The Elburz Range forest steppe
ecoregion is an arid, mountainous 1,000-kilometer arc south of the
Caspian Sea, stretching across northern
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 ...
from the
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 ...
border to near the
Turkmenistan border. It covers and encompasses the southern and eastern slopes of the
Alborz Mountains as well as their summits. The
Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion's lush green mountainsides and plains receive moisture from the Caspian Sea from this ecoregion's northern border. The vast
Central Persian desert basins ecoregion forms its southern border.
Setting
The Alborz range is composed of a
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
core overlain with
sedimentary rock including
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
s,
shales,
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
s, and
tuffs.
Metamorphic rocks such as
schists,
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
s, and
amphibolite
Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose ...
are also widely found.
The climate is arid with annual precipitation varying from 150 mm to 500 mm, falling mostly as winter snow.
Elevations typically range from , and the highest point in the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, high
Mount Damavand, is found here. Mount Damavand is also the tallest
volcano
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
in
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 ...
, and below its summit crater are found
fumaroles and
hot springs as well as
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
s.
Flora
Juniper (''
Juniperus excelsa'' subsp. polycarpos) is the most common tree in this ecoregion. It formerly covered south-facing slopes, but logging has greatly reduced its range to inaccessible areas and high elevations. Shrubs in the ecoregion are pistachio (''
Pistacia atlantica''), cotoneaster (''
Cotoneaster racemiflora''), maple (''
Acer turcomanicum''), and almond (''
Amygdalus'' spp.).
Wormwood is a common herbaceous plant.
Fauna
This ecoregion is home to several large mammal species. Syrian brown bears (''
Ursus arctos syriacus'') wander the mountains and hillsides while solitary roe deer (''
Capreolus capreolus'') feed on grass and berries in and around forests. Groups of native wild boar (''
Sus scrofa'') forage at night, and beech martens (''
Martes foina'') hunt smaller mammals and search for eggs and worms at dawn and dusk. Red deer (''
Cervus elaphus'') live in single-sex groups most of the year but rut in the fall, sometimes locking antlers. Canids in this ecoregion are Indian wolf (''
Canis lupus pallipes''), common jackal (''
Canis aureus aureus''), and red fox (''
Vulpes vulpes''). Felids are Persian leopard (''
Panthera pardus ciscaucasica''), jungle cat (''
Felis chaus''), and Caucasus lynx (''
Lynx lynx dinniki''). Goitered gazelle (''
Gazella subgutturosa'') walk the plains in the southeast. There are also large populations of the globally endangered argali (''
Ovis ammon'').
Notable birds in this ecoregion are honey buzzard (''
Pernis apivorus''), goshawk (''
Accipiter gentilis''), black vulture (''
Aegypius monachus''), bimaculated lark (''
Melanocorypha bimaculata'') and Caspian snowcock (''
Tetraogallus caspius''). Eagles here are the lesser spotted eagle (''
Aquila pomarina'') and the golden eagle (''
Aquila chrysaetos''). The ecoregion is also a breeding area for the little bustard (''
Tetrax tetrax'') and black woodpecker (''
Dryocopus martius'').
Threats and protected areas
Logging and agriculture have reduced the range of the forests in this ecoregion, dams have disrupted river flows, and
overgrazing has degraded habitat.
Protected areas with Elburz Range forest steppe in Iran include
Golestan National Park and the Ghorkhod Protected Area, both in
Golestan Province and totaling .
See also
*
Temperate coniferous forests
References
{{coord missing, Iran
Ecoregions of Iran
Ecoregions of Asia
Alborz (mountain range)
Montane forests
Forests of Azerbaijan
Forests of Iran
Geography of Ardabil province
Geography of Gilan province
Geography of Golestan province
Geography of Mazandaran province
*
Palearctic ecoregions
Temperate coniferous forests