Khosro Sagheb Talebi Toktam Sajedi Mehdi Pourhashemi A
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Plant and Vegetation 10 Khosro Sagheb Talebi Toktam Sajedi Mehdi Pourhashemi Forests of Iran A Treasure from the Past, a Hope for the Future Forests of Iran PLANT AND VEGETATION Volume 10 Series Editor: M.J.A. Werger For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/7549 Khosro Sagheb Talebi • Toktam Sajedi Mehdi Pourhashemi Forests of Iran A Treasure from the Past, a Hope for the Future Khosro Sagheb Talebi Toktam Sajedi Forest Research Forest Sciences Research Institute of Forests University of British Columbia and Rangelands Vancouver , BC , Canada Tehran , Iran Mehdi Pourhashemi Forest Research Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands Tehran , Iran ISSN 1875-1318 ISSN 1875-1326 (electronic) ISBN 978-94-007-7370-7 ISBN 978-94-007-7371-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7371-4 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London Library of Congress Control Number: 2013951635 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifi cally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Pref ace Iran is a land that is world-wide famous for its long history, culture, rich literature, poesy, roses and gardens, which is a precious treasure from our ancestors. On the other hand, this land has a special position in the northern hemisphere because of its rich vegetation and plant diversity, in particular because of its role as a connecting bridge between Europe and Asia. Hence, forests of Iran are another treasure from our natural history in the hands of the present generation, but unfortunately the forests of Iran are not that well-known internationally. The idea of publishing this book is not very new and we have discussed it since a long time, but meeting Ms. Dr. Valeria Rinaudo at the 23rd International World Congress of IUFRO in Seoul, Korea 2010, and her encouragements and supports have brought it to reality. Further, her successor Ms. Elisabete Machado assisted us in several aspects. We are thankful to both of them. Forests, as the richest and complex terrestrial ecosystems, illustrate the past of a country not only from a natural science point of view, but also from historical and cultural aspects. We aimed to make foresters, botanists, ecologists and any other interested persons in other continents familiar with our internationally forgotten forests. After a brief introduction and describing the general ecological aspects of Iran, this book presents the forests of three main phytogeographical regions of the country. Some issues are given in general, while some others are presented in detail. Similarity of the Caspian forests in northern Iran to those of European, the forests of southern Iran to those of Africa and South Asia, and the forests of western, central and eastern Iran to those of Turkey and Asia Minor explains the relation of Iranian forests to the other forests of the world. The authors have tried to introduce the forests of Iran not only based on their personal knowledge, experiences and researches, but they were lucky to also use the experiences of other native forest researchers and scientists. We would like to v vi Preface express our acknowledgment to all who have helped us by their suggestions and discussions. Last but not least, we are thankful to the reviewers for improvement of this book, the kind team of Springer, and in particular Prof. Marinus Werger for his precious suggestions and comments. Tehran, Iran Khosro Sagheb-Talebi Vancouver, BC, Canada Toktam Sajedi Tehran, Iran Mehdi Pourhashemi March 2013 Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 1.1 Forests of West and Central Asia ....................................................... 3 1.2 Forests of Iran .................................................................................... 5 1.3 Phytogeography ................................................................................. 8 References ................................................................................................... 11 2 Euxino-Hyrcanian Province: Caspian and Arasbaran Regions ........... 15 2.1 Hyrcanian Zone .................................................................................. 17 2.1.1 Climate ................................................................................. 18 2.1.2 Geology and Soil .................................................................. 23 2.1.3 Vegetation and Forest Types ................................................ 25 2.1.4 Site Demands of Some Main Species .................................. 30 2.1.5 Oriental Beech ..................................................................... 31 2.1.6 Hornbeam ............................................................................. 32 2.1.7 Oak ....................................................................................... 33 2.1.8 Maple ................................................................................... 35 2.1.9 Ecogram of Hyrcanian Tree Species .................................... 46 2.1.10 Management ......................................................................... 47 2.1.11 Socio-economic Issues ......................................................... 53 2.2 Arasbaran Region ............................................................................... 54 2.2.1 Geology and Soil .................................................................. 55 2.2.2 Climate ................................................................................. 55 2.2.3 Vegetation ............................................................................ 56 References ................................................................................................... 60 3 Irano-Turanian Region ............................................................................. 67 3.1 Plant Geography ................................................................................. 69 3.2 Zagros Zone ....................................................................................... 70 3.2.1 Geographical Range ............................................................. 70 3.3 Palaeobotany ...................................................................................... 72 3.4 Climate ............................................................................................... 75 vii viii Contents 3.5 Geology and Soil .............................................................................. 78 3.6 Vegetation, Forest Formations and Types ........................................ 78 3.7 Site Demands of Some Main Trees .................................................. 82 3.7.1 Oaks ................................................................................... 82 3.7.2 Pistachio ............................................................................. 83 3.7.3 Montpellier Maple ............................................................. 84 3.7.4 Wild Pear ............................................................................ 84 3.7.5 Hawthorn ............................................................................ 86 3.8 Ecogram of Tree Species ................................................................. 86 3.9 Silvicultural Characteristics ............................................................. 87 3.10 Socio-economic Issues ..................................................................... 90 3.11 Irano-Turanian Zone ........................................................................ 98 3.11.1 Geographical Range ........................................................... 98 3.12 Climate ............................................................................................. 99 3.13 Geology and Soil .............................................................................. 100 3.14