Ecosystems of Armenia

Abstract

The richness of biodiversity is associated with the richness and diversity of natural ecosystems. All the main ecosystems of the Caucasus (with the exception of the humid subtropics) are represented in Armenia – deserts and semideserts, steppes, meadow-steppes, forests and open forests, subalpine and alpine vegetation, and intrazonal ecosystems. All of them are habitats for species of flora and fauna of Armenia.

The richness of biodiversity is associated with the richness and diversity of natural ecosystems. All the main ecosystems of the Caucasus (with the exception of the humid subtropics) are represented in Armenia – deserts and semideserts, steppes, meadow-steppes, forests and open forests, subalpine and alpine vegetation, and intrazonal ecosystems. All of them are habitats for species of flora and fauna of Armenia.

Natural ecosystems and vegetation cover are extremely rapidly changing elements. Successional changes in vegetation caused by biogenic and abiogenic factors change both the general nature of vegetation and the distribution and ratio of habitats. In recent centuries, the anthropogenic factor has had a particularly serious impact on vegetation and ecosystems. It must be said that in the early stages of the development of human civilization, when primitive people were nomads and mainly gatherers, the effect of the anthropogenic factor on nature was minimal, on average at the level of the zoogenic factor. In the future, during the transition to a sedentary lifestyle, human impact increases, the transformation of natural ecosystems into agroecosystems, agrocoenoses, pastures, hayfields, and also into ecosystems of human settlements begins. Over time, this impact has intensified and intensified; in addition to the direct impact on natural ecosystems, an indirect one has also appeared – environmental pollution with greenhouse gases, waste, etc. All this leads to the change and destruction of existing ecosystems and the emergence of new ones. This also leads to the emergence of new habitats, which are largely synanthropic. All this causes, on the one hand, a reduction in populations, up to complete extinction, of local rare species of plants and animals; on the other hand, it facilitates the penetration and spread of alien, often invasive, and undesirable species. From the point of view of nature conservation and natural biodiversity, of course, the most important are natural, preferably unmodified habitats, where the most important elements of the country’s biodiversity, in particular endemic plants and animals, are represented. However, in the study of biodiversity in general and when working for purely utilitarian practical purposes, it is absolutely necessary to know about all the habitats that exist in the country.

In article 2 (“Use of terms”) of the Convention of Biodiversity, an ecosystem is defined as “a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit.” The concept of habitat is closely related but not identical to ecosystems. It is defined as “a location [area] in which a particular organism is able to conduct activities which contribute to survival and/or reproduction” (Stamps 2019). Thus, habitats are provided by ecosystems for individual species. In our work, we describe ecosystems of Armenia on the basis of habitat classification system EUNIS (Davies et al. 2004; Fayvush and Aleksanyan 2016).

In general, the scale selected for the EUNIS habitat classification is that occupied by small vertebrates, large invertebrates, and vascular plants. It is the same as that generally adopted by other European-scale typologies, for example, by the Palaearctic habitat classification (Devillers and Devillers-Terschuren 1996), and is comparable to the scale applied to the classification of vegetation in traditional phytosociology. All but the smallest EUNIS habitats occupy at least 100 m²; there is no upper limit to the scale of the largest. At the smaller scale, “microhabitats” (features generally occupying less than 1 m² that are important for some smaller invertebrates and lower plants) can be described. Examples are decaying wood, found in mature forests and required by invertebrates whose function is decomposition, or animal dung in grassland environments. At the larger scale, habitats can be grouped as “habitat complexes,” which are frequently occurring combinations or mosaics of individual habitat types, usually occupying at least 10 ha, which may be interdependent. Estuaries, combining tidal water, mud flats, saltmarshes, and other littoral habitats, are a good example.

The EUNIS habitat types are arranged in a hierarchy. Level 1 is the highest. There are 10 level 1 categories. Given that this classification is designed, first and foremost, for Europe, it shows the habitats that are not present in Armenia, and which we do not dwell on here. On the other hand, in Armenia, we present a number of ecosystems that are absent in Europe, and for which, we are forced to introduce new categories. Here, we give only a brief description of the ecosystems of Armenia; a more detailed description of them is given in a previously published monograph (Fayvush and Aleksanyan 2016). The classification is currently being reviewed, and some changes are being made to it. In general, the new version of the EUNIS classification can be found on the website https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eunis-habitat-classification-1.

All ecosystems of Armenia belong to terrestrial habitats, including inland surface waters. There are no (A) marine habitats and (B) coastal habitats in Armenia.

2.1 C. Inland Surface Waters

As described in EUNIS habitat classification, inland surface waters are non-coastal, aboveground, open, fresh, or brackish waterbodies (e.g., rivers, streams, lakes and pools, springs), including their littoral zones. Recently, it involves three categories, namely, “surface standing waters,” “surface running waters,” and “littoral zones of inland surface waterbodies” (EUNIS habitat classification 2022). Such classification includes constructed inland waterbodies of different salinity which support a seminatural plant and animal communities: intermittent and temporary waterbodies and banks and shores that are sufficiently frequently inundated to prevent the formation of closed terrestrial vegetation. The most up-to-date classification involves 236 habitat types of different levels throughout Europe. We distinguish between 131 inland surface water habitat types in Armenia. Among them, ten are missing from EUNIS classification.

2.1.1 C1. Surface Standing Waters

2.1.1.1 C1.1. Permanent Oligotrophic Lakes, Ponds, and Pools (Fig. 2.1)

These are low-nutrient-content waterbodies. The category includes oligotrophic waters of medium or high pH. Given the lack of sources of nutrient flux, such waterbodies are allocated mainly in the high-altitude locations where settlements are missing and grazing is very limited. If considering lakes higher than 2800 m a.s.l., there would be 313 such waterbodies in Armenia. Lakes Kari, Lessing, Tsaghkari, and Akna are among them.

Fig. 2.1

Oligotrophic lake in Armenia (C1.1)

2.1.1.2 C1.2. Permanent Mesotrophic Lakes, Ponds, and Pools (Fig. 2.2)

This class in general involves lakes and pools with waters fairly rich in nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and dissolved bases (pH often 6–7). Many unpolluted lowland lakes and ponds are naturally mesotrophic and support dense beds of macrophytes. It should be noted that beds of charophytes can occur in mesotrophic (C1.25) lakes too. From the geographic perspective, this is widely distributed habitat class among Armenian lowland and mid-altitude lakes. The most typical are the lakes in Lori Plato (all lakes in Lori Plato are important botanical areas and a part of the Emerald Network), Lake Sevan (currently, it is closer to mesotrophic status), and some middle-sized lakes in the mid-altitude mountain belt.

Fig. 2.2

Mesotrophic lake with Nymphaea alba (C1.24112)

2.1.1.3 C1.3. Permanent Eutrophic Lakes, Ponds, and Pools

Such lakes and pools are with mostly dirty grey to blue-green, more or less turbid, waters, particularly rich in nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and dissolved bases (pH usually >7). Moderately eutrophic waters can support dense beds of macrophytes, but these disappear when pollution causes nutrient levels to rise further. In Armenia, these habitats are distributed in the lowland (Fig. 2.3) – in Ararat valley, Shirak plato, Vayots Dzor region, Meghri, and Idjevan floristic regions (Parzlich, Gosh).

Fig. 2.3

Eutrophic lake in Armenia (C1.3)

2.1.1.4 C1.4. Permanent Dystrophic Lakes, Ponds, and Pools

This class involves lakes and pools with acidic waters of high humus content and often brown tinted (pH often 3–5). Such habitats are usually small artificial and semi-artificial ponds, pools, and reservoirs.

2.1.1.5 C1.6. Temporary Lakes, Ponds, and Pools

This class involves freshwater lakes, ponds, pools, or parts of such freshwater bodies that become periodically dry, with their associated animal and algal pelagic and benthic communities. Habitats of the dry phase are listed under C3.5, C3.6, and C3.7.

2.2 C2. Surface Running Waters

These are running waters, including springs, streams, and temporary watercourses. There are 215 rivers of more than 10 km in the territory of Armenia. Besides, here are plenty of springs and streams and during spring season also many temporary watercourses.

2.2.1 С2.1. Springs, Spring Brooks, and Geysers

These are springs and resurgences, together with animal and plant communities dependent on the peculiar microclimatic and hydrological situation created by them. It involves also streams outflowing from springs and geysers or nearby springs, where the temperature regime is the same with the springs and different from the environment, and excludes vegetated spring mires (D2.2, D4.1), where springs emerge through a (usually small) expanse of vegetation with little or no open water. Areas of this habitat type are small but frequently encountered in almost all regions of Armenia in all altitudes. The exclusion are some volcanic structures, where groundwater can’t reach the surface layer.

2.2.2 С2.2. Permanent Nontidal, Fast, Turbulent Watercourses

These are permanent watercourses with fast-flowing turbulent water and their associated animal and microscopic algal pelagic and benthic communities. Rivers, streams, brooks, rivulets, rills, torrents, waterfalls, cascades, and rapids are included. The bed is typically composed of rocks, stones, or gravel with only occasional sandy and silty patches. Features of the river bed, uncovered by low water or permanently emerging, such as gravel or rock islands and bars, are treated as the littoral zone (C3). Most of the rivers and streams in Armenia belong to this class. Usually, large rivers with prolonged watercourse in the upper course part also belong to this class. In the lower course part, the velocity decreases, and they are classified into С2.3 (Fig. 2.4).

Fig. 2.4

Permanent nontidal, fast, turbulent watercourses (C2.2 – Armenia, Debed River)

2.2.3 С2.3. Permanent Nontidal, Smooth-Flowing Watercourses

These are permanent watercourses with nonturbulent water and their associated animal and microscopic algal pelagic and benthic communities: slow-flowing rivers, streams, brooks, rivulets, and rills; and also fast-flowing rivers with laminar flow. The bed is typically composed of sand or mud. Features of the river bed, uncovered by low water or permanently emerging, such as sand or mud islands and bars, are treated as the littoral zone (C3). Concerning the mountain terrain of Armenia, such habitats are covering only small areas and can be encountered in the lower course parts of large rivers (Araks, Akhuryan, Arpa, Vorotan, Voghji, Aghstev, Debed, etc.) or in the middle or the upper course parts of the rivers that flow through mountain platos (Argichi, Akhuryan). Besides, some rivers where the velocity is artificially dropped due to dams (e.g., the Hrazdan River, the middle course part of the Vorotan River), are also involved in this class. Recently, many small- and medium-sized rivers where small hydropower plants are established (on the moment of 2019, there are 187 small HPPs) have been transformed into this class. Some major and medium-sized channels with natural bed and smooth flow also belongs to this class.

2.2.4 С2.5. Temporary Running Waters

These are watercourses that cease to flow for part of the year, leaving a dry bed or pools. This is a widely distributed class of habitats in the whole territory of Armenia but more typical for the Ararat valley, Shirak plato, Vayots Dzor, and Meghri regions. During spring season, these watercourses are fast-flowing and turbulent, leading to floods and mudflows, but in summer, the velocity drops, and till the mid-summer, they are drying out. However, after intense rainfalls, their flow could revive. Because soil moisture remains high, in the vegetation structure, hygrophytes or woody plants with deep root system are prevailing.

2.2.5 С2.6. Films of Water Flowing over Rocky Watercourse Margins

This class involves flowing water that is not contained within a channel but oozes over rocks. Such habitats are accompanying to waterfalls, where at the margins or on the rocks a film of water is flowing. These are very rare habitats in Armenia.

2.3 С3. Littoral Zone of Inland Surface Waterbodies

These are reedbeds and other water-fringing vegetation by lakes, rivers, and streams; exposed bottoms of dried up rivers and lakes; and rocks, gravel, sand, and mud beside or in the bed of rivers and lakes. This is a very widely distributed habitat class in Armenia, and dominant plant communities depend on the character of water reservoir.

2.3.1 С3.1. Species-Rich Helophyte Beds

These are the water-fringing stands of vegetation by lakes, rivers, and streams, with mixed species composition. These habitats are not so widely distributed, because most of the species of plants characteristic for this habitats are cenotically active and in most cases forming pure or near-pure thickets. But in this particular habitat class, floristic structure is rich, and community is multilayered and polydominant.

2.3.2 C3.2. Water-Fringing Reedbeds and Tall Helophytes Other Than Canes

These are water-fringing stands of tall vegetation by lakes (including brackish lakes), rivers, and brooks, usually species-poor and often dominated by one species. It includes stands of Carex spp., Equisetum fluviatile, Hippuris vulgaris, Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus spp., Sparganium spp., and Typha spp. It excludes terrestrialized reed and sedge beds which are not at the water’s edge (D5.1, D5.2). It is a very common habitat class in Armenia which encountered in all regions from the lower to the upper mountain belts.

2.3.3 С3.3. Water-Fringing Beds of Tall Canes

These are beds of tall canes lining permanent or temporary watercourses and water bodies. Included are beds of Arundo donax and Erianthus ravennae. They are very rare habitats in Armenia, known only in the banks of the Arax River.

2.3.4 С3.4. Species-Poor Beds of Low-Growing Water-Fringing or Amphibious Vegetation

This includes isoetids of the shores of oligotrophic lakes, Nasturtium by streams, Mediterranean dwarf Scirpus swards, and other species-poor but dissimilar types of vegetation. These habitats are not largely spread in Armenia. They are connected with oligo- and mesotrophic lakes, ditches, and channels. All habitats of this class are involved in the Resolution 4 of the Berne Convention.

2.3.5 C3.5. Periodically Inundated Shores with Pioneer and Ephemeral Vegetation

These are muddy, sandy, and gravelly shores and dried-up bottoms of lakes and rivers, with moderate cover of vascular plants. These include annuals (e.g., Bidens spp., Cyperus spp., Persicaria spp.), developing during the exposure phase as well as perennials tolerant of temporary total immersion.

2.3.6 С3.6. Unvegetated or Sparsely Vegetated Shores with Soft or Mobile Sediments

These are banks of sand, gravel, and mud in or by rivers, gravel by mountain streams, and mud bottoms of dried-up rivers and lakes, including saline lakes. They also involve exposed sand, gravel, and mud at the edge of lakes. More frequently such habitats can be found in the lower course part of the rivers and in the banks of lakes of lower and in some cases also middle mountain belt. Habitat types C3.62 (Unvegetated river gravel banks) are included in the Resolution 4 of the Berne Convention.

2.3.7 С3.7. Unvegetated or Sparsely Vegetated Shores with Nonmobile Substrates

These are periodically exposed rocks, pavements and blocks beside rivers and lakes, and in the draw-down zone of reservoirs. Rather widely distributed habitat type in Armenia but of small coverage.

