Description:
About 17% of the total land area of the Caucasus is covered by forests, primarily found between altitudes of 500-2000m and growing on steep slopes. Most forests are broadleaf forests but a number of different types are found, including birch forests, oak forests, fir forests, alder forests and wing nuts forests. In Georgia the total area covered by forests is 40% while forest areas in the Northern Caucasus amount to 11.4%, in Azerbaijan to 14-15% and in Armenia to 10% only. In the Southern Caucasus most forests are found in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, while in the Northern Caucasus most forestland is found in North Ossetia. In the Turkish and Iranian part of the Caucasus dense forest cover occurs along the Black and Caspian Seas only.