Broadleaved forests

Dense, two-level Quercus spp. forests grow on the sandy soil of the Caspian plain. The upper story consists of Quercus castaneaefolia. The lower story is very dense and consists of Buxus sempervirens, Gleditschia caspica, Diospyros lotus, and Albizzia julibrissin. In the lower storey and on the ground, the fern Pteris arguta and the grasses Oplismenus undulatifolius and Brachiara eruciformis grow. Great quantities of moss grow on the ground and on the branches of the trees, giving this forest a special appearance.

At the foot of the northern slope of the Alborz mountains in Mazandaran and Gilan provinces where sites are drier the Quercus spp. trees grow with remnants of Carpinus betulus. Towards the northeast, the climate becomes drier and the main species associated with oak is Zelkova carpinifolia.

On the steep slopes of the Caspian the Parrotia persica and Carpinus betulus forest with an abundance of Hypericum androasaemum and Primula heterochroma represents one of the important Caspian forests. Currently it is subject to overexploitation.

Quercus persica forests cover about ^ 850 000 ha. They grow in pure stands, mainly on the southwestern watersheds of the Zagros. On the Persian Gulf they receive annual rainfall of about 400 to 500 mm. They are overgrazed; however, the nomadic Kashkai tribes who use the acorns to make their bread have preserved them.

The larger Quercus spp. trees reach a height of 12 to 15 m and can cover up to 50 percent of the ground.

The characteristic species of this forest are Quercus persica, Acer cinerascens, Lonicera persica, Pyrus glabra, Pistacia Khindjuk, Ephedra ciliata, Ranunculus ficaroides, Gundelia tournefortii, Geranium tuberosum, Anemone biflora, Lris, Carex stenophylla, Astragalus fasciculifolium, Anemone coronaria, Viola modesta, Fritellaria imperialis, Bongardia crisogonum and Helianthemum salicifolium.

In some cooler valleys Platanus orientalis, Fraxinus oxycarpa and Salix aegyptica are found.

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The beech forest of Fagus orientalis var. macrophylla is the most productive forest in Iran. Stratification in the canopy is well developed. The beech trees make a canopy 40 m in height and some trees attain 2 m diameter at breast height. There is a mid-level tree and shrub strata if there is adequate light penetrating the upper canopy. When the canopy is closed and the light intensity beneath it is less than 2 percent there is no herbaceous strata. The forest is well preserved.

On rich moist soil Fagus orientalis var. macrophylla grows in association with Epimedium pinnatum, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Sanicula europea, Iraea luteniana, Galium odoratum and Murcuriaris perennis. In this forest, some commercial trees are present at very low density including Acer glabra, Acer velutinum and Acer cappadocicum.

There are small areas of mangrove forests along the tidal zones of the sea of Oman. These have a total area of 15 to 20 thousand hectares of Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata. Originally there were about 200 000 hectares of Avicennia marina forests.

last updated: Monday, January 12, 2004