2.3.8 С3.8. Inland Spray- and Steam-Dependent Habitats

These are spray-washed margins of pools below waterfalls and steamy margins of geysers and hot springs. Because waterfalls in Armenia are not large, such habitats are not occupying large areas too and typical only for permanent waterfalls. Geysers are missing in Armenia, and habitats related to wetted grounds, not because of evaporation or water dust, are formed around thermal springs. The most typical habitats are found near the largest waterfalls in Armenia – Shaki, Trchkan, etc.

2.4 D. Mires, Bogs, and Fens

These are wetlands, with the water table at or aboveground level for at least half of the year, dominated by herbaceous or ericoid vegetation. They include inland saltmarshes and excludes the water body and rock structure of springs and waterlogged habitats dominated by trees or large shrubs. Note that habitats that intimately combine waterlogged mires and vegetation rafts with pools of open water are considered as complexes.

Of the six categories of the second level according to the EUNIS classification, four are noted in Armenia. Ecosystems D1 (raised bogs, the source of water for which is only precipitation) and D3 (aapa, palsa, and polygonal bogs depending exclusively on glaciers) are absent in Armenia.

2.4.1 D2. Valley Mires, Poor Fens, and Transition Mires

These are weakly to strongly acid peatlands, flushes, and vegetated rafts formed in situations where they receive water from the surrounding landscape or are intermediate between land and water. Included are quaking bogs and vegetated noncalcareous springs. In general, peat habitats in Armenia are not very widespread; they are found mainly on the Lori plain, on the Pambak ridge, and in the basin of Lake Sevan (due to the draining of the lake, most of the peat bogs in this region turned out to be drained).

2.4.1.1 D2.1. Valley Mires

These are topogenous wetlands in which the peat-forming vegetation depends on water draining from the surrounding landscape. Most valley mires are habitat complexes including poor fens, transition mires, and pools. In Armenia, they are represented only by swamps of subcategory D2.11. Acid valley mires. The category includes peatlands and peat bogs of the middle and upper mountain belts (1400–2400 m a.s.l.). Presently, in Armenia, these habitats have been preserved only on the Lori plain, the previously existing habitats in the basin of Lake Sevan, after the descent of the lake waters, mostly dried up and the process of peat accumulation stopped.

2.4.1.2 D2.2. Poor Fens and Soft-Water Spring Mires

These are peatlands, flushes, and vegetated springs with moderately acid ground water, within valley mires or on hillsides. As in the rich fens, the water level is at or near the surface of the substratum, and peat formation depends on a permanently high water table. Poor-fen vegetation is typically dominated by small sedges (Carex canescens, C. transcaucasica), with pleurocarpous mosses (Calliergonella cuspidata, Calliergon sarmentosum, Calliergon stramineum, Drepanocladus exannulatus, Drepanocladus fluitans) or sphagna (Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum papillosum, Sphagnum recurvum agg., Sphagnum russowii, Sphagnum subsecundum agg.). Other characteristic vascular plants are Agrostis canina and Juncus filiformis. The habitats are inherent in the upper mountainous and subalpine belts, found in the Lori, Idjevan, Sevan, Aparan, and North Zangezur floristic regions.

2.4.1.3 D2.3. Transition Mires and Quaking Bogs

These are nonterrestrial waterlogged habitats with peat-forming vegetation and acidic groundwater or (for floating islands of vegetation) acidic lake waters. Characteristic species are Carex diandra, C. lasiocarpa, C. rostrata, and Menyanthes trifoliata. This category includes habitats that are found everywhere; the name itself says that these habitats are transitional between water and land, but they are still waterlogged habitats and are characterized by the presence of weak peat formation processes.

2.4.2 D4. Base-Rich Fens and Calcareous Spring Mires

These are peatlands, flushes, and vegetated springs with calcareous or eutrophic ground water, within river valleys, alluvial plains, or on hillsides. As in poor fens, the water level is at or near the surface of the substratum, and peat formation depends on a permanently high water table.

2.4.2.1 D4.1. Rich Fens, Including Eutrophic Tall-Herb Fens and Calcareous Flushes and Soaks

These are wetlands and spring-mires, seasonally or permanently waterlogged, with a soligenous or topogenous base-rich, often calcareous water supply. Peat formation, when it occurs, depends on a permanently high water table. Rich fens may be dominated by small or larger graminoids (Carex spp., Eleocharis spp., Juncus spp., Molinia caerulea, Phragmites australis, Schoenus spp., Sesleria spp.) or tall herbs (e.g., Eupatorium cannabinum, Mentha longifolia, Caltha polypetala). Fairly common ecosystems in Armenia are divided into a number of subcategories.

2.4.3 D5. Sedge and Reedbeds, Normally Without Free-Standing Water

These are sedge and reedbeds forming terrestrial mire habitats, not closely associated with open water. These are habitats common in Armenia, formed in areas with a high level of standing groundwater.

2.4.3.1 D5.1. Reedbeds Normally Without Free-Standing Water

These are terrestrialized stands of tall helophyte Poaceae, Schoenoplectus spp., Typha spp., horsetails, or forbs, usually species-poor and often dominated by one species, growing on waterlogged ground. They are classified according to dominant species which give them a distinctive appearance. They are very well represented in Armenia, found in all floristic regions (Fig. 2.5).

Fig. 2.5

Great reedmace beds (D5.131)

2.4.3.2 D5.2. Beds of Large Sedges Normally Without Free-Standing Water

These are terrestrialized stands of tall Carex and Cyperus, usually species-poor and often dominated by one species, growing on waterlogged ground. They are very well represented in Armenia. The category includes a number of subcategories. There is in this category one very interesting ecosystem – bladder sedge beds with high abundance of Lychnis flos-cuculi (D5.21421) – here, Carex vesicaria is a dominant, and very rare in Armenia, known only from one locality in the vicinity of Lermontovo village; Lychnis flos-cuculi is a co-dominant.

2.4.3.3 D5.3. Swamps and Marshes Dominated by Soft Rush or Other Large Rushes

These are stands of large Juncus spp. invading heavily grazed and trampled marshes or fens or (with Juncus effusus) eutrophicated poor fens and bogs, e.g., in the vicinity of bird colonies. Despite the fact that these ecosystems are widely distributed throughout Armenia, only two Juncus species, J. effusus (D5.31) and J. buffonius (D5.32), dominate in them.

2.4.4 D6. Inland Saline and Brackish Marshes and Reedbeds

These are saline wetlands, with closed or open vegetation, which are the non-coastal analogue of coastal saltmarshes and saline reedbeds.

2.4.4.1 D6.1. Inland Saltmarshes

These are salt meadows and swards of Salicornia and other Chenopodiaceae of inland salt basins of the nemoral zone. There are two subcategories in this category: interior Central European and Anatolian glasswort swards (D6.16), found on the Ararat valley, and in which, in addition to the dominant Salicornia europaea, very rare species Microcnemum coralloides, Salsola soda, Halocnemum strobilaceum, Halostachys caspica, etc., grow; and salt marshes with Puccinellia gigantea and P. sevangensis (D6.19).

2.4.4.2 D6.2. Inland Saline or Brackish Species-Poor Helophyte Beds Normally Without Free-Standing Water

These are terrestrialized stands of tall salt-tolerant helophytes, notably Phragmites australis. This category includes two subcategories: very common on Ararat valley dry halophile common reed – Phragmites australis – beds (D6.21) and unique salt marshes with Juncus acutus (D6.24), in which many very rare species included in the Red Data Book of plants of Armenia are growing here (Sonchus araraticus, Linum barsegianii, Thesium compressum, Sphaerophysa salsula, Microcnemum coralloides, Frankenia pulverulenta, etc.) (Fig. 2.6).

Fig. 2.6

Salt marshes with Juncus acutus (D6.24)

2.5 E. Grasslands and Lands Dominated by Forbs, Mosses, or Lichens

This is non-coastal land which is dry or only seasonally wet (with the water table at or aboveground level for less than half of the year) with greater than 30% vegetation cover. The vegetation is dominated by grasses and other nonwoody plants, including mosses, macrolichens, ferns, sedges, and herbs. This category includes semiarid steppes with scattered Artemisia scrub. It includes successional weedy vegetation and managed grasslands such as recreation fields and lawns.

2.5.1 Е1. Dry Grasslands

These are well-drained or dry lands dominated by grass or herbs, mostly not fertilized and with low productivity. Included are Artemisia steppes.

2.5.1.1 Е1.1. Inland Sand and Rock with Open Vegetation

This is an open, thermophile vegetation of sands or rock debris in the nemoral zone and, locally, in boreal or sub-Mediterranean lowland to montane areas of Europe. Included are open grasslands on strongly to slightly calcareous inland sands and vegetation formed mostly by annuals and succulents or semisucculents on decomposed rock surfaces of edges, ledges, or knolls, with calcareous or siliceous soils. In Armenia, this category is represented by only one subcategory Armenian flat rock debris swards (Е1.116) – habitats are very widely distributed in Armenia from lower to alpine belt but do not occupy very big areas. They are common in all floristic regions. Sedum spp., Saxifraga spp., Sempervivum transcaucasicum, Poa bulbosa, Erophila verna, Androsace maxima, and Androsace chamaejasme usually dominate in these communities.

2.5.1.2 Е1.2. Perennial Calcareous Grassland and Basic Steppes

These are perennial grasslands, often nutrient-poor and species-rich, on calcareous and other basic soils of the nemoral and steppe zones and of adjacent parts of the subboreal and sub-Mediterranean zones. Ecosystems of this category are very widely represented throughout Armenia; they are distinguished both by the diversity of dominants and the richness of the species composition. The classification is based on the dominant plant species. Subcategories Steppes with wild wheat species dominance (E1.2E22) – Unique habitats, Triticum boeoticum, T. araraticum and T. urartu are dominants in the communities; and Grass-forbs steppes (E1.2E24), in which endemic of Armenia Smyrniopsis armena is a dominant, should be highlighted (Fig. 2.7).

Fig. 2.7

Feather-grass steppes with Stipa pennata (Е1.2Е113)

2.5.1.3 E1.3. Mediterranean Xeric Grassland

These are meso- and thermo-Mediterranean xerophile, mostly open, short-grass perennial grasslands rich in therophytes: therophyte communities of oligotrophic soils on base-rich, often calcareous substrates. This category unites almost all ecosystems that are classified as semideserts in the Armenian geobotanical literature. They are very diverse ecosystems, widespread in Armenia, mainly in the lower mountain belt.

2.5.1.4 E1.4. Mediterranean Tall-Grass and Wormwood (Artemisia) Steppes

Traditionally, these habitats in Armenia are referred to as semideserts. The main edificator is usually Artemisia fragrans. According to EUNIS, ecosystems of this category are meso-, thermo-, and sometimes supra-Mediterranean formations of the Mediterranean basin, physiognomically dominated by tall grasses, between which may grow communities of annuals or sometimes chamaephytes. They include silicicolous as well as basiphile formations. In the semiarid regions between the Mediterranean and the deserts of western Asia, they dominate the landscape, forming a major steppe belt in which low scrub of Artemisia is prominent.

2.5.1.5 E1.8. Closed Mediterranean Dry Acid and Neutral Grassland

These are perennial grasslands on acid soils of the supra-Mediterranean zone, dominated by Nardus stricta. The only ecosystem E1.834 (Plant communities with Nardus stricta dominance) is represented in Armenia. The communities have rather poor floristic composition, and Plantago atrata, Merendera raddeana, Tripleurospermum caucasicum, Alchemilla sevangensis, Hieracium pilosella, and Polygala alpicola are more or less permanent in the composition. These are rather common habitats in Armenia on the altitudes 2000–3300 m a.s.l.

2.5.1.6 E1.A. Open Mediterranean Dry Acid and Neutral Grassland

It is a sandy open ground with vernal therophytes, not necessarily grasses, in the Mediterranean region. It includes open perennial grasslands and pastures on siliceous, usually skeletal, soils of the supra-Mediterranean zone. Only the subcategory Irano-Anatolian inland dunes (E1.A5), with ecosystem Psammophile communities with grasses and forbs (E1.A51) is known in Armenia. It is common in Ararat valley but rarer in lower mountain belt of other regions of Armenia. Achillea tenuifolia, Astragalus paradoxus, Anisantha tectorum, Oligochaeta divaricata, Euphorbia marschalliana, Aphanopleura trachysperma, Erophila verna, Drabopsis nuda, Androsace maxima, Roemeria hybrida, and Koelpinia linearis are common in the communities.

2.5.1.7 E1.C. Dry Mediterranean Lands with Unpalatable Non-vernal Herbaceous Vegetation

This includes dry land with less than 10% shrub cover and a large number of non-spring non-forage plants, including thorns (Carthamus, Carlina, Centaurea, Onopordum) and Ferula and Phlomis species. It is a very common habitat in Armenia, which is mainly the result of overgrazing of the lower and middle mountain belts pastures and is constantly expanding due to the ongoing degradation and destruction of ecosystems. Subcategories are distinguished here according to the main dominants of plant communities, which include most of the herbaceous expansive and invasive species of the flora of Armenia: Cirsium spp., Onopordum spp., Carthamus spp., Thistle Centaurea spp., Silybum marianum, Cousinia spp., Carduus spp., Echinops spp., Verbascum spp., as well as Giant hogweed (Heracleum spp.), Astragalus galegiformis, Bupleurum exaltatum, Astrodaucus orientalis, Conium maculatum, Achillea filipendulina, Conyza canadensis, Tanacetum vulgare, and Sambucus ebulus communities.

2.5.2 E2. Mesic Grasslands

These are lowland and montane mesotrophic and eutrophic pastures and hay meadows of the boreal, nemoral, warm, temperate, humid, and Mediterranean zones. They are generally more fertile than dry grasslands (E1) and include sports fields and agriculturally improved and reseeded pastures.

2.5.2.1 E2.1. Permanent Mesotrophic Pastures and Aftermath-Grazed Meadows

These are regularly grazed mesotrophic pastures of Europe, fertilized and on well-drained soils. Unlike Europe, in Armenia, they are typical for the middle and upper mountain belts, where meadow-steppe vegetation develops. Different ecosystems of meadow-steppe pastures are included in this category.

