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| Biosphere Reserve Information | ||||
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TOURAN |
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| General Description |
Located in the Anatolian Iran deserts, the Touran Biosphere Reserve represents well the vegetation of arid and semi-arid deserts. It comprises salt, gypsum, mountainous, stone and sandy habitats and covers both clay lowlands and mountains with an altitude of more than 2,200 meters above sea level. About 10,700 people live in the biosphere reserve (2000), depending mostly on agriculture, animal husbandry, horticulture and carpet sewing. Major human impacts on the ecosystem arise from overgrazing especially by camels, illegal hunting and fuel wood harvesting. |
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| Major ecosystem type | Cold-winter deserts and semi-deserts | |||
| Major habitats & land cover types | