Erebuni State Reserve (), is a nature reserve in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

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 ...

, designated in 1981. It is located around 8 km southeast of the capital's city-centre, in the

Erebuni District Erebuni () is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It is situated southeast of the city centre where Erebuni Fortress is located. The name of Yerevan itself is derived from ancient ''Erebuni''. Erebuni is bordered by Shen ...

. In 2015, the reserve was increased from 89 to 120 hectares, gaining 31 hectares in Voghjaberd. The reserve is mainly semi-deserted mountain-steppe and has an elevation of 1300–1450 meters above sea level. The reserve was formed to protect the wild types of

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

, including the ''

Triticum araraticum ''Triticum araraticum'' (Araratian wild emmer or Armenian wild emmer) is a wild tetraploid species of wheat. ''T. araraticum'' is one of the least studied wheat species in the world.E. D. Badaeva, R. L. Boguslavsky, N. S. Badaev and A. V. Zeleni ...

''. Many of the protected species are included in the ''Red Book of Armenia''. It also has many other protected and endemic plant species, including '' Iris elegantissima''. The reserve is also home to many types of

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

s, including '' Pelobates syriacus'',

marsh frog The marsh frog (''Pelophylax ridibundus'') is a species of water frog native to Europe and parts of western Asia. Description The marsh frog is the largest type of frog in most of its range, with males growing to a size around 100 mm (3.9 ...

and

European green toad The European green toad (''Bufotes viridis'') is a species of true toad found in steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, urban areas and other habitats in mainland Europe, ranging from far eastern France and Denmark to the Balkans, Western Ru ...

. Many types of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s are also found in the reserve.

References

{{Protected Areas of Armenia Protected areas of Armenia

See also

References