Location of Hirkan National Park Hirkan Milli Parkı in Azerbaijan
Hirkan National Park (Azerbaijani: Hirkan Milli Parkı) — is a national park of Azerbaijan. It was established in an area in Lankaran Rayon and Astara Rayon administrative districts on February 9, 2004 on the basis of the former "Hirkan State Reserve" which it superseded, on a surface area of 29,760 hectares (297.6 km2). It was enlarged by presidential decree on April 23, 2008 from 29,760 hectares (297.6 km2) to 40,358 hectares (403.58 km2).[1]
The area of Hirkan National Park is 99% covered by forests in a primarily mountainous region, and is strictly protected. It constitutes one of the largest contiguous forests in Azerbaijan, which is not interrupted by any settlement or pasture.
The Hirkan National Park normally has very high humidity and precipitation throughout the year, averaging from 1,400 mm to 1,600 mm per year in the lowlands to 1,800 mm per year in the mountains. The maximum annual precipitation is the highest precipitation in Azerbaijan.
The Hirkan National Park has a humid subtropical climate in the lowlands, an oceanic climate in the middle elevations and a humid continental climate on the mountain peaks.
The variety of elevations, the abundant rainfall, and the presence of old growth forests give the park an unusual richness of biota.
Shrub species occurring in the area include the poet's laurel (Danae racemosa), Hyrcanian holly (Ilex hyrcana), greenbrier (Smilax excelsa), common ivy (Hedera helix), etc.
There are several endemic subspecies of birds, of which the Caspian tit (Poecile hyrcanus) and the Caucasus pheasant (Phasianus colchicus colchicus) subspecies of the common pheasant of the Talysh Mountains are common.
The Caucasian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) subspecies of the leopard, lives in the southern regions in Azerbaijan, primarily in the Talysh Mountains, Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan. Despite occasional sightings, it was not clear whether leopards had been extinct in Azerbaijan by the late 1990s until a species was caught on camera in March, 2007 in the Hirkan National Park.
Expansion and reforestation
The Hirkan National Park was established in 2004 on the basis of the Hirkan State Reserve which it superseded, on a surface area of 29,760 hectares (297.6 km2), it was enlarged in 2008 to 40,358 hectares (403.58 km2).
The plain part of the Hirkan National Park ("Moscow Forest") lies within the Lankaran Lowland. The Moscow Forest is the only preserved part of the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests which covered most of the lowland, that was later cleared for agriculture.[2]
However, there is a reforestation program of the lowland, on a designated non-forested lot which is the only non-cultivated land on the plain, in order to (partially because the Lankaran Lowland is far too valuable for its agricultural productivity for Azerbaijan, to be given up for reforestation) restore the ecology to its previous forested state. This lot will become the second forest in the lowland after the Moscow Forest and once it is reforested, it will become an additional part of the Hirkan National Park in the lowland.[3]
UNESCO Status Application
For the purpose of including the Hirkan National Park and the Caspian Hyrcanian (Girkan) forests respectively into UNESCO's World Heritage Site list of cultural and natural heritage and Biosphere Reserves Programme, documents substantiated from the scientific point of view have been prepared and introduced to the UNESCO Secretariat.[4]
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