Caucasus mixed forests
Caucasus mixed forests are a rich and biologically diverse ecosystem located in the Caucasus Mountains, which span parts of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, and Iran. This region is recognized as one of the planet's biodiversity hotspots, hosting a significant number of unique species found nowhere else on Earth. The forests are notable for their temperate rainforests, particularly the Colchic and Hyrcanian types, which support a variety of endemic flora and fauna. The climate across the Caucasus is highly variable, ranging from arid conditions to regions receiving over 157 inches of rainfall annually, which contributes to the region's ecological diversity.
Threats to the Caucasus mixed forests include deforestation, illegal logging, and the impacts of climate change, which have led to habitat degradation and biodiversity loss. Conservation efforts, including the Ecoregional Conservation Plan and the establishment of protected areas, aim to address these challenges by promoting sustainable management of resources and engaging local communities. Despite these initiatives, the balance between conservation needs and human demands for natural resources remains a critical concern. The region's rich cultural heritage, comprising various ethnic groups and languages, adds another layer of complexity to its ecological challenges and conservation efforts.
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Subject Terms
Caucasus mixed forests
- Category: Forest Biomes.
- Geographic Location: Eurasia.
- Summary: The forests of the Caucasus are biologically diverse; they are one of the planet's endangered hot spots, a refuge for many unique species.
Considered to be part of the geographic boundary between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, the Caucasus Mountains cover about 205,660 square miles (532,658 square kilometers) between the Black and Caspian Seas. The nations of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, and Iran all share portions of this mountainous region. The highest peak, Mount Elbrus, reaches 18,500 feet (5,640 meters). The region is glaciated in places, has expansive lowlands, woodlands to the north, deserts—and river deltas—in the east, temperate forests at middle elevations, and temperate rainforests in the humid western portion.
Climate and Species
The Caucasus functions as a biological crossroads for converging biogeographical provinces from central and northern Europe, central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. For a temperate area, the Caucasus has extraordinary numbers of endemic species (those found nowhere else on Earth) and is considered to be globally significant in this regard.
The climate is quite varied here, with nine of the world's eleven major climate types. Precipitation ranges from less than 6 inches (150 millimeters) in the east to more than 157 inches (4,000 millimeters) along coastlines in the west of the range. More than 6,400 plants have been identified in the region, 25 percent of which are native to the area. Rare in Europe, temperate rainforests (or humidity-dependent forests) occur on the eastern portion of the Black Sea catchment (as colchic forests) and the southern coastal area of the Caspian Sea (as the hyrcanian type). Climatic stability has resulted in these forests being among the oldest in western Eurasia.
Colchic forests in particular are small in spatial extent, covering about 7.4 million acres (three million hectares) of the Caucasus and supporting lowland hardwood forests, foggy gorges consisting of mixed broadleaf trees, sweet-chestnut, beech, dark coniferous, and oak woodlands. Notably, areas with limestone scree (accumulation of broken rock fragments found on mountain cliffs or valley shoulders) support extraordinary levels of unique plants and up to 80 percent of plant species are endemic. Relict species include rhododendrons, oaks, Persian ironwood, Caucasian salamanders, Caucasian vipers, and many others.
Hyrcanian or Caspian Sea rainforests, by contrast, cover nearly 4.9 million acres (two million hectares) and are found primarily along the southeastern reaches of the biome. Oak and mixed broadleaf forests, ironwood, and ravine forests with high levels of endemic plants characterize them. Hyrcanian forests also support relict species, including Caucasian zelkova, wing nut, date plum, and mountain cranberry.
Endemic animal taxa of the Caucasus Mixed Forest biome include birds (at least one of the 378 species), mammals (eighteen of 131 species), reptiles (twenty of eighty-six species), amphibians (three of seventeen species), and freshwater fishes (twelve of 127 species). Leopards (critically endangered), bears, wolves, bison, golden eagles (endangered), and rare Caucasian black grouse can be found.
A total of twenty-one wildlife species are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as globally threatened. Because of its overall conservation significance, Conservation International has ranked the region among the thirty-four most diverse and endangered hot spots (the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on Earth), and the World Wildlife Fund considers it to be a Global 200 ecoregion (area of global biological importance). The Caucasus also has a high diversity of ethnic groups, languages, and religions.
Human Impact
Lowland areas in the Caucasus mostly have been transformed by thousands of years of human settlement. Low economic status and high demand for natural resources, particularly firewood, as well as illegal logging and wildlife poaching, have transformed some of the region's densest forests in the twenty-first country; demand for natural resources has also degraded wetlands, woodlands, and deserts here. Logging and grazing have triggered the spread of invasive weeds and landslides in places. Nearly half of the land in the Ecoregion has been transformed by human activities, and only about 5 percent of the region is under a protective guideline. Among the protected areas are Azerbaijan’s Zakatala Reserve, Russia’s Caucasus Biosphere Reserve, and the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park in Georgia.
In the 2020s, the Caucasus already showed the effects of global warming and climate change, such as increasing temperatures, shrinking glaciers, sea level rise, a reduction in sea level rise, and decreasing snowfall. Extreme weather has caused flooding, wildfires, landslides, and coastal erosion. Damage caused by extreme weather in the three South Caucasus countries has claimed lives and caused millions of dollars in damage. The region's biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate.
The Ecoregional Conservation Plan (ECP) for the Caucasus, first published in 2006, was prepared by more than 140 experts from all six Caucasian countries. An updated version of the plan was published in 2012 to show the progress made by the implementation of the ECP. The ECP 2020 was the result of three years of collaboration by more than 185 experts. It introduced the concept of "conservation and bridging landscapes" and prioritized regions that are critically important from regional and global perspectives.
In addition, national action plans are underway, engaging local stakeholders in support of protected areas through sustainable financing, and the Caucasus Nature Fund was established in 2007 for long-term cofinancing of protected areas in the southern Caucasus, including eighteen areas across three continents. Other conservation financing mechanisms being tried include payment for ecosystem services (PES) coming from protected areas.
Like many other regions, the Caucasus Mixed Forests biome is at an important cultural-ecological crossroads in terms of whether expanding interest in conservation can keep pace with ongoing demand for natural resources, rising population, and climate disruptions.
Bibliography
"Caucasus Mixed Forests." Digital Observatory for Protected Areas (DOPA) Explorer, dopa-explorer.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ecoregion/80408. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
"Caucasus Mixed Forests." One Earth, www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/caucasus-mixed-forests. Accesse 2 Nov. 2024.
DellaSala, Dominick, editor. Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World: Ecology and Conservation. Island Press, 2011.
Gogua, Giorgi. "A Rare Look at a Perilous Journey in the Caucasus Mountains." National Geographic, 27 May 2021, www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/a-rare-look-at-a-perilous-journey-in-the-caucasus-mountains. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
Ministry of Nature Protection. Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Government of Armenia, 2000.
Nakhutsrishvili, George. The Vegetation of Georgia (South Caucasus). Springer, 2012.