TEHRAN – On the occasion of National Tree Planting Day, some half a million saplings endemic to Hyrcanian forests are being planted across the northern province of Mazandaran, IRNA reported on Friday.

The National Tree Planting Day is annually celebrated on the fifteenth day of the last month on the Iranian calendar month of Esfand, which usually corresponds with March 5. 

This day is the first day of Natural Resources Week, which is celebrated March 5 to 12.

Hyrcanian or Caspian ecological zone

The Hyrcanian ecological zone covers the green belt, the southern margin of the Caspian Sea, and the northern profile of the Alborz mountain range. The forested areas of the region stretch to 2.4 million hectares covering Astara in Gilan province to Glidaghi in Golestan province.

Due to soil fertility, temperature changes, and numerous rainfalls, this ecological area is rich in plant species, so that more than 80 species of broadleaf trees, 4 species of conifers, and 50 species of shrubs have been identified so far, most of which are beech, hornbeam, oak, maple, and alder.

The forests of this region, as an intact and healthy generation, form a belt of deciduous trees of the third geological period. These forests, which are called wet or Caspian forests, have high environmental and economic values, which are considered as world natural heritage.

Northern forests save 3.6bcm of water annually

The forests of northern Iran save 3.6 billion cubic meters of water annually, playing an important role in preserving the aquifers.

Apart from physical care of natural resources, biological protection of these resources is also on the agenda of the Forests, Rangelands, and Watershed Management Organization (FRWMO), Abbas-Ali Nobakht, deputy head of FRWMO, said in December 2020.

In this regard, development, rehabilitation, and enrichment operations in more than 232,000 hectares of rangeland, desert and forest lands of the country are underway, he added.

Referring to the northern forests of the country, especially Golestan province, as the reserves of the rarest plant species, Nobakht noted that the importance of these natural resources is so high that some European countries requested to receive seeds of plant species of northern Iran.

MG