dwelling goat-antelope native to the western half of the Caucasus Mountains range, in Georgia and European Russia. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the wild population ...

(''Capra caucasica''), Caucasian chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra caucasica''),

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, the Caspian region from eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic sheep breeds. Taxonomy ''Ovis gmelini'' was the sc ...

(''Ovis orientalis gmelini''), Caspian red deer (''Cervus elaphus maral''), and

wild goat The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threate ...

(''Capra aegagrus''). The East Caucasian Tur and West Caucasian Tur are endemic to the eastern and western portions of the Caucasus Mountains, respectively. Large mammal predators include the

Eurasian brown bear The Eurasian brown bear (''Ursus arctos arctos'') is one of the most common subspecies of the brown bear, and is found in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European brown bear, common brown bear, common bear, and colloquially by many othe ...

(''Ursus arctos arctos''),

wolf 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 ...

(''Canis lupus''), and Caucasus leopard (''Panthera pardus tulliana''). The ecoregion is home to the raptors

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos'') and lammergeier (''Gypaetus barbatus''). Other resident birds include the Caucasian grouse (''Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi''), Caucasian snowcock (''Tetraogallus caucasicus''),

great rosefinch The great rosefinch (''Carpodacus rubicilla'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan and east to Chi ...

(''Carpodacus rubicilla''), and

Güldenstädt's redstart Güldenstädt's redstart (''Phoenicurus erythrogastrus'') also sometimes called the white-winged redstart, is a species of bird in the genus '' Phoenicurus'', family Muscicapidae. It is found in the high mountains of the southwestern and central ...

(''Phoenicurus erythrogaster''). Native water birds include the gadwall (''Mareca strepera''),

whooper swan The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/) (''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, pronounced ''hooper swan'', is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type speci ...

(''Cygnus cygnus''),

common pochard The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina'') is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''ferina'', "wild game", ...

(''Aythya ferina''),

greater scaup The greater scaup (''Aythya marila''), just scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America, is a mid-sized diving duck, larger than the closely related lesser scaup. It spends the summer months breeding in Alaska, northern Canad ...

(''Aythya marila''),

common goldeneye The common goldeneye or simply goldeneye (''Bucephala clangula'') is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek ...

(''Bucephala clangula''), and

Dalmatian pelican The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspa ...

(''Pelicanus crispus'').

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 30,540 km², or 18%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include the Lagodekhi Protected Areas, Borjomi-Kharagauli and

Tusheti National Park The Tusheti National Park in eastern Georgia is one of the eight new protected areas approved by Parliament of Georgia on 22 April 2003.

Zagatala State Reserve Zagatala State Nature Reserve ( az, Zaqatala Dövlət Qoruğu) - is a reserve in the Zagatala and Balakan districts of Azerbaijan. It was established in 1929 in the middle part of the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains in the te ...

, and Caucasus Biosphere Reserve.

External link

References

{{Paleartic temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Caucasus Ecoregions of Asia Ecoregions of Europe Ecoregions of Armenia Ecoregions of Azerbaijan Ecoregions of Georgia (country) Ecoregions of Russia Ecoregions of Turkey * Geography of the Caucasus Montane forests . . . . . * Environment of Abkhazia Forests of Armenia Forests of Azerbaijan Forests of Russia Forests of Turkey Palearctic ecoregions Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests