UDC: 630x 4(479.25) (479.29)

PROTECTION OF FOREST ECOSYSTEMS AND THE WAYS OF INCREASING THEIR EFFICIENCY IN DILIJAN NATIONAL PARK

Gh. Barakat State Agrarian University of Armenia

Keywords: forest resources, protection of forest ecosystems, communities, usage of forest resources, public awareness

hen first human beings appeared on the earth, earth and its accessible resources including Wforests were more than their needs. Man inhabited the forests from time immemorial and he depended on forest to obtain, food, clothes and to get a shelter in all stages of his life. The important feature of forest resources is their ability to regenerate. But with the continuous increase of The important feature population and the extremely unsustainable exploitation of natural resources earth cannot be of forest resources is their unlimited granter any more. The overuse has resulted in the degradation of natural systems and ability to regenerate. loss of components of biodiversity. Whereas yearly 16 million hectares of natural forests are But with the continuous destroyed, this led to the loss of more than 10% of species around the world in 2020 (The National increase of population Study of Biodiversity in Syria 1998). and the extremely Thus issues relating to deterioration of natural resources, necessity of protection of biological unsustainable exploitation ecosystems and the ways of increasing their efficiency aimed at ensuring sustainable use. Forestry of natural resources earth ecosystems are of crucial importance as we enter the new century. cannot be unlimited granter In this article we will study such an example of protected forest ecosystem as “Dilijan” National any more Park (NP) is. The current state of NP protection system and its expected improvements would be highlighted. Thus this study will concentrate on the following two issues: 1) Analysis of the current status of protection of forest ecosystems, having in mind the new management plan (2007-2011) of the NP, 2) Studying the relationship between the communities and the protection of forest ecosystems: the main problems of this relationship and how it is possible to solve these problems and increase the efficiency of forest ecosystems protection. The NP Establishment and Its Protection Objects. “Dilijan” National Park is situated in the Small Caucasus, in the northeast of mountainousArmenia. It extends across the slopes of Pambak, Areguni, Miapor, Ijevan and Halab mountains at altitudes ranging from 1070m to 2900m. It is well- known for its forest landscapes, medicinal mineral water springs, natural and historical- architectural monuments (Reserves of the USSR Caucasus Reserves 1990). NP was established as a state reserve in 1958 according to Decree N: 341 of the Board of Ministers ofArmenian SSR. The main reason to establish the reserve was the recognition of the need to protect the mezophile oak and beech forests, such relict species asTaxus baccata (yew) and Caucasian rhododendron dating from the tertiary era (Khanjyan 2004). According to the Decree N: 920 of the Government of Republic of Armenia (RA), dated May 11, 2002, Dilijan state reserve was transformed to “Dilijan” National Park state non-commercial organization. It is under the direct auspice of the Ministry of Nature Protection since 1999. The change of the status of Dilijan Reserve to Dilijan National Park was conditioned by several objective reasons: · Inevitability of commercial activity in the area, · The presence of numerous settlements including Dilijan with its mineral water resorts, · Yerevan-Ijevan railway line passing through its whole territory and others, which had 10 already created zoning typical for national parks (Khanjyan 2004). Natural Conditions of Dilijan NP. The climate in NP is relatively warm and humid. The average temperature does not exceed 24o C; the period of non-severe cold varies from 200 to 210 days. In most of years there is snow. The average annual precipitation varies from low-land mountainous to high-altitude zone: 537-850-860 mm. Large fluctuations of absolute heights, different steepness of slopes and very fragmented relief in the relatively small territory of the NP have given rise to an exclusive diversity of natural conditions in addition to a number of large and small canyons that cross across formulating specific microclimates in each of them (“Dilijan” NP Management Plan 2007). There are two main types of soil cover in the NP: forest brown soils and carbonate-humus soils. It is worth to mention that the territory of NP is rich in surface waters; the main artery of the park is the River Aghstev, with the length of 121 km. The park is also famous for its magnificent small lakes; the biggest among them is Parz Lake with 2ha surface. The other popular lake of the park is Goshalitch Tzrka – 1.53 ha – and other lakes. The NP territory is notable for its mineral springs, and the Bldan spring has economic significance for its famous “Dilijan” bottled water (“Dilijan” NP Management Plan, 2007). The Biological Diversity in the NP. The flora of the National Park is rich (see Table 1). According to the data published by N. Khanjyan in 1999 (Khanjyan 1999) the flora of the NP includes 902 species of vascular plants belonging to the following floristic families: Lycopodium (1 species), Horse-tails (1), Ferns (12), Gymnosperms (7), and Angiosperms (881). About 40 rare species of plants and 29 species of the flora are registered in the Red Data Book ofArmenia and 4 in the Red Data Book of the former USSR. According to the management plan of the NP (2007-2011) the flora in the territories of the National Park and its buffer zone includes 1200 species of vascular plants, of which 977 species grow in the territory of the National Park: 51species of them are tree species, 47 species of bushes, 696-perennial herbages, 176 annual and biannual plants, and 7 parasites. 5 of the mentioned species are endemics for Armenia. 27 species of the National Park flora are registered in the Red book of Armenia, 54 species of the NP flora are medicinal plants. Besides, 480 fungi species and subspecies have been found in the territory of NP and its buffer Dominant species zone, 176 of which are edible (“Dilijan” NP Management Plan 2007). and forest ecosystems depend on vertical zoning; thus southern slopes of mid-altitudes are mainly Table 1. The Flora of Dilijan National Park covered by Georgian oaks, Dendroflora whilst the opposite Flora of Dilijan NP Vascular Red Data of Endemic northern slopes according to References Plants Armenia species Trees Bushes Herbs are covered by eastern Khanjyan 1999 902 43 46 812 29 - beech forests

Management Plan 977 51 47 872 27 5

The fauna of the National Park is also rich. The non-vertebrates are so various: 69 species of Mollus and 1431 species of Arthropods have been found in the National Park. NP is presented by about 800 insect species (Khanjyan 2004). Vertebrates are also numerous, fish species have been found in the rivers flowing through the territory of Dilijan National Park, 5 of them are endemic fish species. 5 species of amphibians and 19 species of reptiles have been found in the territory of the park and its buffer zone. Birds are also abundant and are represented by 147 species, in addition to 49 species of mammals, 7 of the mentioned species are registered in the Red Book ofArmenia. The Current State of Forest Ecosystems. The prevailing vegetation type of Dilijan National Park is forest ecosystems. The area of the Park covers 28059.8 hectares, where forest lands occupy 26719.3 hectares or 95.2% of the total area. Non-forest lands cover 1340.7 hectares or 4.8%. Forest cover itself is 24679.1 hectares or 87.9% of the total area, non-forested lands – 2034.5 hectares or 7.3%. The dominating species are broad-leaved species like: beech (Fagus orientalis ) with the area of 7396 hectares (30%), oak (Quercus iberica and Quercus macranthera ) of seed origin covers 12391.7 hectares (50.2%). The woodlands ofCarpinus caucasica of seed origin occupy 2571.5 hectares (10.4% of forested area). CoppiceCarpinus woodlands cover 615.3 hectares (2.5%), and the woodlands of the remaining tree species altogether comprise 6.9% of the forested area. In addition to this many wild fruits, nuts and berries are growing in NP (see Table2). Woodlands are presented with prevalence of oak, beech, hornbeam or with combinations with different groupings. Dominant species and forest ecosystems depend on vertical zoning; thus southern slopes of mid-altitudes are mainly covered by Georgian oaks, whilst the opposite northern slopes are covered by eastern beech forests.Q.macranthera occurs on the higher elevations – 1500m above see level. Hornbeam is found in almost all types of forests. Besides, eastern hornbeam is found as a rule in lower forest zones (up to 1500m) in under forest canopy, and 11 Caucasian hornbeam – at elevations up to 2000m. The existence of conifer forests is typical for NP forest ecosystems, Pine (Pinus sosnovskyi ) can be found with dense woodlands in some places, typically on the slopes of Areguni and Pambak mountain ranges, especially in the serpentine of Dilijan Pass. It is also spread on slopes adjacent to and in the territory of Dilijan town. The small well-conserved yew forest located in the basin of the River Polad was designated as a reservation in 1958. The second smaller yew forest has been located on the upper stream of the River Aghstev in the gorge of Frolova Balka of the Pambak Mountains. Rare juniper woodlands are spread in the Getik valley, and also on northern arid slopes of the Ijevan mountain range. Table 2. Distribution of Forested Area according to the Altitude, Decline of the Slope and Forest Species