2.5.2.2 Е2.2. Low- and Medium-Altitude Hay Meadows

These are mesotrophic hay meadows of low altitudes of Europe, fertilized and well-drained, with Arrhenatherum elatius, Trisetum flavescens, Anthriscus sylvestris, Daucus carota, Knautia arvensis, Leucanthemum vulgare, Pimpinella saxifraga, and Geranium ruprechtii. In Armenia, they are practically absent and very rarely formed in the river valleys; in most cases, the meadows of the lower and middle mountain belt are secondary post-forest, formed as result of deforestation.

2.5.2.3 E2.3. Mountain Hay Meadows

These are often species-rich hay meadows of the montane and subalpine levels of higher mountains. They are widespread ecosystems in Armenia, including subalpine meadows of the Ponto-Caucasian hay meadows subcategory (E2.32).

2.5.2.4 E2.5. Meadows of the Steppe Zone

These are lowland and montane mesotrophic pastures and hay meadows of the steppe zone of eastern Europe and Anatolia. They are rare habitats in Armenia. The conditions of the steppe belt do not favor the development of meadow vegetation here; therefore, these habitats occasionally develop in slightly more humid but not swampy places near springs or streams and occupy small areas.

2.5.2.5 E2.6. Agriculturally Improved, Reseeded, and Heavily Fertilized Grassland, Including Sports Fields and Grass Lawns

This category includes land occupied by heavily fertilized or reseeded permanent grasslands, sometimes treated by selective herbicides, with very impoverished flora and fauna, used for grazing, soil protection, and stabilization, landscaping, or recreation. In addition to artificial and improved pastures, this category includes sports fields (stadiums, golf courses, etc.), park and small lawns, and “green roofs.”

2.5.2.6 Е2.7. Unmanaged Mesic Grassland

This is a mesic grassland that is not currently mown or used for pasture. At present, due to the reduction in the number of livestock, such habitats have become quite widespread; pastures remote from settlements have begun to include them. Due to the lack of grazing, the state of the cover is improving, and they are at the succession stage of transition to the usual steppe, meadow-steppe, or meadow habitats.

2.5.2.7 Е2.8. Trampled Mesophilous Grasslands with Annuals

These are herbage stands of low annuals in mesophilic, heavily uprooted habitats. Due to the economic crisis and the change in livestock management schemes, habitats of this type have become very common in the immediate vicinity of settlements and in the vicinity of livestock watering places. In the absence of the possibility of grazing on distant pastures or migration to summer pastures in the subalpine and alpine belts, pastures near settlements are subjected to intensive overgrazing; the same thing happens near watering places, and as a result, the herbage is knocked out, the floristic composition changes, and instead of perennial fodder grasses come annual weeds.

2.5.3 Е3 Seasonally Wet and Wet Grasslands

This category includes unimproved or lightly improved wet meadows and tall herb communities of the boreal, nemoral, warm-temperate humid, steppic, and Mediterranean zones.

2.5.3.1 Е3.3 . Sub-Mediterranean Humid Meadows

In Europe, these habitats usually include low-mountain, wet meadows rich in clovers (Trifolium spp.). In Armenia, this category of habitat is confined to high mountains – from the middle to subalpine belt.

2.5.3.2 E3.4. Moist or Wet Eutrophic and Mesotrophic Grassland

This category includes wet eutrophic and mesotrophic grasslands and flood meadows of the boreal and nemoral zones, dominated by grasses Poaceae or rushes Juncus spp. Besides tall rush pastures (Juncus effusus, J. inflexus) in this class, we include “Recently abandoned hay meadows,” where thorny, poisonous, inedible plant species begin to dominate in the grass stand (Polygonum bistorta, Filipendula ulmaria, F. vulgaris, Ranunculus spp., Alchemilla spp., Rumex spp., Anemone fasciculata, Veratrum album, Polygonum alpinum, and Leucanthemum vulgare.

2.5.3.3 Е3.5. Moist or Wet Oligotrophic Grassland

These are grasslands on wet, nutrient-poor, often peaty soils, of the boreal, nemoral, and steppe zones. In this category, only one subcategory of purple moor grass is represented in Armenia – Molinia – meadows and related communities. Ecosystems of this category are quite rare in Armenia and are found on the Lori plain and in the basin of the Lake Sevan. Molinia coerulea dominates here, and the vegetation includes Deschampsia cespitosa, Betonica officinalis, Trollius europaeus, Carex panicea, C. pallescens, C. tomentosa, Festuca rubra, and some species are common in Europe but rare in Armenia – Potentilla erecta, Iris sibirica, Galium boreale, and Parnassia palustris.

2.5.4 Е4. Alpine and Subalpine Grasslands

These are primary and secondary grass- or sedge-dominated formations of the alpine and subalpine belts.

2.5.4.1 Е4.1. Vegetated Snow Patch

These are vegetated areas that retain late-lying snow. Dominants may be mosses, liverworts, macrolichens, graminoids, ferns, and small herbs. In the highlands of Armenia, snow patches can persist for a long time; in some years, they persist throughout the summer. Here in places freed from melting snow, very characteristic open communities are usually formed, mainly from bulbous geophytes (Puschkinia scilloides, Gagea glacialis, G. caroli-kochii, G. anisanthos, Merendera raddeana, Scilla armena, Colchicum szovitsii, etc.) or representatives Brassicaceae and Caryophyllaceae families (Draba bruniifolia, D. araratica, Cerastium cerastoides, etc.), as well as Primula algida, Gentiana verna ssp. pontica, etc. Over time, as the vacated areas become overgrown, habitats of wet alpine carpets are formed.

2.5.4.2 Е4.3. Acid Alpine and Subalpine Grassland

Alpine and subalpine grasslands developed over crystalline rocks and other lime-deficient substrates or on decalcified soils of mountains. In Armenia, these habitats include most of the high mountains of ridges and massifs of volcanic origin. The category includes diverse subcategories and ecosystems of alpine meadows (grasses and sedges dominate) and carpets (forbs dominate) developing on volcanic substrates (Fig. 2.8).

Fig. 2.8

Alpine carpets: A, Campanula tridentata-dominated carpets (Е4.3А25); B, Ranunculus dissectus ssp. aragazi-dominated carpets (E4.3A29)

2.5.4.3 E4.4. Calcareous Alpine and Subalpine Grassland

This category includes alpine and subalpine grasslands of base-rich soils of the high mountains. They are not very widespread in Armenia, relatively well expressed in the Idjevan, Aparan, and Darelegis floristic regions. The category includes a variety of ecosystems that fall under the subcategory Caucasian alpine grassland. Representatives of herbs, grasses, and sedges dominate here. It should be taken into account that similar habitats in Armenia also develop on volcanic acidic substrates, where the same plant species often act as dominants in communities, but the floristic composition of ecosystems usually differs somewhat.

2.5.4.4 E4.5. Alpine and Subalpine Enriched Grassland

Presently, there are no artificially enriched (fertilized, with oversowing of seeds) pastures in Armenia. This category of pastures can be attributed only to those near the camps on summer pastures, naturally fertilized from a large number of animals, thanks to the nomadic system of animal husbandry. These pastures, on the one hand, are heavily overgrazed; on the other hand, they are oversaturated with organic fertilizers; as a result, the floristic composition is extremely depleted, and almost exclusively nitrophilous plant species grow. The most common communities are dominated by Rumex alpinus.

2.5.5 Е5. Woodland Fringes and Clearings and Tall Forbs Stands

This category includes stands of tall herbs or ferns, occurring on disused urban or agricultural land, by watercourses, at the edge of woods, or invading pastures. They are stands of shorter herbs forming a distinct zone (seam) at the edge of woods.

2.5.5.1 Е5.1. Anthropogenic Herb Stands

This category includes stands of herbs developing on abandoned urban or agricultural land, on land that has been reclaimed, on transport networks, or on land used for waste disposal. Generally, most of these habitats are ruderal, well represented in Armenia, and almost everywhere they stink naturally without additional human intervention.

2.5.5.2 Е5.2. Thermophile Woodland Fringes

Woodland edge (seam) vegetation of the nemoral, boreo-nemoral, and sub-Mediterranean zones, composed of warmth-requiring drought-resistant herbaceous perennials and shrubs, which form a belt between dry or mesophile grasslands and the shrubby forest mantle, on the sunny side, where the nutrient supply is limited, or, sometimes, pioneering the woodland colonization into the grasslands. These habitats are common in Armenia, found mainly in the lower mountain belt.

2.5.5.3 Е5.3. Bracken Fields

There are no typical habitats in Armenia, but one ecosystem is known in which the closely related species Pteridium tauricum dominates. Very rare ecosystem, it is known only on one very small site in the vicinity of N. Hand village in the South Zangezur floristic region.

2.5.5.4 Е5.4. Moist or Wet Tall-Herb and Fern Fringes and Meadows

This category includes tall-herb and fern vegetation of the nemoral and boreal zones, including stands of tall herbs on hills and mountains below the montane level. Tall herbs are often dominant along watercourses, in wet meadows and in shade at the edge of woodlands. These are rather common habitats in Armenia, found both in forest and non-forest areas, usually in the middle and, less often, lower mountain belts.

2.5.5.5 E5.5. Subalpine Moist or Wet Tall-Herb and Fern Stands

This category includes luxuriant tall-herb formations of deep, humid soils in the middle to alpine, but mostly subalpine, levels of the higher mountains. Subalpine tall grass is a very characteristic type of vegetation for the Caucasus, best represented in the Greater Caucasus. It is less common in Armenia; the habitats are best represented in Northern Armenia, usually on gentle slopes above the forest line, but some areas are also found in Zangezur. The herbage in these habitats is high, often up to 1.5–2 m in height; the soil cover is usually 100%, but the turfing is very weakly expressed – no more than 10%–15%. Usually Dactylis glomerata, Festuca gigantea, Lilium armenum, L. szovitsianum, Aconitum orientale, Cephalaria gigantea, Galega orientalis, Campanula latifolia, Delphinium flexuosum, Thalictrum minus, Linum hypericifolium, Astrantia maxima, A. trifida, etc. are dominants here.

2.5.6 E6. Inland Salt Steppes

This category includes saline land with dominant salt-tolerant grasses and herbs. According to the EUNIS classification, these habitats are called steppes, while in Armenia, they traditionally mostly refer to semideserts.

2.5.6.1 E6.2. Continental Inland Salt Steppes

This category includes salt steppes and their associated salt-tolerant herbaceous communities outside the Mediterranean zone. This category is represented by subcategories “salt steppes” and “solonchaks grasslands”. Ecosystems are very common in Ararat valley in lower mountain belt. They are close to salt marshes and differ by low level of underground water. A number of plant species which are very rare in Armenia are confined to these ecosystems (Iris musulmanica, Linum barsegianii, Thesium compressum, etc.). Ecosystem E6.251 was well represented in the Ararat valley (including Nakhichevan and Turkey), but its area has been significantly reduced due to desalinization and land cultivation activities. Simultaneously, this ecosystem is actually the only habitat for a rare invertebrate – the Armenian cochineal – for the conservation of which a special sanctuary has been organized in Armenia.

2.5.7 E7. Sparsely Wooded Grasslands

Grasslands with a wooded overstory that normally has less than 10% cover. In Armenia, these habitats are quite rare, since in most cases, the tree-shrub layer occupies more than 10% and usually such habitats belong to open or park forests of the subalpine belt. In fact, such habitats can be identified among subalpine grassland habitats, where individual trees grow above the upper border of the forest and up to the tree line. In addition, habitats with very rare trees are found on the plains (Ararat valley, Lori highland, Shirak and Ashots plateaus, Syunik highlands, and in the Lake Sevan basin), where these trees were planted artificially; in some cases, simply as individual trees; and in others, as a remnant of forest belts, where most of the trees died or were cut down.

2.6 F. Heathland, Scrub, and Tundra

This category includes non-coastal land which is dry or only seasonally inundated (with the water table at or aboveground level for less than half of the year) with greater than 30% vegetation cover. Heathland and scrub are defined as vegetation dominated by shrubs or dwarf shrubs of species that typically do not exceed 5 m maximum height. This category includes shrub orchards, vineyards, and hedges (which may have occasional tall trees). This also includes stands of climatically limited dwarf trees (krummholz) <3 m high, such as those occurring in extreme alpine conditions. It also includes Salix carrs.

2.6.1 F2. Arctic, Alpine, and Subalpine Scrub

This category includes scrub occurring north of or above the climatic tree limit but outside the permafrost zone. This includes scrub occurring close to but below the climatic tree limit, where trees are suppressed either by late-lying snow or by wind or repeated browsing.

2.6.1.1 F2.2. Evergreen Alpine and Subalpine Heath and Scrub

This category includes small, dwarf, or prostrate shrub formations of the alpine and subalpine zones of mountains, dominated by ericaceous species, dwarf junipers, brooms, or greenweeds. These are rather common habitats in Armenia, while habitats dominated by Ericaceae species are quite rare, but habitats with creeping junipers are very common, especially in Central and Southern Armenia. This category includes the subcategory Pontic alpenrose heaths, which is represented only by the ecosystem Rhododendron caucasicum heaths in Armenia. This ecosystem is distributed only in North Armenia; usually, it develops in the north slopes and occupies small areas in the subalpine belt. Vaccinium myrtillus, Daphne glomerata, Poa nemoralis, P. longifolia, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Nardus stricta, Geranium sylvaticum, Pedicularis condensata, Scabiosa caucasica, Aetheopappus pulcherrimus, Coeloglossum viride, Myosotis alpestris, and Actaea spicata are common species in these communities. This category also includes subcategories Southern Palaearctic mountain dwarf juniper scrub, represented by ecosystems dominated by Juniperus sabina and Juniperus hemisphaerica, as well as the subcategory alpine and subalpine meadows with Vaccinium myrtillus dominance (Fig. 2.9).

Fig. 2.9

Rhododendron caucasicum heaths in Armenia (F2.2261)

2.6.1.2 F2.3. Subalpine Deciduous Scrub

This category includes subalpine scrubs of Alnus, Betula, Salix, and Rosaceae (Amelanchier, Rubus, Sorbus, Spiraea), less than 5 m tall, often accompanied by tall herbs. In this category, we include steppe scrub, which is widespread in Armenia and well represented in Northern Armenia subalpine crook stem forest.

2.6.2 F3. Temperate and Mediterranean-Montane Scrub

These are shrub communities of nemoral affinities. They include deciduous and evergreen scrubs or brushes of the nemoral zone, and deciduous scrubs of the sub-Mediterranean and supra-Mediterranean zones.

2.6.2.1 F3.1. Temperate Thickets and Scrub

This category includes successional and plagioclimax scrub, mostly deciduous, of Atlantic, sub-Atlantic, or subcontinental affinities, characteristic of the nemoral zone, but also colonizing cool, moist, or disturbed stations of the Mediterranean evergreen forest zone. In general, this category is not typical for Armenia; we include only ecosystem Hippophae rhamnoides scrub in Sevan basin – artificial communities of Hippophae rhamnoides, which were created more than 60 years ago. Now, these communities became very dense, sometime impassable.

2.6.2.2 F3.2. Sub-Mediterranean Deciduous Thickets and Brushes

This category includes successional and plagioclimax scrub, mostly deciduous, of the sub-Mediterranean and supra-Mediterranean zones, but also colonizing cool, moist, or disturbed stations of the Mediterranean evergreen forest zone. This category includes two subcategories: Eastern Mediterranean deciduous thickets – edge ecosystem of oak forests (Quercus iberica) – and Ponto-Sarmatic deciduous thickets, so-called shibliak (Paliurus spina-christi thorn scrub) и Dew-berry dense scrub.

2.6.3 F5. Maquis, Arborescent Matorral, and Thermo-Mediterranean Brushes

This category includes evergreen sclerophyllous or lauriphyllous shrub vegetation, with a closed or nearly closed canopy structure, having nearly 100% cover of shrubs, with few annuals and some vernal geophytes; trees are nearly always present, some of which may be in shrub form. This includes pseudomaquis, in which the dominants are mixed deciduous and evergreen shrubs.

2.6.3.1 F5.1. Arborescent Matorral

This category includes successional and plagioclimax evergreen sclerophyllous or lauriphyllous vegetation of Mediterranean or warm-temperate humid affinities with a more or less dense, broken, or low arborescent cover and with a usually thick, high evergreen shrub stratum. This category in Armenia is only represented by the subcategory Juniper matorral, in which the dominants of individual ecosystems are Juniperus excelsa (=J. polycarpos) and Juniperus foetidissima.

2.6.3.2 F5.3. Pseudomaquis

This category includes mixed sclerophyllous evergreen and deciduous shrub thickets of the periphery of the range of Mediterranean sclerophyllous scrublands. In this category, we accept one subcategory, the Western Asian pseudomaquis. The habitats of Armenia, which we refer to this category, on the one hand, are physiognomically similar to the habitats indicated in its description; on the other hand, they differ greatly in their floristic composition. Here, we include arid open forests, widespread in Armenia, where edificators are most often Pistacia mutica, Amygdalus fenzliana, Celtis glabrata, C. caucasica, Cerasus mahaleb, Pyrus spp., Punica granatum, Rhamnus pallasii, etc.

2.6.4 F6. Garrigue

This category includes evergreen sclerophyllous or lauriphyllous shrub vegetation, with an open canopy structure and some bare ground, usually with many winter annuals and vernal geophytes. The typical garrigue, as a derivative of evergreen broad-leaved forests, is absent in Armenia; however, we refer some habitats to this category.

2.6.4.1 F6.8. Xero-halophile Scrubs

This category includes salt-tolerant shrub formations of dry ground in low-precipitation areas. In Armenia, these ecosystems include solonchaks with shrub vegetation. Ecosystems are very rare now because of irrigation and desalinization of soils in previous decades. They occupy small areas. Halocnemum strobilaceum, Halostachys belangeriana, Bienertia cycloptera, Suaeda microphylla, Halimione verrucifera, and Tamarix octandra are dominants in the communities (Fig. 2.10).

Fig. 2.10

Solonchaks on Ararat valley (F6.84)

2.6.5 F7. Spiny Mediterranean Heaths: Phrygana, Hedgehog-Heaths, and Related Coastal Cliff Vegetation

This category includes shrublands with dominant low spiny shrubs, widespread in Mediterranean and Anatolian regions with a summer-dry climate, occurring from sea level to high altitudes on dry mountains.

2.6.5.1 F7.3. East Mediterranean Phrygana

This category includes spiny shrublands, widespread at low and middle altitudes in the eastern Mediterranean and Anatolian regions. In Armenia, such habitats are very common and widespread, but they differ significantly from the typical habitats of the Eastern Mediterranean, so we call them Armenian phryganoids. Ecosystems in this category are dominated by Acantholimon species (A. karelinii, A. vedicum, A. fedorovii, A. festucaceum, A. manakyanii) and Camphorosma lessingii.

2.6.5.2 F7.4. Hedgehog-Heaths

This category includes primary cushion heaths of the high, dry mountains of the Mediterranean region and Anatolia, with low, cushion-forming, often spiny shrubs, in particular of genera Acantholimon, Astragalus, Erinacea, Vella, Bupleurum, Ptilotrichum, Genista, Echinospartum, and Anthyllis and various composites and labiates; secondary are zoogenic cushion heaths of the same regions, either downslope extensions of the high-altitude formations, and dominated by the same species. These habitats are very characteristic in Armenia, distributed from the middle mountainous to subalpine belt, and are found in all floristic regions; in the classical geobotanical literature of Armenia, they are known as tragacanths. In Armenia, one subcategory Central Anatolian hedgehog-heaths is presented, within which ecosystems are distinguished by the main dominants of the shrub layer: Astragalus microcephalus, A. lagurus, A. aureus, A. uraniolimneus, A. sangezuricus, Onobrychis cornuta, Gypsophila aretioides, Acantholimon bracteatum, A, festucaceum, A. takhtadjanii, Atraphaxis spinosa, Gundelia aragatsi, and G. armeniaca.

2.6.6 F9. Riverine and Fen Scrubs

This category includes riversides, lakesides, fens, and marshy floodplains dominated by woody vegetation less than 5 m high.

2.6.6.1 F9.1. Riverine Scrub

This category includes scrub of broad-leaved willows, e.g., Salix caprea, S. pentandroides, S. triandra, and S. wilhelmsiana (less than 5 m tall) beside rivers. In Armenia this includes riverside scrub of Hippophae rhamnoides and Myricaria germanica as well.

2.6.6.2 F9.2. Willow Carr and Fen Scrub

This category includes low woods and scrubs colonizing fens, marshy floodplains, and fringes of lakes and ponds, dominated by large- or medium-sized shrubby willows, generally Salix cinerea, S. pentandroides, and S. caucasica, alone or in association with Rhamnus cathartica or Betula pubescens, any of which may dominate the upper canopy.

2.6.6.3 F9.3. Southern Riparian Galleries and Thickets

This category includes tamarisk, oleander, chaste tree galleries and thickets, and similar low woody vegetation of permanent or temporary streams and wetlands of the thermo-Mediterranean zone. In Armenia, these ecosystems are found in the lower mountain belt, mainly on the Ararat plain, in the Darelegis, Meghri, and Idjevan floristic regions, with only Tamarix species participating in them. Ecosystems are rather common in Armenia but occupy small areas. Usually, they are developed near water streams drying in the summer season. Tamarix ramosissima, T. smyrnensis, and T. octandra are the most common dominants in these communities.

2.6.6.3.1 FA. Hedgerows

This category includes woody vegetation forming strips within a matrix of grassy or cultivated land or along roads, typically used for controlling livestock, marking boundaries, or providing shelter.

2.6.6.3.2 FB. Shrub Plantations

This category includes plantations of dwarf trees, shrubs, espaliers, or perennial woody climbers, mostly cultivated for fruit or flower production, either intended for permanent cover of woody plants when mature or else for wood or small tree production with a regular whole-plant harvesting regime. This subcategory includes shrub plantations for ornamental purposes or for fruit and vineyards.

2.7 G. Woodland, Forest, and Other Wooded Land

Woodland and recently cleared or burnt land where the dominant vegetation is, or was until very recently, trees with a canopy cover of at least 10%. Trees are defined as woody plants, typically single-stemmed, that can reach a height of 5 m at maturity unless stunted by poor climate or soil. This includes lines of trees, coppices, regularly tilled tree nurseries, and tree-crop plantations. This includes Alnus and Populus swamp woodland and riverine Salix woodland and excludes Corylus avellana scrub and Salix and Frangula carrs and stands of climatically limited dwarf trees (krummholz) < 3 m high, such as that occurring at the arctic or alpine tree limit.

2.7.1 G1. Broad-Leaved Deciduous Woodland

This category includes woodland, forest, and plantations dominated by summer-green non-coniferous trees that lose their leaves in the winter. This includes woodland with mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved trees, provided that the deciduous cover exceeds that of evergreens.

2.7.1.1 G1.1. Riparian and Gallery Woodland, with Dominant Alder, Birch, Poplar, or Willow

This category includes riparian woods of the boreal, boreo-nemoral, nemoral, and sub-Mediterranean and steppe zones, with one or few dominant species, typically Alnus, Betula, Populus, or Salix. This includes woods dominated by narrow-leaved willows Salix alba and Salix excelsa in all zones including the Mediterranean. This category is represented by subcategory Armenian willow galleries; these ecosystems are common in Armenia, and they are represented near all big rivers in lower and middle mountain belts. Salix alba, S. excelsa, S. caprea, S. armeno-rossica, S. triandra, and S. pseudomedemii usually are dominants in these communities.

2.7.1.2 G1.2. Mixed Riparian Floodplain and Gallery Woodland

This category includes mixed riparian forests, sometimes structurally complex and species-rich, of floodplains and of galleries beside slow- and fast-flowing rivers of the nemoral, boreo-nemoral, steppe, and sub-Mediterranean zones. This includes gallery woods with Acer, Fraxinus, Prunus, or Ulmus and floodplain woodland characterized by mixtures of Alnus, Fraxinus, Populus, Quercus, Ulmus, and Salix. This subcategory represents the ecosystem mixed oak-elm-ash woodland of great rivers. Diverse riverine stands in areas flooded only during major floods. Not very common habitats are relatively well represented in the Aparan, Idjevan, and South Zangezur floristic regions along the banks of the Marmarik, Debed, Aghstev, and Voghji rivers. In forest stands, Quercus iberica, Acer campestre, Fraxinus excelsior, and F. oxycarpa are represented with approximately equal abundance; Ulmus carpinifolia is less common; and Salix caprea is usually abundant closer to the river banks. In addition, we singled out the ecosystem as a separate subcategory Riparian woodland with invasive species, which is rather rare in Armenia. In some places in Ararat valley, there are communities with Acer negundo or Gleditsia triacanthos dominance.

2.7.1.3 G1.3. Mediterranean Riparian Woodland

This category includes alluvial forests and gallery woods of the Mediterranean region. Dominance may be of a single species, or few species or mixed with many species including Fraxinus, Liquidambar, Platanus, Populus, Salix, and Ulmus. This category includes one subcategory Irano-Anatolian mixed riverine forests (G1.37) with two ecosystems rare in Armenia, but very important in terms of biodiversity representation. Plane grove in Tsav river valley is the only ecosystem in the Caucasus where Platanus orientalis dominates in the woodland. It exists in the Tsav river valley in South Zangezur floristic region on altitude 650–750 m a.s.l. Juglans regia, Celtis caucasica, Ficus carica, Rubus armeniacus, Punica granatum, Malus orientalis, Crataegus stevenii, C. pentagyna, Teucrium hircanicum, Euonymus velutina, Swida iberica, and Ranunculus cicutarius grow here. And the second, also very rare ecosystem in Armenia Riverine forests with Populus euphratica dominance, it is more or less well represented in Megri floristic region. One small habitat is known in Yerevan floristic region in small gorge on Urts range (Fig. 2.11).

Fig. 2.11

Plane grove in Tsav river valley (G1.371)

2.7.1.4 G1.6. Beech Woodland

This category includes forests dominated by beech Fagus sylvatica in Western and Central Europe, and Fagus orientalis and other Fagus species in southeastern Europe and the Pontic region. The category is represented by a single subcategory Caucasian beech forests, in which numerous diverse ecosystems are grouped by habitat types (beech forests on dry sites, beech forests on mesic sites, beech forests on wet sites) (Fig. 2.12).

Fig. 2.12

Beech forests without forbs or grasses in soil cover (G1.6H25)

2.7.1.5 G1.7. Thermophilous Deciduous Woodland

This category of habitats is completely uncharacteristic for Armenia. We refer to it only intensively expanding habitats dominated by an invasive species – Ailantus altissima stands. Ailanthus was introduced into Armenia for use in urban greening, escaped from the culture, and forms monodominant communities in different conditions in lower and middle mountain belts. Ecosystems are very good represented in Lori, Idjevan, Yerevan, Darelegis, North and South Zangezur, and Megri floristic regions.

2.7.1.6 G1.9. Non-riverine Woodland with Birch, Aspen, or Rowan

Forests or woods, dominated by Betula, Populus tremula, or Sorbus aucuparia, are well represented in North Armenia. Three subcategories are represented here: Ponto-Caspian birch woods, whose ecosystems are represented along the upper forest line of Northern Armenia and are dominated by Betula litwinowii and B. pendula; Aspen groves of North Armenia are best represented in the Upper Akhuryan and Lori floristic regions; Rowan woodland is also commonly found along the upper forest line.

2.7.1.7 G1.A. Meso- and Eutrophic Oak, Hornbeam, Ash, Sycamore, Lime, Elm, and Related Woodland

This category includes woods, typically with mixed canopy composition, on rich and moderately rich soils. This includes woods dominated by Acer, Carpinus, Fraxinus, Quercus, Tilia, and Ulmus. This category includes the most important forest ecosystems of Armenia, in particular Armenian oak forests, ecosystems in which are grouped, first of all, by the dominant species of oak – Quercus iberica, Q. macranthera, or Q. araxina. This category also includes as subcategories hornbeam woodland (Carpinus betulus), lime woodland (Tilia caucasica, T. cordata), and Caucasian oak-hornbeam forests (Fig. 2.13).

Fig. 2.13

Oak forest with Quercus macranthera (G1.A1D2)

2.7.1.8 G1.C. Highly Artificial Broad-Leaved Deciduous Forestry Plantations

This category includes cultivated deciduous broad-leaved tree formations planted for the production of wood, composed of exotic species, of native species out of their natural range, or of native species planted in clearly unnatural stands, often as monocultures. In Armenia, such plantations are rare, some years ago, fast-growing poplars have been planted, and recently, work has begun on the establishment of Paulownia plantations.

2.7.1.9 G1.D. Fruit and Nut Tree Orchards

This category includes stands of trees cultivated for fruit or flower production, providing permanent tree cover once mature. These are very common ecosystems in Armenia, including walnut and orchards with tall trees.

2.7.2 G2. Broad-Leaved Evergreen Woodland

There are no natural stands of this category of habitats in Armenia. In recent years, attempts have been made to create olive plantations.

2.7.3 G3. Coniferous Woodland

This category includes woodland, forest, and plantations dominated by coniferous trees, mainly evergreen (Abies, Cedrus, Picea, Pinus, Taxus, Cupressaceae) but also deciduous Larix.

2.7.3.1 G3.4. Scots Pine Woodland South of the Taiga

This category includes forests of Pinus sylvestris ssp. sylvestris and Pinus sylvestris ssp. hamata of the nemoral and Mediterranean zones and of their transitions to the steppe zone. Included are, in particular, the forests of Scotland; of the alpine system, of the Mediterranean peninsulas; of the lowlands of Central Europe; of the East European Nemoral zone and its adjacent wooded steppes, formed by Pinus sylvestris ssp. Sylvestris; as well as those of Anatolia, of the Caucasus, and of Crimea, formed by Pinus sylvestris ssp. hamata. In Armenia, the only wild pine species is identified as Pinus kochiana, belonging to the Pinus sylvestris group, and therefore, the subcategory is represented only by the ecosystem Ponto-Caucasian Scots pine forests.

2.7.3.2 G3.9. Coniferous Woodland Dominated by Cupressaceae or Taxaceae

This category includes woods dominated by Cupressus sempervirens, Juniperus spp., or Taxus baccata of the nemoral and Mediterranean mountains and hills. In Armenia, only ecosystems dominated by Juniperus and Taxus baccata species are represented. Basically, we have ecosystems dominated by Juniperus excelsa (= J. polycarpos) and Juniperus foetidissima, as well as a rather rare ecosystem in Armenia Armenian yew groves. There are known three yew groves in Idjevan and one in South Zangezur floristic regions. In North Armenia, yew groves usually are placed on 2nd–3rd terraces along mountain rivers or on the slopes among beech forests, in South Armenia – on slopes among oak forest (Fig. 2.14).

Fig. 2.14

Anatolian Grecian (Juniperus excelsa) juniper woods (G3.935)

2.7.3.3 G3.F. Highly Artificial Coniferous Plantations

This category includes plantations of exotic conifers or of European conifers out of their natural range or of native species planted in clearly unnatural stands, typically as monocultures in situations where other species would naturally dominate. In Armenia, they are widely distributed, since pine species (both local and introduced) have been widely used and are used in afforestation and the creation of protective forest belts and stripes.

2.7.4 G4. Mixed Deciduous and Coniferous Woodland

This category includes forest and woodland of mixed broad-leaved deciduous or evergreen and coniferous trees of the nemoral, boreal, warm-temperate humid, and Mediterranean zones. They are mostly characteristic of the boreonemoral transition zone between taiga and temperate lowland deciduous forests and of the montane level of the major mountain ranges to the south. Neither coniferous nor broad-leaved species account for more than 75% of the crown cover.

2.7.4.1 G4.8. Mixed Non-riverine Deciduous and Coniferous Woodland

This category includes mixed non-riverine woodland without a significant Pinus component, comprising elements of Fagus, Betula, Populus tremula, or Sorbus aucuparia. In North Armenia, pine is quite often found in beech and oak forests, but very rarely its abundance increases to a significant one.

2.7.4.2 G4.9. Mixed Deciduous Woodland with Cupressaceae or Taxaceae

This category includes mixed non-riverine woodland without a significant Pinus component, comprising elements of meso- and eutrophic Quercus, Carpinus, Fraxinus, Acer, Tilia, Ulmus, and related woodland together with Cupressaceae or Taxaceae woodland. The category is represented by two subcategories. Mixed beech-yew forests are pretty usual ecosystems in North Armenia. Unlike yew groves, located mainly on river terraces, these habitats are confined to sloping beech forests and occupy small areas. Mixed open forests with Juniperus spp. and deciduous trees and shrubs are ecosystems which are rather common in Armenia; Juniperus excelsa is dominant in communities; and species from shibliak and arid deciduous open forests are included in the composition.

2.7.4.3 G4.F. Mixed Forestry Plantations

This category includes mixed plantations of coniferous and deciduous species where at least one constituent is exotic or outside its natural range, or if composed of native species, then planted in clearly unnatural stands. These are rare ecosystems in the conditions of Armenia, since almost everywhere created forest plantations were made in the form of monocultures. They are best represented in the basin of Lake Sevan, where during Soviet time, during the afforestation of soils freed from the waters of the lake, such plantations were often created. Currently, projects are being implemented to transform forest monocultures into more sustainable polydominant communities.

2.7.5 G5. Lines of Trees, Small Anthropogenic Woodlands, Recently Felled Woodland, Early-Stage Woodland and Coppice

This category includes stands of trees greater than 5 m in height or with the potential to achieve this height, either in more or less continuous narrow strips or in small (less than about 0.5 ha) plantations or small (less than about 0.5 ha) intensively managed woods. Woodland and coppice that is temporarily in a successional or non-woodland stage can be expected to develop into woodland in the future.

2.7.5.1 G5.1. Lines of Trees

This category includes more or less continuous lines of trees forming strips within a matrix of grassy or cultivated land or along roads, typically used for shelter or shading. These ecosystems are common in Armenia, created along most roads and railways as snow and wind protection plantations, as well as shelterbelts.

2.7.5.2 G5.2. Small Broad-Leaved Deciduous Anthropogenic Woodlands

This category includes plantations and small intensively managed woods of deciduous broad-leaved trees less than about 0.5 ha in area. These habitats are not often found in Armenia, since after planting for the purpose of afforestation or reforestation, maintenance is usually carried out only in the first years. In reality, these habitats exist in forest areas, where, after reforestation in small areas, care is taken by forestry employees.

2.7.5.3 G5.4. Small Coniferous Anthropogenic Woodlands

This category includes plantations and small intensively managed woods of coniferous trees less than about 0.5 ha in area. Like the previous subcategory, these ecosystems are not often found in Armenia, since after planting for the purpose of afforestation or reforestation, maintenance is usually carried out only in the first years.

2.7.5.4 G5.5. Small Mixed Broad-Leaved and Coniferous Anthropogenic Woodlands

This category includes plantations and small intensively managed woods less than about 0.5 ha in area, with mixed coniferous and broad-leaved trees. The proportion of conifers is in the range of 25–75%. Like the previous subcategory, ecosystems that are not often found in Armenia, since after planting for the purpose of afforestation or reforestation, maintenance is usually carried out only in the first years.

2.7.5.5 G5.6. Early-Stage Natural and Seminatural Woodlands and Regrowth

This category includes early stages of woodland regrowth or newly colonizing woodland composed predominantly of young individuals of high-forest species that are still less than 5 m in height. This includes young native woodland replanted with indigenous trees and naturally colonizing stands of non-native trees. Currently, in Armenia, these habitats include plantings in areas of afforestation of non-forest areas, carried out both within the framework of the state program, and in the course of implementation of international projects, as well as reforestation sites in areas with cut forests. Afforestation is usually carried out with native plant species.

2.7.5.6 G5.7. Coppice and early-stage plantations

This category includes woodland treated as coppice without standards. These are plantations with a dominant canopy of young trees that are still less than 5 m in height and plantations of dwarf trees or shrubs cultivated for wood or small-tree production, with a regular whole-plant harvesting regime, including short-rotation Salix beds for biomass production, Christmas tree crops, and tree nurseries.

2.7.5.7 G5.8. Recently Felled Areas

This category includes land that recently has supported deciduous or coniferous woodland after the trees have been clear-felled or burnt. This includes woodland with successional vegetation dominated by tall herbs, grasses, or shrubs, provided that these will soon be overtopped by a tree canopy. Currently, these habitats in Armenia do not occupy large areas. On the one hand, there have been no official passing cuttings in Armenia in recent decades; on the other hand, unsystematic cuttings carried out in the 1990s in the vicinity of settlements, which by their nature are close to passing cuttings, have now led to the formation of coppice stands almost everywhere, belonging to other categories of habitats. Forest fires are a fairly common occurrence in Armenia, and due to predicted climate change, their frequency may increase. In this regard, measures are being taken in Armenia to prevent these phenomena.

2.8 H. Inland Unvegetated and Sparsely Vegetated Habitats

This category includes non-coastal habitats with less than 30% vegetation cover (other than where the vegetation is chasmophytic or on scree and/or cliff) which are dry or only seasonally wet (with the water table at or aboveground level for less than half of the year). This includes subterranean nonmarine caves and passages including underground waters.

2.8.1 Н1. Terrestrial Underground Caves, Cave Systems, Passages, and Waterbodies

This category includes natural caves, cave systems, underground waters, and subterranean interstitial spaces with associated communities of animals, fungi, and algae. Armenia is a mountainous country; therefore, these habitats are well represented, although in most cases, the caves are not deep, especially on volcanic massifs. On the other hand, there are caves with an extensive network of underground galleries and halls, about 1 km long, which are located mainly in karst rocks and are best represented in Vayots Dzor region. This category is subdivided into a number of subcategories with their characteristic biodiversity: cave entrances, cave interiors, dark underground passages, underground standing waterbodies, and underground running waterbodies. Disused underground and tunnels are included in this category as separate subcategory.

2.8.2 Н2. Screes

This category includes accumulations of boulders, stones, rock fragments, pebbles, gravels, or finer material, of non-aeolian depositional origin, unvegetated, occupied by lichens or mosses, or colonized by sparse herbs or shrubs. Included are screes and scree slopes produced by slope processes, moraines, and drumlins originating from glacial deposition, sandar, eskers, and kames resulting from fluvio-glacial deposition, block slopes, block streams, and block fields constructed by periglacial depositional processes of downslope mass movement and ancient beach deposits constituted by former coastal constructional processes. High mountain, boreal, and Mediterranean unstable screes are colonized by highly specialized plant communities. They or their constituting species may also inhabit moraines and other depositional debris accumulations in the same areas. A very few communities form in lowland areas elsewhere.

2.8.2.1 Н2.3. Temperate-Montane Acid Siliceous Screes

This category includes siliceous screes of high altitudes and cool sites in mountain ranges of the nemoral zone, including the alps, pyrenees, and Caucasus. This category includes habitats of volcanic mountain ranges and massifs from the middle mountain to the alpine belt. Here, we distinguish subcategories according to the altitudinal location of screes: acid siliceous screes of middle mountain belt of Armenia and subalpine and alpine screes on volcanic substrates and at the same time, mobile screes in alpine and subalpine mountain belts and fixed screes in alpine and subalpine belts with their characteristic floristic composition differ (Fig. 2.15).

Fig. 2.15

Coluteocarpus vesicaria on mobile screes in subalpine mountain belt (H2.351)

2.8.2.2 H2.4. Temperate-Montane Calcareous and Ultrabasic Screes

This category includes calcareous and calcschist screes of high altitudes and cool sites in mountain ranges of the nemoral zone, including the alps, pyrenees, and Caucasus. In Armenia, they are characteristic of the central and western regions of the republic (Shirak, Yerevan, Darelegis floristic regions). The species composition is very rich and diverse; it includes Helichrysum graveolens, Minuartia sclerantha, Allium struzlianum, Tulipa biflora, T. julia, and many others.

2.8.2.3 Н2.5. Acid Siliceous Screes of Warm Exposures

Siliceous screes of warm exposures in mountain ranges of the nemoral zone, including the alps, pyrenees, and Caucasus, and of Mediterranean mountains, hills, and lowlands. Ecosystems are rather rare in Armenia, because in the lower mountain belt, steep slopes are almost absent, and screes are going to be overgrown. Habitats are presented in Yerevan, Darelegis, and Megri floristic regions. Amygdalus fenzliana, Cerasus incana, Atraphaxis spinosa, Rhamnus pallasii, Ephedra procera, Poa bulbosa, Bromus fibrosus, and Nepeta mussinii are common species in these ecosystems.

2.8.2.4 H2.6. Calcareous and Ultrabasic Screes of Warm Exposures

This category includes calcareous and calcschist screes of warm exposures in mountain ranges of the nemoral zone, including the alps, pyrenees, and caucasus, and of Mediterranean mountains, hills, and lowlands. Ecosystems are not very widely distributed in Armenia. They are common on not high ridges of Ararat valley and Darelegis floristic region. Salvia dracocephaloides, Poa bulbosa, Onosma sericea, Peganum harmala, Stachys inflata, Eremostachys laciniata, Eremopyrum orientale, Allium materculae, Scrophularia thesioides, Cleome ornithopodioides, Serratula coriacea, Michauxia laevigata, and Rumex scutatus are common species in these ecosystems.

2.8.3 H3. Inland Cliffs, Rock Pavements, and Outcrops

This category includes unvegetated, sparsely vegetated, and bryophyte- or lichen-vegetated cliffs, rock faces, and rock pavements, not presently adjacent to the sea, and not resulting from recent volcanic activity. Habitats are very typical for such a mountainous country as Armenia. They are found everywhere, while in the forest areas, these habitats are represented mainly by individual rocks or slopes in the gorges of mountain rivers; then, in other parts of the republic, large rock massifs are common. Rocky cliffs in the gorges and canyons of most mountain rivers are very characteristic.

2.8.3.1 H3.1. Acid Siliceous Inland Cliffs

This category includes dry noncalcareous inland cliffs. Specific plant associations colonize montane and Mediterranean cliffs. Most of the subdivisions refer to them. The habitats are well represented in Armenia; they are both rocky massifs and steep banks of canyons and gorges of mountain rivers in the zone of volcanic highlands and ridges. High-altitude and arctic siliceous cliffs stand out in this category, including the alpine rocks of the volcanic uplands of Armenia and the Araks mountain ranges. In the subcategory mountain siliceous cliffs, we single out rock ecosystems in forested and non-forested regions of Armenia. This category also includes disused siliceous quarries as a subcategory.

2.8.3.2 Н3.2. Basic and Ultrabasic Inland Cliffs

This category includes dry, calcareous inland cliffs. Specific plant associations colonize montane and Mediterranean cliffs. Most of the subdivisions refer to them. These habitats are common in Armenia, confined to nonvolcanic mountainous areas. Here, in the subcategory bare limestone inland cliffs, we single out the high-altitude and arctic limestone cliffs and mountain limestone cliff ecosystems. This category also includes disused chalk and limestone quarries. In addition, the same category includes bare inland basaltic and ultrabasic cliffs, which are well represented in Armenia, especially in the canyons of mountain rivers (Fig. 2.16).

Fig. 2.16

(a) Potentilla porphyrantha in alpine cliffs on volcanic plateaus of Central Armenia (H3.1B12). (b) Hypericum formosissimum in mountain limestone cliffs (H3.2E2)

2.8.3.3 Н3.4. Wet Inland Cliffs

This category includes very wet, dripping, overhanging, or vertical rocks of hills, mountains, and Mediterranean lowlands. Habitats are characteristic of Armenia, but occupying very small areas. The vegetation is represented mainly by moss species; there are also wet rocks on which Adiantum capillus-veneris and Lycopodium selago are growing.

2.8.3.4 Н3.5. Almost Bare Rock Pavements Including Limestone Pavements

This category includes more or less level surfaces of rock exposed by glacial erosion, by weathering processes, or by aeolian scouring, bare or colonized by mosses, algae, or lichens. The hard rock surface may be exposed or partially covered by erosional rock debris, in particular, those produced by frost weathering, heaving, thrusting, or cracking. Included are rock surfaces in karst landscapes, rock dome tops, whaleback, roche moutonné, flyggberg, and rock basin formations of periglacial areas, golec and felsenmeer formations, level surfaces of dykes, and old lava flows. Vascular plant communities may colonize cracks and weathered surfaces. In Armenia, these habitats are very rare; they are represented almost exclusively in the southern part of the Darelegis floristic region, where karst rocks are represented. They occupy small areas, since in most cases, they are largely eroded and overgrown with specific vegetation.

2.8.3.5 Н3.6. Weathered Rock and Outcrop Habitats

This category includes rocks and outcrops colonized by pioneer communities, especially of Crassulaceae. The substrates are mostly siliceous, occurring in the alpine or montane levels of higher mountains of the nemoral zone. These habitats are closely related to the previous category; on separate weathered stone pillars, the first stage of succession appears, and overgrowing begins with the introduction of species Sedum, Sempervivum, Parietaria и др.

2.8.4 Н4. Snow or Ice-Dominated Habitats

This category includes high mountain zones and high-latitude land masses occupied by glaciers or by perennial snow. Of all the diversity of habitats of this category, only small snow packs are found in Armenia, confined to the highest mountain ranges and ridges, most often located on the slopes of northern exposures. In Armenia, these are almost permanent snow patches, often persisting for several years, sometimes completely disappearing in the hottest years. They are typical only for the highest mountain ranges – Aragats, Geghama, Vardenis, Zangezur ridges, Ishkhanasar, Khustup Mountains, and some others.

2.8.5 Н5. Miscellaneous Inland Habitats with Very Sparse or No Vegetation

This category includes miscellaneous bare habitats, including glacial moraines, freeze-thaw features, inland sand dunes, burnt ground, and trampled areas.

2.8.5.1 Н5.3. Sparsely or Unvegetated Habitats on Mineral Substrates Not Resulting from Recent Ice Activity

This category includes accumulations of sand, boulders, stones, rock fragments, pebbles, or gravels, which are unvegetated, occupied by lichens or mosses, or colonized by sparse herbs or shrubs. Included are inland dunes, moraines, and drumlins originating from glacial deposition, sandar, eskers, and kames resulting from fluvio-glacial deposition, block slopes, block streams, and block fields constructed by periglacial depositional processes of downslope mass movement and ancient beach deposits constituted by former coastal constructional processes. In this category, we include the subcategories clay and silt with very sparse or no vegetation and stable sand with very sparse or no vegetation, which includes sand desert – the only ecosystem in Armenia with desert vegetation: Calligonum polygonoides is dominant here, and Achillea tenuifolia, Aristida plumosa, Astragalus paradoxus, Allium materculae, Ceratocarpus arenarius, Euphorbia marschalliana, Oligochaeta divaricata, Verbascum suvorovianum, Koelpinia linearis, and Bellevalia albana are common species – and sandy habitats including volcanic shlaks and sands, sandy patches in Ararat valley, and abandoned sandy quarries. This category also includes the subcategory inland non-lacustrine dunes, represented in Armenia by sandy hills and foothills in Ararat valley and artificial sandy hills. This category also includes the ecosystem Gypsaceous vegetation – Hammada, which is well represented in Yerevan floristic region, especially on Erah range. Acantholimon hohenackeri, A. karelinii, Acanthophyllum squarrosum, Acantholepis orientalis, Salsola nodulosa, S. cana, Anisantha tectorum, Teucrium polium, Stachys inflata, Astragalus holophyllus, Convolvulus commutatus, Iris elegantissima, and Biebersteinia multifida are common species here. In addition, we include in this category Armenian boulder fields – “chingils” – very common ecosystems are well represented on volcanic massives of Central and South Armenia. Doronicum oblongifolium, Hieracium cymosum, Tanacetum chiliophyllum, Solenanthus stamineus, Minuartia dianthifolia, Delphinium foetidum, and Alchemilla sericata are common species in these habitats.

2.8.5.2 H5.4. Dry Organic Substrates with Very Sparse or No Vegetation

This category includes unvegetated raw humus that is not the result of burning. It is characteristic, but not occupies large areas of habitat, usually formed near farms (dung dumps) or summer camps in the mountains, where manure storage areas are also allocated. At later stages, they begin to overgrow with various nitrophilic plant species (Urtica dioica, Symphytum asperum, Anchusa azurea, etc.).

2.8.5.3 H5.5. Burnt Areas with Very Sparse or No Vegetation

This category includes burnt ground that has not yet developed as a cover of vascular plants. In some regions of Armenia, the local population is convinced that mountain pastures must be burned in autumn in order to increase their productivity next year. As a result, habitats belonging to this category are formed. Currently, there is propaganda against this practice; as a result, the areas of these habitats are decreasing.

2.8.5.4 Н5.6. Trampled Areas

This category includes bare ground resulting from trampling by humans or by other vertebrates including birds. В категорию включаются Unsurfaced pathways (H5.61) and habitats trampled by domesticated animals (H5.62), which are common for villages vicinities, summer camps, watering places, etc.

2.9 I. Regularly or Recently Cultivated Agricultural, Horticultural, and Domestic Habitats

This category includes habitats maintained solely by frequent tilling or arising from recent abandonment of previously tilled ground such as arable land and gardens. This includes tilled ground subject to inundation and excludes shrub orchards, tree nurseries, and tree-crop plantations.

2.9.1 I1. Arable Land and Market Gardens

This category includes croplands planted for annually or regularly harvested crops other than those that carry trees or shrubs. They include fields of cereals, of sunflowers and other oil seed plants, and of beets, legumes, fodder, potatoes, and other forbs. Croplands comprise intensively cultivated fields as well as traditionally and extensively cultivated crops with little or no chemical fertilization or pesticide application. Faunal and floral quality and diversity depend on the intensity of agricultural use and on the presence of borders of natural vegetation between fields.

2.9.1.1 I1.1. Intensive Unmixed Crops

This category includes cereal and other crops grown on large, unbroken surfaces in open-field landscapes. These habitats are quite common in Armenia, usually located on mountain plateaus. The main crops grown in Armenia are wheat, barley, potatoes, corn; tobacco and Jerusalem artichoke are also grown in small areas. This category is subcategorized by field size: large-scale intensive unmixed crops, >25 ha; medium-scale intensive unmixed crops, 1–25 ha; and small-scale intensive unmixed crops, <1 ha (Fig. 2.17).

Fig. 2.17

Wheat field on Ararat valley (large-scale intensive unmixed crops – I1.11)

2.9.1.2 I1.2. Mixed Crops of Market Gardens and Horticulture

This category includes intensive cultivation of vegetables, flowers, and small fruits, usually in alternating strips of different crops. These ecosystems are very common in Armenia, occupying large areas. This category also includes large-scale market gardens and horticulture and small-scale market gardens and horticulture, including allotments.

2.9.1.3 I1.3. Arable Land with Unmixed Crops Grown by Low-Intensity Agricultural Methods

This category includes traditionally and extensively cultivated crops, in particular, of cereals, harboring a rich and threatened flora of field weeds including Agrostemma githago, Centaurea depressa, Adonis aestivalis, A. flammea, Consolida orientalis, Papaver fugax, etc. These habitats are very common in Armenia, as at present, due to the high cost of fertilizers and pesticides, most crops are cultivated extensively.

2.9.1.4 I1.5. Bare Tilled, Fallow, or Recently Abandoned Arable Land

This category includes fields abandoned or left to rest and other interstitial spaces on disturbed ground. This includes set-aside or abandoned arable land with forbs planted for purposes of soil protection, stabilization, fertilization, or reclamation. Abandoned fields are colonized by numerous pioneering, introduced, or nitrophilous plants. They sometimes provide habitats that can be used by animals in open spaces.

2.9.2 I2. Cultivated Areas of Gardens and Parks

This category includes cultivated areas of small-scale and large-scale gardens, including kitchen gardens, ornamental gardens, and small parks in city squares.

2.9.2.1 I2.1. Large-Scale Ornamental Garden Areas

This category includes cultivated areas of large-scale recreational gardens. The vegetation, usually composed mainly of introduced species or cultivars, can nevertheless include many native plants and supports a varied fauna when not intensively managed. This category of habitat is typical for all large- and medium-sized cities of Armenia, where, when planning, territories for city parks were necessarily allocated. There are subcategories within a category: park flower beds, arbors, and shrubbery and botanical gardens including dendroparks.

2.9.2.2 I2.2. Small-Scale Ornamental and Domestic Garden Areas

This category includes cultivated areas of ornamental gardens and small parks beside houses or in city squares. This includes kitchen gardens in the immediate vicinity of dwelling places.

2.9.2.3 I2.3. Recently Abandoned Garden Areas

Abandoned flowerbeds and vegetable plots in gardens are rapidly colonized by abundant weeds. These habitats regularly appear in Armenia, when city parks and squares are no longer paid attention to by city services. At present, these habitats are not numerous in Yerevan and are usually found in inconspicuous places.

2.10 J. Constructed, Industrial, and Other Artificial Habitats

This category includes primarily human settlements, buildings, industrial developments, the transport network, and waste dump sites. This includes highly artificial saline and nonsaline waters with wholly constructed beds or heavily contaminated water (such as industrial lagoons and saltworks) which are virtually devoid of plant and animal life.

2.10.1 J1. Buildings of Cities, Towns, and Villages

This category includes buildings in built-up areas where buildings, roads, and other impermeable surfaces occupy at least 30% of the land. This includes agricultural building complexes where the built area exceeds 1 ha.

2.10.1.1 J1.1. Residential Buildings of City and Town Centers

This category includes buildings in urban areas where buildings, roads, and other impermeable surfaces occupy at least 80% of the land, and with continuous or nearly continuous buildings, which may be houses, flats, or buildings occupied for only part of the day.

2.10.1.2 J1.2. Residential Buildings of Villages and Urban Peripheries

This category includes residential buildings in suburbs and villages where buildings and other impermeable surfaces occupy between 30% and 80% of the land area.

2.10.1.3 J1.3. Urban and Suburban Public Buildings

This category includes buildings with public access, such as hospitals, schools, churches, cinemas, government buildings, shopping complexes, and other places of public resort. Also in this category, old town walls and stony walls and roofs of ancient monasteries and castles are included.

2.10.1.4 J1.4. Urban and Suburban Industrial and Commercial Sites Still in Active Use

This category includes buildings in sites with current industrial or commercial use. This includes office blocks, factories, industrial units, large (greater than 1 ha) greenhouse complexes, large animal-rearing batteries, and large farm units.

2.10.1.5 J1.5. Disused Constructions of Cities, Towns, and Villages

This category includes disused factories, houses, offices, factories, or other buildings. These habitats are quite common in Armenia due to the closure of many industrial enterprises, abandoned and currently unused collective farms and state farms, etc.

2.10.1.6 J1.6. Urban and Suburban Construction and Demolition Sites

This category includes non-rural sites in which buildings are being constructed or demolished. These habitats are common in Armenia; construction sites are more common, and less often are sites where buildings are destroyed for subsequent new construction.

2.10.1.7 J1.7. High-Density Temporary Residential Units

This category includes residential buildings that are not intended to be present for more than 10 years. This includes temporary buildings – such as work camps for shift workers in areas remote from cities. These habitats are not very common in Armenia, most often found near large mining enterprises under construction.

2.10.2 J2. Low-Density Buildings

This category includes buildings in rural and built-up areas where buildings, roads, and other impermeable surfaces are at a low density, typically occupying less than 30% of the ground.

2.10.2.1 J2.1. Scattered Residential Buildings

This category includes houses or flats in areas where buildings, roads, and other impermeable surfaces are at a low density. These habitats are typical for small rural settlements, as well as for the outskirts of large villages. In addition, some holiday villages can be assigned to this category.

2.10.2.2 J2.2. Rural Public Buildings

This category includes rural buildings with public access, such as government buildings, schools, shops, or places of worship. This is a common habitat found in almost all rural settlements.

2.10.2.3 J2.3. Rural Industrial and Commercial Sites Still in Active Use

This category includes rural buildings used for industry, offices, warehousing, etc.

2.10.2.4 J2.4. Agricultural Constructions

This category includes structures dispersed within the rural or natural environment established for the purpose of agricultural activities; permanent or temporary residences; small-scale commercial, artisanal, or industrial activities; recreation; research; and environmental protection. They include isolated greenhouses, animal shelters, harvest-drying structures, sheds and huts, and field and pasture enclosures.

2.10.2.5 J2.5. Constructed Boundaries

This category includes walls and fences in areas where buildings are at low density. Ecosystems, in most cases separate individual farms, or separate them from other habitats. Ecosystems very common in Armenia, typical for most rural settlements.

2.10.2.6 J2.6. Disused Rural Constructions

This category includes disused constructions. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of habitats of this category due to the outflow of the rural population. Some buildings are used only during part of the year, and some are not used at all. This category also includes non-restored historical and architectural monuments.

2.10.2.7 J2.7. Rural Construction and Demolition Sites

This category includes rural sites in which buildings are being constructed or demolished. These habitats are common in Armenia, which is typical for most rural settlements.

2.10.3 J3. Extractive Industrial Sites

This category includes sites in which minerals are extracted, which includes quarries, open-cast mines, and active underground mines.

2.10.3.1 J3.1. Active Underground Mines and Tunnels

This category includes artificial underground spaces. They may constitute important substitution habitats for cave-dwelling bats and for significant subterranean invertebrates such as crustaceans, planarians, etc. These habitats are common in Armenia, including complexes of mines and operating tunnels (metro, road, railway).

2.10.3.2 J3.2. Active Open-Cast Mineral Extraction Sites, Including Quarries

This category includes areas used for open-sky mining and quarrying activities and presently in operation. These are very common habitats in Armenia, the areas of which have been intensively expanded in recent years.

2.10.3.3 J3.3. Recently Abandoned Aboveground Spaces of Extractive Industrial Sites

This category includes disused sites that were formerly quarries or open-cast mines. These are ecosystems that are not often found in Armenia, since older abandoned quarries where weeds have begun to grow, belong to other categories.

2.10.4 J4. Transport Networks and Other Constructed Hard-Surfaced Areas

This category includes roads, car parks, railways, paved footpaths, and hard-surfaced areas of airports, water ports, and recreational areas.

2.10.4.1 J4.1. Disused Road, Rail, and Other Constructed Hard-Surfaced Areas

This category includes unused areas that may be overgrown with grassy weeds or trees. These habitats are common in Armenia, although not occupying large areas. Asphalt pavement deteriorates over time and unused roads are gradually overgrown with weeds.

2.10.4.2 J4.2. Road Networks

This category includes road surfaces and car parks, together with the immediate highly disturbed environment adjacent to roads, which may consist of roadside banks or verges. These habitats are common in Armenia, and the road network in the republic is quite well developed. Road shoulders where clearing is carried out can be up to 2 m wide in some places.

2.10.4.3 J4.3. Rail Networks

This category includes railway tracks and the immediate highly disturbed environment adjacent to railways, which may consist of banks or verges. The railway network in Armenia is not dense and does not occupy large areas. Habitats are typical only for Central and Northern Armenia.

2.10.4.4 J4.4. Airport Runways and Aprons

This category includes hard surfaces in the airports other than buildings. In Armenia, this category actually includes very few habitats – two operating airports in Yerevan and one in Gyumri; the rest with concrete runways are practically nonfunctional (the airport in Kapan is under restoration). A few more inactive airports do not have concrete strips, are not used for their intended purpose, and belong to other categories of habitats.

2.10.4.5 J4.5. Hard-Surfaced Areas of Ports

This category includes hard surfaces in ports other than buildings. There are practically no ports in Armenia; with a big stretch, several small areas on the shores of Lake Sevan can be attributed to these habitats.

2.10.4.6 J4.6. Pavements and Recreation Areas

This category includes paved areas, city squares, and hard-surfaced recreation areas where the traffic is on foot or if wheeled then does not use the hard-surfaced area as a route. These habitats are common in Armenia, which are typical for large- and medium-sized cities as well as for some resorts and holiday homes.

2.10.4.7 J4.7. Constructed Parts of Cemeteries

This category includes hard-surfaced areas within cemeteries. These are very common habitats in Armenia. Most cemeteries in urban-type settlements belong to this category of habitats.

2.10.5 J5. Highly Artificial Man-Made Waters and Associated Structures

This category includes inland artificial waterbodies with wholly constructed beds or heavily contaminated water and their associated conduits and containers.

2.10.5.1 J5.3. Highly Artificial Nonsaline Standing Waters

This category includes artificial watercourses and basins, together with their associated containers, holding freshwater with no perceptible flow. This category includes ponds and lakes with completely man-made substrate, water storage tanks, intensively managed fish ponds, and standing waterbodies of extractive industries. This category includes subcategories specific to Armenia: intensively managed fish ponds and water storage tanks and small water reservoirs.

2.10.5.2 J5.4. Highly Artificial Nonsaline Running Waters

This category includes artificial watercourses and basins, together with their associated containers, carrying freshwater with perceptible flow. This includes sewers, running discharges from extractive industrial sites, subterranean artificial watercourses, and channels with completely man-made substrate. In addition to canals and underground artificial watercourses, it includes artificial fish ponds with running waters for trout farming.

2.10.5.3 J5.5. Highly Artificial Nonsaline Fountains and Cascades

This category includes artificial watercourses and basins, together with their associated containers, with freshwater that spurts or splashes. These habitats are very common in Armenia; in most large- and medium-sized cities, there are fountains and cascades of various shapes and sizes.

2.10.6 J6. Waste Deposits

This category includes tips, landfill sites, and slurries produced as byproducts, usually unwanted, of human activity. Unfortunately, due to the lack of waste processing or waste incineration enterprises, the territories of these habitats are very large.

2.10.6.1 J6.1. Waste Resulting from Building Construction or Demolition

This category includes dumps of building waste when not forming a part of construction or demolition sites or when it is so large as to constitute a separate habitat. These habitats occupied large areas in the disaster zone after the tragic earthquake of 1988; by now, they are practically overgrown and have moved into other categories. Today, habitats of this category do not occupy large areas and are usually located near large settlements. Near small settlements, landfills are usually not separated by the nature of the garbage and are mixed.

2.10.6.2 J6.2. Household Waste and Landfill Sites

This category includes sites used for disposal of household waste, including landfill sites that may be used for several types of waste. These habitats are very characteristic of Armenia occupying large areas, especially near large settlements. At the same time, there are both specially allocated landfills equipped with equipment and numerous illegal places for dumping garbage and household waste.

2.10.6.3 J6.3. Nonagricultural Organic Waste

This category includes sewage waste and sewage slurries. These habitats are not typical for Armenia, since treatment plants are few in number, their condition leaves much to be desired, and waste occupies small areas.

2.10.6.4 J6.4. Agricultural and Horticultural Waste

This category includes dung heaps, slurry lagoons, decaying straw, and dumps of unwanted produce. These very characteristic and frequent habitats are found in almost all rural settlements and towns. This category also includes the ecosystem areas for drying manure for pressed dung, which is very typical for the agricultural treeless regions of Armenia.

2.10.6.5 J6.5. Industrial Waste

This category includes heaps, tips, and mounds formed as byproducts of industrial activities. This includes slag heaps, mine waste, dumped quarry waste, and mineral wastes resulting from chemical processes. These ecosystems are common in Armenia, although large areas are occupied only by tailings and waste from the mining and processing industry.

2.11 Some Rare Ecosystems of Armenia

Among the huge variety of ecosystems in Armenia, rare ones are also presented, occupying very small areas but extremely important from the point of view of biodiversity conservation. The importance of these ecosystems is determined primarily by the fact that they are the habitat of the rarest species of plants and animals, and their destruction or serious change can lead to the extinction of these species. Below we provide brief descriptions of some of these ecosystems. All these ecosystems will be included in the Red Book of Ecosystems of Armenia.

2.12 C. Inland Surface Waters

2.12.1 C1. Surface Standing Waters

2.12.1.1 C1.24112. Northern Nymphaea Beds (Fig. 2.18)

This category includes aquatic plant communities with floating leaves dominated by Nymphaea alba. Currently, the state of the ecosystem is good; the water lily is slowly spreading over the surface of the lakes with an increase in the density of the cover. Juncus effusus, Carex leporina, and C. disticha are represented in the coastal parts of the ecosystem. Currently, the ecosystem exists in three small lakes (total area less than 5 ha) on the Lori Plain and was recently (according to the oral report of I. Gabrielyan) found in Lake Chili in the Aparan floristic region. In the lakes where this ecosystem is represented, and along their shores, a number of rare species included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia also grow: Ranunculus lingua, Utricularia intermedia, Salvinia natans, and Potentilla erecta. A threat to the existence of the ecosystem may be a change in the water regime of the lakes of the Lori Plain, associated with forecasted climate change, the use of lake waters for economic purposes and use of lakes as a watering place for domestic animals, as well as the “privatization” and “capture” of some lakes with the construction of mansions on their shores.

Fig. 2.18

Northern Nymphaea beds (C1.24112)

2.12.2 C3. Littoral Zone of Inland Surface Waterbodies

2.12.2.1 C3.2. Water-Fringing Reedbeds and Tall Helophytes Other Than Canes

2.12.2.1.1 С3.21111. Freshwater Phragmites australis and Thelypteris palustris Beds (Fig. 2.19)

This category is an extremely rare ecosystem in Armenia. The first layer of vegetation is completely dominated by Phragmites australis, while the second layer is dominated by Thelypteris palustris. Carex acuta, C. diandra, C. pseudocyperus, and C. rostrata are also abundant, and Utricularia vulgaris grows in the water nearby. Only one habitat is known – an island on Lake Chmoy in the Darelegis floristic region near the village Martiros. Thelypteris palustris is included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia; in addition, Menyanthes trifoliata, included in the Red Book, also grows here. An existential threat to the ecosystem may be a change in water level caused by using the lake’s water for irrigation and global climate change.

Fig. 2.19

Freshwater Phragmites australis and Thelypteris palustris beds (С3.21111)

2.12.3 D5. Sedge and Reed Beds, Normally Without Free-Standing Water

2.12.3.1 D5.2. Beds of Large Sedges Normally Without Free-Standing Water

2.12.3.1.1 D5.21212. Slender Tufted Sedge Beds with Iris lazica (Fig. 2.20)

This category is a very rare ecosystem in Armenia. Here, on moist alkaline soils, Carex acuta dominates, and Iris lazica is abundant. The floristic composition of the ecosystem is poor, except for the two abovementioned species; Carex orbicularis ssp. kotschyanus, Polygonum bistortum, Alisma plantago-aquatica, Ranunculus sceleratus, Alchemilla sericata, and Sanguisorba officinalis are registered. The ecosystem occupies a small area (less than 1 ha) in a swampy area in a relief depression. The ecosystem is known only from the environment of Darik village in the Upper Akhuryan floristic region. A threat to the existence of the ecosystem may be a change in the water regime due to climate change and the development of the territory for pasture.

Fig. 2.20

Iris lazica in slender tufted sedge beds (D5.21212)

2.12.3.1.2 D5.21421. Bladder Sedge Beds with High Abundance of Lychnis flos-cuculi (Fig. 2.21)

This category includes a very rare ecosystem, known only in the Ijevan floristic region in the vicinity of the Lermontovo village. In addition to the dominant species of Carex vesicaria and Lychnis flos-cuculi, in the ecosystem, the rare in Armenia Potentilla erecta is richly represented, and the more common are Deschampsia cespitosa, Rhinanthus minor, and others. Lychnis flos-cuculi and Potentilla erecta are included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia. A threat to the existence of the ecosystem may be a change in the water regime due to climate change, the development of land for infrastructure facilities (restaurants, rest houses, hotels, and guest houses), as well as intensive grazing.

Fig. 2.21

Bladder sedge beds with high abundance of Lychnis flos-cuculi (D5.21421)

2.12.4 D6. Inland Saline and Brackish Marshes and Reedbeds

2.12.4.1 D6.2. Inland Saline or Brackish Species-Poor Helophyte Beds Normally Without Free-Standing Water

2.12.4.1.1 D6.24. Salt Marshes with Juncus acutus (Fig. 2.6)

This is not widespread, but very characteristic of the eastern part of the Ararat valley ecosystem. In fact, there is one fragmented habitat. Here, with the complete dominance of the Juncus acutus (included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia), which forms large tussocks, a number of rare species are found in the community: Sonchus araraticus, Linum barsegianii, Thesium compressum, Sphaerophysa salsula, Frankenia pulverulenta, Falcaria falcarioides, Cirsium alatum, Silene eremitica, Merendera sobolifera, Astragalus corrugatus, Iris musulmanica, and Microcnemum coralloides. Threats to the ecosystem may be a change in the water regime due to climate change, a decrease in the level of groundwater, and the impact of an anthropogenic factor (development of saline lands, imperfection of the irrigation system, burning of vegetation, intensive grazing, etc.).

2.13 E. Grasslands and Lands Dominated by Forbs, Mosses, or Lichens

2.13.1 E1. Dry Grasslands

2.13.1.1 Е1.2. Perennial Calcareous Grassland and Basic Steppes

2.13.1.1.1 Е1.2Е22. Steppes with Wild Wheat Species Dominance (Fig. 2.22)

This category includes unique ecosystem where the vegetation is dominated by wild wheat species – Triticum boeoticum, T. araraticum, and T. urartu. The communities dominated by T. boeoticum are most often represented; the other two species usually act as companion species. About 292 species of vascular plants are registered in the ecosystem, including a number of wild relatives of cultivated plants: Aegilops columnaris, A. cylindrica, A. tauschii, A. triuncialis, Hordeum bulbosum, H. geniculatum, H. murinum, and Secale vavilovii. The ecosystem is represented in the Yerevan and Darelegis floristic regions. In the vegetation, a number of rare species included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia species are represented: Szovitsia callicarpa, Cichorium glandulosum, Astragalus guttatus, Salvia spinosa, S. suffruticosa, Triticum araraticum, Triticum urartu, Amblyopyrum muticum, Gundelia armeniaca, Lactuca takhtadzhianii, Amberboa moschata, Chardinia macrocarpa, Actinolema macrolema, Phalaris paradoxa, and Iris elegantissima. The ecosystem may be threatened by irrigation of neighboring orchards and fields.

Fig. 2.22

Steppes with wild wheat species dominance in Erebuni reserve (Е1.2Е22)

2.13.1.2 E1.3. Mediterranean Xeric Grassland

2.13.1.2.1 E1.3361. Semidesert with Salsola dendroides Dominance and High Abundance of Cistanche armena (Fig. 2.23)

This is a very rare ecosystem; the area of ​​one (larger) of the two known habitats is less than 1 ha. This is known only in the Yerevan floristic region in the vicinity of the Khor Virab monastery. The vegetation cover is completely dominated by Salsola dendroides, which is the host of the highly ornamental parasite Cistanche armena. In the ecosystem, rare species included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia are represented: Cistanche armena (=Cistanche salsa), Amberboa amberboi, Cousinia tenella, and Nonea polychroma. A threat to the ecosystem may be a change in the water regime in connection with the irrigation of the surrounding gardens and agricultural lands.

Fig. 2.23

Cistanche armena in semidesert with Salsola dendroides dominance (E1.3361)

2.13.1.3 E1.4. Mediterranean Tall Grass and Wormwood – Artemisia – Steppes

2.13.1.3.1 Е1.4511. Wormwood Semidesert with Iris lycotis (Fig. 2.24)

This is a rare ecosystem, which occupies a small area (about 2 ha) in the eastern part of the Ararat valley in the vicinity of the village Tigranashen. The vegetation cover is completely dominated by Artemisia fragrans, and Iris lycotis (included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia) is very abundant. The vegetation also includes Stipa arabica, Moltkia coerulea, Taeniatherum crinitum, Kochia prostrata, and Koelpinia linearis. Threats to the ecosystem are intensive grazing and possible development of the territory for agricultural crops or as a result of road expansion.

