Late Holocene Hyrcanian forest and environmental dynamics in the mid-elevated highland of the Alborz Mountains, northern Iran

Totmaj, Leila Homami; Alizadeh, Kammaledin; Giahchi, Panthea; Khatooni, Javad Darvishi; Behling, Hermann

doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2021.104507

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…950-1250 AD or 1000-700 cal yr BP (Ruddiman 2001). Several records document this period as the warmest of the late Holocene (Ramezani 2013;Haghani et al 2015;Homami Totmaj et al 2021).…”

Section: Period 1180-1010 Cal Yr Bp (778-940 Ad Subzone Khl-ai)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, frequent fires during the Iron Age and later intensive grazing documented long-term human activities around the mire. Based on the newly published study (Homami Totmaj et al 2021) at the midelevated Hyrcanian forest, humans influenced the area since the beginning of the record (ca. 1690 cal yr BP), though the strongest human impact dates back to ca.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Holocene paleoenvironmental changes inferred from multi-proxy studies of the Kholasht-Kouh Lake sediments in the Gilan mountains, northern Iran

2022

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Past vegetation and environmental changes and the role of climate as well as human activities are of major interest. The Hyrcanian region with a high number of endemic species has a poorly known paleoenvironmental history, especially the western region of northern Iran. This study aims to investigate a radiocarbon-dated sediment core of the Kholasht-Kouh Lake (KHL) for the recorded between ca. 510 and 1180 cal yr BP. KHL is located at 2000 m elevation and surrounded with steppe vegetation above the present-day forest line. Multi-proxy analyses including pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal, loss on ignition, and X-ray fluorescence were applied to reconstruct past environmental dynamics. The results indicate the dominance of herbaceous vegetation (mainly Poaceae, Artemisia, and Amaranthaceae) around the lake during the whole record, except for the period between 1010 and 740 cal yr BP. During this period of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (1000–700 cal yr BP) mixed forest increased, consisting mainly of Quercus, Fagus, Carpinus, and Juniperus. The K, Ti and Si elements (as indicators for increased in detrital inputs) suggest relatively humid condition between 1180 and 1010 cal yr BP. Furthermore, higher lake levels may indicate from low values of the Mn/Ti, Ca/Ti and Sr/Ti ratios. After 1010 until 740 cal yr BP the highest value of the Si/Fe ratio, suggested warmest period of the record. While the lowest value of the Si/Fe ratio, in line with the reduction of other elements and ratios, between 740 till 510 cal yr BP represented cold and dry period. Humans were present around the study area at least since beginning of the record, but did not played an important role impacting the vegetation.

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“…950-1250 AD or 1000-700 cal yr BP (Ruddiman 2001). Several records document this period as the warmest of the late Holocene (Ramezani 2013;Haghani et al 2015;Homami Totmaj et al 2021).…”

Section: Period 1180-1010 Cal Yr Bp (778-940 Ad Subzone Khl-ai)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Holocene paleoenvironmental changes inferred from multi-proxy studies of the Kholasht-Kouh Lake sediments in the Gilan mountains, northern Iran

2022

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“…It was based on pollen studies conducted in the 1970s that determined the presence of the forest on the shores of Lake Sevan in the middle Holocene. While the proportion of forest cover (35%) given by Sayadyan (2011) is highly debatable, its regression is a common feature documented in the Lesser Caucasus mountain ranges (Cromartie et al, 2020;Joannin et al, 2014a;Messager et al, 2013;Robles et al, 2022), the Alborz (Alinezhad et al, 2021;Homami Totmaj et al, 2021;Ramezani et al, 2021), the Zagros (Stevens et al, 2006(Stevens et al, , 2001 and Anatolia (Roberts et al, 2011;Wick et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First pollen record from the Late Holocene forest environment in the Lesser Caucasus

Joannin¹,

Capit²,

Ollivier

et al. 2022

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

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“…They are also under significant threat from growing urbanization and utilization pressures and since 2019 have been identified by UNESCO as a world heritage site. These forests are considered to be relics of ancient deciduous broadleaf temperate forest, stretching from SE central Europe to SW Asia since the Arcto-Tertiary era, that retreated during the Quaternary glaciations and then expanded again post-glaciation 6 . These forests have experienced minimal anthropogenic disturbance and typically include trees ranging to their maximum ecological age, large amounts of standing dead and coarse woody debris, and a stand structure that is both horizontally and vertically heterogeneous.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-scale topographic influence on the spatial distribution of tree species diameter in old-growth beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky.) forests, northern Iran

Mohammadi

Tobin

Jalali

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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The Hyrcanian forest in northern Iran is threatened by human use and encroachment and has suffered degradation in some areas. The forest has been declared a World Heritage Site and management in the region is shifting from timber production to conservation. There is considerable interest in developing a greater understanding of these diverse forest communities to inform forest management and multiple use plans to maintain the diversity and resilience of these forests. The Hyrcanian forest is characterized by a complex topography of catenas ranging up mountain slopes. Topographic gradients greatly influence microhabitat conditions which in turn impact tree distribution. To date there has been limited research on the impacts of this diverse topography on the spatial distribution of tree species and tree diameters in Hyrcanian forests. Such information is necessary to better understand the regional traits of tree diameters in these natural mixed temperate forests before forest management occurs. We examined the influence of the area’s catena topography on the spatial pattern of tree species and on species stand structure in terms of tree diameter distribution. To quantify these dynamics, we conducted a complete enumeration inventory of all trees with dbh >12 cm within a 7.947 ha study area that included three C-shaped (concave) and three V-shaped (convex) catenas. Geostatistical variogram analysis and Clark and Evans aggregation index were utilized to study the spatial distribution of tree diameters. Beech, alder, hornbeam, linden and Persian maple exhibited clustered patterns, and sour cherry, ash, and oak exhibited random patterns. Geostatistical analysis clearly revealed the substantial influence of catena topography on the diameter distributions of alder and linden, more subtle influence on the diameter distributions of beech, and a possible influence on Persian maple, providing valuable insight into stand structure over neighborhood-based indices alone. Alder and linden both exhibited strong spatial structure in their diameter distributions (56% and 86%, respectively) where their diameter was strongly correlated with trees within 108 m and 83 m, respectively, sharing more similar diameters to each other than trees beyond that distance. Beech, maple, and hornbeam exhibited very weak if any spatial structure over short distances. These findings can be used to support the alignment of forest management practices in managed Hyrcanian forests with goals of protecting and maintaining biodiversity and sustainable forest ecosystems, and to inform geospatial modeling of species diameter distributions in areas where a complete stem-map is not feasible.

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Late Holocene Hyrcanian forest and environmental dynamics in the mid-elevated highland of the Alborz Mountains, northern Iran

Cited by 4 publications

References 33 publications

Late Holocene paleoenvironmental changes inferred from multi-proxy studies of the Kholasht-Kouh Lake sediments in the Gilan mountains, northern Iran

Late Holocene paleoenvironmental changes inferred from multi-proxy studies of the Kholasht-Kouh Lake sediments in the Gilan mountains, northern Iran

First pollen record from the Late Holocene forest environment in the Lesser Caucasus

Fine-scale topographic influence on the spatial distribution of tree species diameter in old-growth beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky.) forests, northern Iran

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