Characteristics Class Area (hectares) % of Total Area

Fagus orientalis 7396 30 Quercus iberica, Q.macrantira 12391.7 50.2 Forest Species Carpinus caucasica 2571.5 10.4 Remaining species – 9.4 900-1200 – About 5 1201-1500 5306 21.5 Altitude 1501-1700 5799.6 23.5 1701-2000 11130.3 45.1 Above 2001 1209.3 4.9 21-300 –50 Decline 0 Up to 20 – 34.9 of the Slope Above 310 – 15.1

The main objective The Classification of Protection Forest Ecosystems in the NP according to Functional is the preservation Zoning in Management Plan. According to Dilijan NP management plan, that was developed of mineral springs and their within WB Natural Resources Management and Poverty Alleviation Project forests ecosystems are environment. It lies in north presented and protected in the following three zones (see Table3): western part of Dilijan Forest Presence as Reserve Zone: four reserve zones are formulated in “Dilijan” National National Park and covers Park, the largest part of the areas of these reserves are forested with the total area of 2287 ha. an area of 552ha; 95% · “Aghavnavank Yew Grove” Reserve: The main objective of the reserve is conservation of of the area is forested unique relict species of yew (TaxusBaccata ). It is located in the eastern part of the National Park and occupies an area of 1192 ha and 95% of the area is forested; · “Khachardzan Oak Woodlands” Reserve: The main objective is preservation of oak woodlands. It lies in southeastern part of Dilijan National Park and covers an area of 615 ha and 98% of the area is forested; · “Haghartsin Beech Woodlands” Reserve: The main objective is conservation of beech woodlands. It lies in northern part of the National Park, and covers an area of 455 ha and 97% of the area is forested. · “Woodland of Natural Pine” Reserve: The main objective is conservation of natural pine woodlands. It is located in eastern part of Dilijan city, on the right slopes of the Aghstev river valley; covering an area of15 ha; 100% of the area is forested.

Table 3. The Classification of Protection Forest Ecosystems in the NP according to the Functional Zones

Functional Total Forest Forest Location Main Objective Zones Area, ha Area, % Area, ha Aghavnavank Yew Conservation of 1192 95 1132.4 Grove Taxus Baccata Khachardzan Oak Preservation of Oak 615 98 602.7 Reserve Woodlands Woodlands Zone Haghartsin Beech Conservation of Beech 455 97 441.35 Woodlands Woodlands Natural Pine Conservation of Natural 15 100 15 Woodland Pine Woodlands Preservation of mineral Dilijan Hydrological 552 95 524.4 Prohibited springs 12 Zone Preservation of drinking Florovoа Balka 383 98 375.34 water Economic The major part of the - 26359 73 19242.07 Zone NP

Forest Presence as Prohibited Zone: Two prohibited zones are allocated in «Dilijan» National Park, covering an area of 935 ha. · “Dilijan Hydrological” – The main objective is the preservation of mineral springs and their environment. It lies in north western part of Dilijan National Park and covers an area of 552ha; 95% of the area is forested. · “Florovа Balka”– The main objective is the preservation of one of the main springs of drinking water of Dilijan city and its environment. It lies in south western part of Dilijan National Park, covering an area of 383 ha; 98 % of the area is forested. Forest Presence as an Economic Zone: 73% of the total area of the economic zone of Dilijan National Park which occupies an area of 26359 ha is forested. Social-Economic Situation of Local Communities. According to the management plan report the social-economic situation of Communities in the national park is characterized by the following features: · More than the half of the population living in communities adjacent to Dilijan National Park is poor. The main business of population of communities is agriculture. But the quality of agricultural produce is too low and is mainly produced for self consumption. Sale of agricultural products is mainly carried out due to individual initiatives in the markets of nearby cities or in the their own home places; · In some communities the main source of income for some part of inhabitants is sale of mushrooms, nuts and rosehips which are collected from the forest, · About 10-12% of the population is employed by state entities; in addition some of the households in Dilijan city and Gosh are dealing with provision of dwellings and lodgings to people on vacations especially in summer time but the number of them does not exceed 1 The data analysis led or 2 percent; to that 63.75% of the people · Sewage system is entirely missing in communities adjacent to Dilijan National Park. About in the studied sample 50% of the population uses centralized water supply. The level of gas supply is also far have cattle and around from being satisfactory. About the half of communities adjacent to Dilijan National Park is 50% of those who has not provided with gas. cattle use the protection To study the on-ground status of the communities and the actual relationship of these forests in the NP communities with the NP and especially with forest ecosystems we prepared a questionnaire and to feed their animals visited four selected communities: Teghut,Haghartsin, Gosh and Hovk (see Table4).

