Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests
| Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Ecology | |
| Biome | Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests |
| Borders | |
| Bird species | 296 |
| Mammal species | 98 |
| Geography | |
| Area | 55,100 km2 (21,300 sq mi) |
| Countries | Iran and Azerbaijan |
| Conservation | |
| Habitat loss | 51.007% |
| Protected | 10.30% |
The Caspian Hyrcanian Mixed Forests ecoregion, in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, is an area of lush lowland and montane forests covering about 55,000 square kilometres (21,000 sq mi) near the southern shores of the Caspian Sea of Iran and Azerbaijan. The forest is named after the ancient region of Hyrcania ("wolf land").
In Iran, this ecoregion includes the coast along the Caspian Sea and the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains. It covers parts of five provinces of Iran from east to west including: North Khorasan Province, Golestan Province (entirely southern and southwestern areas as well as parts of the eastern regions of the Gorgan plain, totaling an area of 421,373 hectares (1,041,240 acres)), Mazandaran Province, Gilan Province and Ardabil Province. The total wood production from these forests is estimated at 269,022 cubic metres (9,500,400 cu ft). Golestan National Park and Shastkolateh forest watershed are located in Golestan Province), Mazandaran Province (the total area of the Hyrcanian forest is estimated at 965,000 ha (2,380,000 acres). From these forests, 487,195 ha (1,203,890 acres) are used commercially, 184,000 ha (450,000 acres) 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 770,551 cubic metres (27,211,800 cu ft). The Kojoor, Dohezar and Sehezar forest watersheds are located in Mazandaran province), Gilan province (these forests are graded from 1 to 3 with an area of 107,894 ha (266,610 acres); 182,758 ha (451,600 acres) and 211,972 ha (523,790 acres), respectively. The commercial utilization is 184,202 m3 (6,505,000 cu ft) and the non-commercial utilization is 126,173 m3 (4,455,800 cu ft). Masooleh, Ghaleh Roodkhan and Astara forest watersheds are located in Gilan province) and Ardabil Province. At higher elevations to the south, the ecoregion grades into the Elburz Range forest steppe ecoregion.
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Wikipedia