Forests of Azerbaijan

Extensive territories are covered with wormwood ephemeral and halophytic vegetation in Absheron peninsula, Kobustan, Kura-Araxinskaya lowlands, and foothills and plains of Nakhchivan. There are different kinds of shrubs and bushes on salinized soils such as Salsola arbuscular, Kolidium, Salicornia, and Holocnemum strobelaceum. Tamarix and wild sorghum bushes spread along the lowlands.[4]

In the west region of Azerbaijan, of which lands are dry-plain and semi-dessert, there exist sparse forests. Those forests include Juniperus oblonga, Pinus eldarica, and pistachio. Since the groundwater is highly available in the Samur – Davachi lowlands, Alazani – Agritchay valley, and Karabakh plains, lowland forests in those areas are widespread. Oak, aspen, and poplar can be found in those forests.[4]

There are broadleaf forests on the slopes of the mountains in the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus, which include beech, white beech, ash, maple, eastern oak, and Iberian oak. The Talysh mountains have relic flora with broadleaf forests. Albizia jilibrissin, Zelkova, and Parrotia persika can be found in the forests of the Talysh mountains.[4]

Mountain forests of Gakh region are located in the southern side of the Greater Caucasus in west of Azerbaijan. There are forests territories from 350 to 2000 meters above sea level on the mountains. Caucasian Hornbeam (Carpinus caucasica) Georgian Oak (Quercus iberica) are dominant trees on the dry and warm areas of the mountains. Oriental Hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis) and Oriental Beech (Fagus orientalis) are widespread on the dry lands of the mountains.The timberline includes Trautvetter Maple (Acer trautvetteria) and Persian Oak (Quercus macranthera).In the mountain forests of Gakh, there can be found Tree Hazel (Corylus iberica), which is an endemic species, and only specific to the western territories of the country.[5]

Mountain forests in Oguz are situated in the eastern Greater Caucasus. From 650 to 1900 meters above sea level, forests areas are located. The trees that are specific to Oguz forests are Caucasian Oak (Quercus iberica), Persian Oak (Quercus macranthera), Caucasian Hornbeam (Carpinus caucasica), and Oriental Beech (Fagus orientalis).[5]

Scrublands and sparse forests are particular for the region that is located in the eastern Greater Caucasus. Juniper shrubs can be found in Altiaghaj. Their height reaches to 4 meters. There are other ligneous types of plants such as Viburnum lantana, Spirea crenata, and Berberis vulgaris. 1300 meters above sea level, hornbeam forests are distributed.[5]

Forests are situated in the Shamkirchay valley, which is the part of the northern side of Lesser Caucasus. They are mainly distributed along the riversides, where water resources are rich. There are different maple species, walnut, and hackberry in these forests. Christ's Thorn, pomegranate, and juniper also can be found on the slope areas. In Shamkir, there are different type of forests such as beech and beech-hornbeam forests, pear-maple forests, and Georgian Oak-hornbeam forests. Plum, hawthorn, apple, medlar, and pear can be found on scrublands.[5]

Hirkanian forests cover the territories of both Azerbaijan and Iran. The area of Hirkanian forests is approximately 0.1 million ha in Azerbaijan. Hirkan National Park was settled in the Talysh mountains, which covers about 38000 ha territory enclosing different zones of forest.[5]

The Caspian forests is a part of Hirkanian forest province. In these forests, there can be found some endemic trees such as Albizzia julibrissin, Parrotia persica, Quercus castaneifolia, and Gleditsia capsica. Peculiarity of this forest is that, there are various species of plants that include 211 species of shrub and semi-shrub, 90 species of tree, and approximately 1500 vascular plant species. Other than that, Chestnut-leaved Oak, Date Plum, Zelkovie, Caucasian Wing-nut, Velvet maple, Oriental Beech, and Perian Oak can be found in Hirkanian forest. There are also various evergreen species of trees exist such as Ilex spingera, Buxus hyrcana, and Danae racemose.[5]

Zuvand region is situated near Lerik district. The area is semi-desert, therefore, the vegetation in Zuvand is durable for drought. In the large areas of Zuvan forests, there is Frigana vegetation, which has three groups. First group includes Astragalus meyerii, aureus, and persicus. The second group is Acantholimon and the third group is Onobrychus. Quercus macrantera and Fagus orientalis are also specific to these forests.[5]

The responsibilities of the department include restoration and preservation of forests. There are five divisions within the department. The department has 33 enterprises that deal with rehabilitation and protection of forests, 2 enterprises of afforestation, and 6 forests nurseries. Forestry Scientific Research Institute is a unit of the departments and deals with forestry.[7]