The Caucasus mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

in the Caucasus Mountains, as well as the adjacent Lesser Caucasus range and the eastern end of the Pontic Mountains.

Geography

The ecoregion covers an area of , extending across portions of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The main Caucasus chain, known as the Greater Caucasus, run from northwest to southeast, extending from north of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

eastwards to the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. The Caucasus forms the traditional border between

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. 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 Pontic Mountains, which extends along the southern shore of the

Climate

The climate is temperate to continental, 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''), European hornbeam (''Carpinus betulus''), '' Quercus robur'', ''

Quercus petraea ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Welsh oak, Cornish oak, Irish oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an un ...

'', '' Picea abies'', '' Abies alba'', '' Alnus glutinosa'', ''

Fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech, is a large, graceful deciduous tree in the Fagaceae, beech family with smooth silvery-gray bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' i ...

'', ''

Taxus baccata ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family (botany), family Taxaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe, as well as Northwest Africa, and parts of Southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Bri ...

'', ''

Acer pseudoplatanus ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of maple native to Central Europe and Western Asia. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved tree, tolerant of wind an ...

'', '' Malus sylvestris'', '' Viburnum lantana'', '' Fraxinus excelsior'', '' Tilia cordata'', '' Aesculus hippocastanum'', ''

Rhamnus cathartica ''Rhamnus cathartica'', the European buckthorn, common buckthorn, purging buckthorn, or just buckthorn, is a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the cent ...

'', '' Ulmus glabra'', ''

Ulmus minor ''Ulmus minor'' Mill., the field elm, is by far the most polymorphic of the European species, although its taxonomy remains a matter of contention. Its natural range is predominantly south European, extending to Asia Minor and Iran; its norther ...

'', ''

Populus alba ''Populus alba'', commonly called silver poplar,Webb, C. J.; Sykes, W. R.; Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. 4. Christchurch, New Zealand, Botany Division, D.S.I.R. si ...

'', ''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native plant, native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly s ...

'', '' Betula pendula'', '' Populus tremula'', and '' Corylus avellana'', are the dominant trees, along with sweet chestnut (''Castanea sativa'') in the more humid western mountains. Oriental beech (''Fagus orientalis''), '' Picea abies'', '' Abies alba'', '' Alnus glutinosa'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Betula pendula'', '' Populus tremula'', '' Juniperus communis'', and '' Corylus avellana'' 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''), Caucasian spruce (''Picea orientalis''), and Caucasian pine (''Pinus sylvestris'' var. ''hamata''). Dwarf forests occur near the treeline at 1800 to 2000 meters elevation, mostly of birches ('' Betula pubescens'' 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 (''Capra caucasica''), Caucasian chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra caucasica''), mouflon (''Ovis orientalis gmelini''), Caspian red deer (''Cervus elaphus maral''), and wild goat (''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 (''Ursus arctos arctos''),

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

(''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 bird of pr ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos'') and lammergeier (''Gypaetus barbatus''). Other resident birds include the Caucasian grouse (''Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi''), Caucasian snowcock (''Tetraogallus caucasicus''), great rosefinch (''Carpodacus rubicilla''), and Güldenstädt's redstart (''Phoenicurus erythrogaster''). Native water birds include the gadwall (''Mareca strepera''), whooper swan (''Cygnus cygnus''), common pochard (''Aythya ferina''), greater scaup (''Aythya marila''),

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

(''Bucephala clangula''), and Dalmatian pelican (''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 Parks, Zagatala State Reserve, and Caucasus Biosphere Reserve.

External links

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