Fig. 2.24

Iris lycotis in Wormwood semidesert (Е1.4511)

2.13.2 Е2. Mesic Grasslands

2.13.2.1 Е2.1. Permanent Mesotrophic Pastures and Aftermath-Grazed Meadows

2.13.2.1.1 E2.1611. Grass-Meadow-Steppes with High Abundance of Acanthus dioscoridis (Fig. 2.25)

This is a very rare ecosystem, in which only one habitat of about 2 ha is known at the foot of Mount Hatis. Festuca valesiaca, Koeleria macrantha, and Dactylis glomerata act as dominants in the ecosystem; Hordeum bulbosum, Eremopoa persica, and Stipa tirsa are quite abundant; and on relatively more rocky areas, Acanthus dioscoridis (the rarest in Armenia, included in the Red Book of Plants) is abundantly represented. In the ecosystem, Rosa spinosissima and Cerasus incana are found as separate bushes, and Scutellaria orientalis, Stachys atherocalyx, Phlomis tuberosa, Cerinthe minor, Crambe orientalis, Coronilla varia, Verbascum pyramidatum, and Vicia grossheimii are represented in the grass cover. Ecosystem threats can be restricted areas of ​​occupancy and degradation of habitat caused by the expansion of arable lands, grazing, haymaking.

Fig. 2.25

Acanthus dioscoridis in grass-meadow-steppe (E2.1611)

2.13.3 Е5. Woodland Fringes and Clearings and Tall Forbs Stands

2.13.3.1 Е5.5. Subalpine Moist or Wet Tall-Herb and Fern Stands

2.13.3.1.1 Е5.5А1. Ponto-Caucasian Tall-Herb Communities with Nectaroscordum tripedale Dominance (Fig. 2.26)

This is rare in Armenia, very decorative, and highly fragmented ecosystem. Hordeum bulbosum and Prangos ferulacea are represented as co-edifiers in the composition of the vegetation; Papaver orientale is often found. It occupies small areas, each plot is usually less than 1 ha. The ecosystem is represented in the Aparan, Darelegis, and Meghri floristic regions. The reference site is located in the vicinity of the Amberd fortress on Mount Aragats. The main threats are climate aridization and recreational trampling.

Fig. 2.26

Nectaroscordum tripedale in Ponto-Caucasian tall-herb communities (Е5.5А1)

2.14 F. Heathland, Scrub, and Tundra

2.14.1 F2. Arctic, Alpine, and Subalpine Scrub

2.14.1.1 F2.3. Subalpine Deciduous Scrub

2.14.1.1.1 F2.33711. Steppe Scrub with Asphodeline taurica (Fig. 2.27)

This is very rare in Armenia, with mixed communities of steppes and steppe shrubs on the Shirak Range (neighborhood of the Djadjur Pass). Of the shrubs, two species of Spiraea (S. crenata, S. hypericifolia) dominate; Agropyron pectinatum, Koeleria macrantha, and Festuca valesiaca currently dominate in the steppe areas; Stipa pulcherrima occurs in small spots; and Asphodeline taurica grows with a very high abundance on the entire slope. The ecosystem contains a number of rare species included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia: Asphodeline taurica, Rhaponticoides tamanianae, Asperula affinis, Paracarym laxiflorum, Valeriana eriophylla, Allium oltense, Allium rupestre, Allium struzlianum, and Dracocephalum austriacum. The main threats may be climate change, intensive grazing, and forest plantations.

Fig. 2.27

Asphodeline taurica in steppe scrub (F2.33711)

2.14.2 F3. Temperate and Mediterranean-Montane Scrub

2.14.2.1 F3.2. Sub-Mediterranean Deciduous Thickets and Brushes

2.14.2.1.1 F3.24761. Shibliak – Paliurus spina-christi Thorn Scrub with Iris iberica (Fig. 2.28)

This is a very rare ecosystem (only one locality of about 3 ha is known in the vicinity of the village of Bagratashen), in which, with the dominance of Paliurus spina-christi, the grass cover is abundantly represented by the rarest in Armenia Iris iberica. It also includes Rosa spinosissima, Bothriochloa ischaemum, Cynodon dactylon, Medicago lupulina, and Teucrium polium. The main threats may be the expansion of orchards and vineyards and intensive grazing.

Fig. 2.28

Iris iberica in Shibliak – Paliurus spina-christi thorn scrub (F3.24761)

2.14.2.1.2 F3.24762. Shibliak – Paliurus spina-christi Thorn Scrub with Paeonia tenuifolia (Fig. 2.29)

This is an extremely rare ecosystem in Armenia dominated by Paliurus spina-christi and quite abundantly represented by Paeonia tenuifolia. The composition includes Jasminum fruticans, Rosa spinosissima, Bothriochloa ischaemum, Tulipa sosnovskiy, Cousinia takhtadjanii, Ophrys oestrifera, Aegilops cylindrica, Teucrium polium, and Hordeum bulbosum. The area is occupied by several very small plots of this ecosystem in the South Zangezur floristic region in the vicinity of Kapan town in the gorge of the Khaladzh River, which is no more than 2 ha. The main threats may be the expansion of mining activities.

Fig. 2.29

Paeonia tenuifolia in Shibliak – Paliurus spina-christi thorn scrub (F3.24762)

2.14.3 F6. Garrigue

2.14.3.1 F6.8. Xero-halophile Scrubs

2.14.3.1.1 F6.84. Solonchaks on Ararat valley (Fig. 2.10)

This ecosystem is represented in the Ararat and Armavir regions of Armenia, and very small areas are found in the Meghri region. At present, in connection with the intensive work on land desalinization carried out in Soviet times, this ecosystem is represented in the Ararat valley in small fragments (1–2 ha). The ecosystem includes common semidesert species like Salsola dendroides, S. crassa, Suaeda altissima, Halanthium rarifolium, Limonium meyeri, Hibiscus trionum, Seidlitzia florida, etc. Also, very rare species included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia grow here: Halocnemum strobilaceum, Halostachys belangeriana, Bienertia cycloptera, Tamarix octandra, Nitraria schoberi, Kalidium caspicum, and Salsola soda. The main threats are the development of land for agricultural purposes, desalinization of solonchaks, and changes in the level of groundwater. The ecosystem is included in Resolution 4 of the Berne Convention.

2.14.4 F7. Spiny Mediterranean Heaths (Phrygana, Hedgehog-Heaths, and Related Coastal Cliff Vegetation)

2.14.4.1 F7.4. Hedgehog-Heaths

2.14.4.1.1 F7.4I23. Traganth Communities with Gypsophila aretioides Dominance (Fig. 2.30)

This category is not widespread but is very typical for the Yerevan floristic region (especially for the Urts Range) ecosystems. The large cushions of Gypsophila aretioides (included in the Red Data Book of Plants of Armenia) are non-thorny, but similar in character to the prickly cushions of traganth astragals and Onobrychis cornuta, and usually develop on very stony places. The main threats may be the development of land for agricultural purposes, the expansion of highways, fires. The ecosystem is included in Resolution 4 of the Berne Convention.

Fig. 2.30

Traganth community with Gypsophila aretioides dominance (F7.4I23)

2.15 G. Woodland, Forest, and Other Wooded Land

2.15.1 G1. Broad-Leaved Deciduous Woodland

2.15.1.1 G1.3. Mediterranean Riparian Woodland

2.15.1.1.1 G1.371. Plane Grove in Tsav River Valley (Fig. 2.11)

This is the only ecosystem in the Caucasus where Platanus orientalis dominates, and the community includes Juglans regia, Celtis caucasica, Ficus carica, Rubus armeniacus, Punica granatum, Malus orientalis, Crataegus stevenii, and C. pentagyna. Here, rare species included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia are growing: Platanus orientalis, Teucrium hircanicum, Euonymus velutina, Swida iberica, Ranunculus cicutarius, and Carex pendula. A number of animal species included in the Red Book of Animals of Armenia, as well as in Resolution 6 to the Berne Convention, also live here. The main threats may be climate change and changes in the water regime due to economic activities.

2.15.1.2 G1.9. Non-riverine Woodland with Birch, Aspen, or Rowan

2.15.1.2.1 G1.927. Aspen Groves of North Armenia (Fig. 2.31)

This is a rare ecosystem found in the Upper Akhuryan and Lori floristic regions. On the Ashotsk Plateau, it is represented in the form of small separate groves among meadow-steppe vegetation, with an almost pure stand of Populus tremula. In addition, it is found on the slopes of the gorge of the Akhuryan River, and in the Lori region, it is found as separate fragments among mountain oak forests. The forest stand includes single specimens of Quercus macranthera, Salix caprea, Viburnum lantana, Lonicera caucasica, Rubus idaeus, Prunus divaricata; among forbs Allium victorialis, Primula amoena, Lamium album, Saxifraga cymbalaria, Erysimum froehneri, Geum rivale, and Thesium ramosum. The main threat may be the impact of the anthropogenic factor, in particular illegal logging.

Fig. 2.31

Aspen grove in Armenia (G1.927)

2.15.2 G3. Coniferous Woodland

2.15.2.1 G3.9. Coniferous Woodland Dominated by Cupressaceae or Taxaceae

2.15.2.1.1 G3.97B. Armenian Yew Groves (Fig. 2.32)

This is a rare ecosystem, wherein three relatively large groves of Taxus baccata are known in the Idjevan floristic region and one in the South Zangezur region. In Northern Armenia, yew groves are usually located on the 2nd or 3rd terraces along mountain rivers or on slopes among beech forests, in Southern Armenia – on slopes among oak forests. Groves are located in the middle mountain belt; the vegetation includes Fagus orientalis, Quercus iberica, Carpinus betulus, Tilia cordata, Acer campestre, Fraxinus excelsior; and in the grass-forbs layer Dryopteris filix-mas, Asplenium scolopendrium, Impatiens noli-tangere, Asperula odorata, Arum orientale, Lamium album, and Geranium robertianum are common. The main threat may be the impact of the anthropogenic factor, in particular, illegal logging.

Fig. 2.32

Taxus baccata in Armenian yew groves (G3.97B)

2.16 H. Inland Unvegetated or Sparsely Vegetated Habitats

2.16.1 Н2. Screes

2.16.1.1 H2.3. Temperate-Montane Acid Siliceous Screes

2.16.1.1.1 H2.3511. Mobile Screes in Alpine Belt of Aragats Mountain (Fig. 2.33)

This category includes young screes usually on steep slopes with a very characteristic floristic composition including Alopecurus tuscheticus, A. textilis, Erysimum gelidum, Alchemilla sericea, Campanula saxifraga ssp. aucheri, Allium schoenoprasum, Coluteocarpus vesicaria, Catabrosella fibrosa, Veronica orientalis, Corydalis alpestris, Catabrosella araratica, Sibbaldia procumbens, etc. In this ecosystem, rare species included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia are growing (Draba araratica, Draba hispida, Didymophysa aucheri, Isatis takhtadjanii, Pseudovesicaria digitata, Dracocephalum botryoides, Delphinium foetidum). The main threat may be climate change. The ecosystem is included in Resolution 4 of the Berne Convention.

Fig. 2.33

Screes on Aragats mountain (H2.3511)

2.16.2 H3. Inland Cliffs, Rock Pavements, and Outcrops

2.16.2.1 Н3.1. Acid Siliceous Inland Cliffs

2.16.2.1.1 H3.1B12. Alpine Cliffs on Volcanic Plateaus of Central Armenia (Fig. 2.16)

This category includes a rare ecosystem presented on the Syunik and Geghama highlands and on the massif of Mount Aragats. The most characteristic species here are Saxifraga exarata, Sempervivum transcaucasicum, Tanacetum parthenifolium, Murbeckiella huetii, Aetheopappus pulcherrimus, and Campanula bayerniana, as well as those included in the Red Book of Armenian Plants Draba araratica, Potentilla porphyrantha, and others. The main threat may be the development of the mining industry.

2.16.2.1.2 H3.1B221. Ancient Volcanic Cliffs on the Mount Arteni (Fig. 2.34)

The ecosystem consists of rocks and cliffs on Mount Arteni (Shirak floristic region), which is a left over from ancient volcanic activity and not covered by later lava strata from Mount Aragats. Asplenium septentrionale, Cystopteris fragilis, Cheilanthes persica, Ephedra procera, Scariola orientalis, Onosma tenuiflora, Arabis caucasica, Campanula crispa, Nepeta mussinii, Scutellaria orientalis, Cotoneaster armena, Parietaria elliptica, Galium incanum, etc., grow on the rocks here, as well as those included in Red Book of Plants of Armenia: Campanula massalskyi, Hieracium pannosum, and Bupleurum sosnovskyi. The main threat may be the expansion of quarries for the extraction of stone and perlite.

Fig. 2.34

Campanula massalskyi on ancient volcanic cliffs on the Mount Arteni (H3.1B221)

2.16.2.2 Н3.4. Wet Inland Cliffs

2.16.2.2.1 H3.411. Armenian Wet Inland Cliffs with Adiantum capillus-veneris (Fig. 2.35)

This category includes very wet, oozing, overhanging, or vertical rocks. These habitats are characteristic of Armenia but occupy very small areas. Various types of mosses grow on these rocks, and Adiantum capillus-veneris grows abundantly. The ecosystem is represented by separate localities on the rocks in the canyons of the Debed, Aghstev, Arpa, and Vorotan rivers and on the Urts ridge. The main threats are recreational trampling, road expansion, and climate change, which could cause rocks to dry out.

Fig. 2.35

Adiantum capillus-veneris on Armenian wet inland cliffs (H3.411)

2.16.3 Н5. Miscellaneous Inland Habitats with Very Sparse or No Vegetation

2.16.3.1 Н5.3. Sparsely or Unvegetated Habitats on Mineral Substrates Not Resulting from Recent Ice Activity

2.16.3.1.1 Н5.321. Sand Desert with Calligonum polygonoides Dominance (Fig. 2.36)

This category includes the only habitat in Armenia with a desert type of vegetation. It occupies an area of ​​about 100 ha in the vicinity of the village of Vedi; the “Goravan Sands” state sanctuary is distinguished here. In the vegetation cover, Calligonum polygonoides is dominant, and characteristic species are Achillea tenuifolia, Aristida plumosa, Allium materculae, Ceratocarpus arenarius, Euphorbia marschalliana, Oligochaeta divaricata, Verbascum suvorovianum, Koelpinia linearis, Bellevalia albana, and some others. Rare species included in the Red Book of Plants of Armenia such as Calligonum polygonoides, Hohenackeria excapa, Minuartia sclerantha, Astragalus paradoxus, Silene arenosa, Astragalus massalskyi, Rhinopetalum gibbosum, and Verbascum nudicaule grow here. The main threat may be sand mining and grazing.

Fig. 2.36

Sand desert with Calligonum polygonoides dominance (Н5.321)