Forests of Azerbaijan

Caucasus mixed forest in the Quba District

The forests of Azerbaijan have 150 endemic species of trees and bushes out of a total of 435 species of trees and bushes.[1]

The total forest area of Azerbaijan is 1,021,880 ha or 11.8% of the country's area.[1][2] The forest biomes are made up of temperate deciduous forests, temperate mixed deciduous and coniferous forests, temperate coniferous forests and riparian forests.[1] Specialists estimate that in the 8th-9th centuries the forest cover was around 30-35%, most of it is in mountainous areas.[1][3]

While as a whole, Azerbaijan is a country with modest forest cover, the forest cover is unevenly spread across the country. In the low-lying areas, the forest cover is very sparse, also due to the fact that the precipitation is too low for trees and forests to grow in most of these areas; whereas in many mountainous areas, the forest cover is much greater especially in wetter areas.[1]

49% of the country's forests are located in the Greater Caucasus Mountains, 34% in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, 15% in the Talysh Mountains-Lankaran Lowland region, 2% in the Kur-Araz Lowland, and 0.5% in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.[1]

The forests are classified into two major ecoregions in Azerbaijan: the Caucasus mixed forests of the Greater Caucasus Mountains and the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, and the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests of the Talysh Mountains-Lankaran Lowland region.[1]

Map showing forest distribution in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has many endemic tree and shrub species, relicts of the Tertiary period which were not affected by Pliocene and Pleistocene glaciations.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Forests of the Republic of Azerbaijan". Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan. (in English)
  2. ↑ Hasanov, Z.M.; Ibrahimov, Z.A.; Nabiyev, V.R. (2017-12-01). "Beech forests of Azerbaijan: The modern condition, age structure and regeneration". Annals of Agrarian Science. 15 (4): 453–457. doi:10.1016/j.aasci.2016.08.003. ISSN 1512-1887. (in English)
  3. ↑ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2018). GARDENS of BIODIVERSITY: Conservation of genetic resources and their use in traditional food production systems by small farmers of the Southern Caucasus. Food & Agriculture Org. ISBN 978-9251066133. (in English)

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