Table 4. The Social-Economic Situation of the Studied Sample

Factors Classes Percentage Comments

< 30year 26.25 Age 30-60 year 50.00 Drop young group >60year 23.75 Male 47.5 Sex Female 52.5 Married 56.25 Single includes Marital Status Single 43.75 divorced 4members 32.5 5members 13.75 Family Size Average 4.5 6 members 18.75 The rest 35.00 School 60 Level of Education Vocational 15 University 25 Farmer 25.00 Employed 16.25 Farmer includes cattle Sources of Income Seasonal job 22.5 leaders Pension 36.25

The questionnaire included many points, first of all, the social-economic situation of the communities in the studied sample, then the usage of the forest resources by the communities, and the public awareness level of the importance of the protection of forest ecosystems. The results of analysis of the questionnaire presented in the table above (see Table4). 13 The second point discussed in the questionnaire is the relationship between the communities and the forest ecosystems and the usage of the forest resources in the NP,the data analysis shows the following. Grazing Most of the community leaders in the neighborhood of Dilijan NP prove that the territory of the National Park is often used for pastures, including the forested one. The data analysis led to that 63.75% of the people in the studied sample have cattle and around 50% of those who has cattle use the protection forests in the NP to feed their animals. The usage of forest resources in the NP to feed cattle includes leading the cattle into in the territory of the National Park, particularly in the forest which harms the forests and exposes it to danger. And these pastures expand within the forest territories and it is not secret that their areas increase at the expense of the nearby forest, in addition transit roads leading to these pastures also pass through the territory of the forest ecosystems under protection. One can imagine the actual danger if we know the number of cattle in these communities. According to the Management Plan of the NP (2007-2011), there are more than 2000 cattle and about 1100 small cattle only in Dilijan urban community, 500 heads of cattle and about 100 heads of small cattle are kept in Teghut community, about 700 heads of cattle and 120 heads of small cattle is bred in Haghartsin community, and about 500 heads of cattle and about 200 heads of small cattle in Gosh. Wood Usage Communities use timber as fuel wood and 83.75% of the people in the studied sample answered affirmatively to the question of whether they use timber as fuel wood. Wood is considered as the main source of energy for warming, heating, cooking and for other house purpose. Wood is not the main source but the only source of energy for all house purposes for most of them. But people fall into two groups: the first group collects timber themselves and the second one buys it from others, and in both cases sources of timber are the forests under protection in the NP. Most of the respondents proved that they use wood because of the lack of standby sources whereas Communities use timber electricity is too expensive to use as an energy source and the gas is not available for all. as fuel wood and 83.75% Illegal Logging of the people in the studied The communities till now cut trees from the forests under protection whereas 20% of the sample answered respondents answered in affirmatively to the question whether they cut trees themselves from the affirmatively NP; 52% of them know about people who does. And the purpose of cutting trees in both cases is for to the question sale as well as for house use. The third point discussed in the questionnaire is the level of public of whether they awareness about the importance of forest ecosystems under protection: the most important goal of use timber as fuel wood the questionnaire was the identification of public awareness level and the role of these communities in the future of the NP, particularly in the protection of forest ecosystems and increasing its efficiency, and the results showed that more than half of the people (66,25% of them) do not know about the change of the Reserve of Dilijan to a National Park and who knows does not know the essential reasons behind this change and about the threatened species within the NP,about 40% of the respondents do not have any idea relating to threatened or relict species and almost the same percentage proved that there is no threatened or relict species in the Park. But the positive indexes were that: most of the respondents (88.50 %) believe that it is important to protect the biodiversity in general, and particularly within the NP, 90% thinks that they are part of the NP future and they want to be of help and are ready to participate in increasing its efficiency in many ways. It is worth to mention that during the survey, many teachers expressed readiness to play essential role in increasing awareness about environmental issues and nature protection. This is an important idea as they are working in schools with youngsters who are the communities' future. The Conclusions and Recommendations. On the basis of the analyses of the current status of forest ecosystems protection in Dilijan NP of the results of the survey of local communities and field work impressions one can clearly say that forest ecosystems and their protection level were not improved and management effectiveness is still low during the eight years of the establishment of Dilijan as a National Park. There are many problems that should be taken into consideration: first of all, illegal logging; grazing in the protected forest areas; extension of pastures within the forest territories and direct or indirect activities of local communities. At the same time local communities are the key for the solution of these problems and the increase of the efficiency of forest ecosystems. Recreation and tourism cause harm to the forests in NP. to feed their cattle and obtain fuel wood in most cases for houses to produce heat or seldom for sale to getting the livelihood. The main reasons behind this are: low standard of living, lack of standby sources of energy for house purposes, lack of public awareness about the importance of protection of forest ecosystems and dropping the role of the communities off the management plan of the NP. The increase in the efficiency of the protection of forest ecosystems is to be carried out through the following: 14 ·Improvement of the standard of living and creation of new opportunities and jobs, and involvement of the communities in the management of the NP and giving them a chance to be helpful and to form an important part in the NP future. ·Search for standby sources of energy to decrease the use of wood as energy source by the communities and to reduce the pressure on the forests, as it was mentioned some communities are supplied with gas and this is a good indicator but the number of whose are not provided with gas is large and they should be provided as quickly as possible. Increase of the level of public awareness about the importance of the protection of forest ecosystems and input of sustainable development concept of the forests ecosystems. REFERENCES

Khanjyan, N.S. Specially Protected NatureAreas ofArmenia, Yerevan 2004. Khanjyan, N.S., Sharbatyan M.I. Flora of Dilijan Reserve. Yerevan 1999. Ministry of Nature Protection, Dilijan National Park Management Plan (2007-2011), Yerevan 2007. Reserves of the USSR Caucasus Reserves. Moscow, 1990. The National Study of Biodiversity in Syrian Arabic Republic, Damascus, Syria. Ministry of Environment, National Biodiversity Unit NBU and UNEP.1998.

ЗАЩИТА ЛЕСНЫХ ЭКОСИСТЕМ И ПУТИ УЛУЧШЕНИЯ ИХ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ В ДИЛИЖАНСКОМ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОМ ПАРКЕ

Г. Баракат В северных регионах Государственный аграрный университет Армении Армении лесопокрываемость В данной статье дается анализ текущего статуса защиты лесных экосистем в составляет 28,9%, Дилижанском Национальном парке (НП). На основе анализа природных условий, в южной части (Зангезур) результатов планирования управления НП в рамках проекта Всемирного банка на 2007-2011 – 13,2%, в центральной гг. и изучения особенностей местных общин были определены основные причины части (без Севанского деградации лесных экосистем (незаконные рубки, пастьба скота, сенокошение и т.п.), бассейна) – 2,0%, которые препятствуют эффективному управлению экосистемами в НП. в Севанском бассейне – 0,8%.

УДК 630x 181. 2(479.25)

ДИНАМИКА ПОЯСНОГО РАСПРЕДЕЛЕНИЯ ЛЕСНОЙ РАСТИТЕЛЬНОСТИ В СЕВЕРНОЙ АРМЕНИИ

Р.А. Григорян Государственная некоммерческая организация “Армлес”

Ключевые слова: лесные формации, поясность, необходимость их расчленения на типы леса. 15 рмения малолесная республика. Леса составляют лишь 9,8% лесопокрытой части Аплощади и распространены неравномерно. В северных регионах Армении лесопокрываемость составляет 28,9%, в южной части (Зангезур) – 13,2%, в центральной части (без Севанского бассейна) – 2,0%, в Севанском бассейне – 0,8%. А.Л. Тахтаджян в ботанико-географическом районировании Армении ее северную часть выделяет в Сомхетский округ Понто-гирканской провинции с очень слабым влиянием лесов колхидского типа, где коренные группировки – это лесная и альпийская растительность [5]. Некоторые сведения о лесопокрытиях описываемого района имеются также в других работах [6], где отмечены лишь общие черты лесной растительности.