Indigenous Plant Species from the Drylands of Iran, Distribution and Potential for Habitat Maintenance and Repair - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 347

Table 17.2 Key plant species of Hircanian zone (Heshmati 1999 )

Land use Habitat Altitude (m) Key plant species

Forest Shrub > 1,800 Juniperus sabina , J . communis , Acer spp.,

Berberis integessima , Amigdalus , spp.

Tree 800-1,800 Fagus orientalis , Carpinus betulus , Tilia

rubra , Taxus baccata , Ulmus glabra

Tree C Shrub < 800 Quercus castanefolia , Parrotia persica ,

Alnus glutinosa , Punica granatum ,
Paliurus spina - christi

>

Rangeland High Altitude 1,800 Onobrychis cornuta , Astragalus gossipinus ,

Agropyron spp., Br . Tomentellus

Middle 800-1,800 Dactylis glomerata , Poa bulbosa , Trifolium

pratense , Onobrychis spp.

Lowlands: Shrubs < 800 Tamarix ramosisima Halostachys caspica

Lowlands: Shrubs C Herbs < 800 Halocnemum strobilaceum , Salicornia

herbaceae

Lowlands: Grass C Shrubs < 800 Artemisia siberi , Poa bulbosa

halophytic vegetation north of the Caspian Sea (Bohn et al. 2000 ). Heshmati ( 1999 )
has published the key plant species of Hircanian (Caspian) Zone which is located in
northern part of Iran on the basis of land use, habitat and altitude (Table 17.2 ).

2.2 Zagross Zone

The Zagross ecological zone extends throughout the Zagros mountain in the west
and south - west of Iran, west Azerbaijan, Kordistan, Kermanshah, Lorestan, Fars,
Charmahal & Bakhtiyari, Yasouj and north of Khozistan. This region with an area
of about 4,749,000 ha has semi - arid climate and temperate winter. This mountain
range parallels the Persian Gulf and consists of numerous parallel ridges, with the
highest peaks exceeding 4,000 m and maintaining permanent snow cover. Many
large rivers, including the Karun, Dez, and Kharkeh, originate here, draining into
the Persian Gulf or the Caspian Sea. Scenic waterfalls, pools, and lakes add beauty
to the mountainous landscape.
The forest and steppe forest areas of the Zagros Mountain range have a semi-
arid temperate climate, with annual precipitation ranging from 400 m to 800 mm,
falling mostly in winter and spring. Winters are severe, with winter minima often
below 25 ı C, and extreme summer aridity also prevails (Anderson 1999 ;Freyand

Probst 1986 ).
As characterized by Zohary ( 1973 ), the Kurdo-Zagrosian steppe-forest consists
mainly of deciduous, broad-leaved trees or shrubs with a dense ground cover of
steppe vegetation. The dominant species are oak ( Quercus spp.), pistachio ( Pistacia
spp.) and a few others. In the northern reaches of the mountain range, lower
altitudes (400-500 m) host communities dominated by Astragalus spp., Salvia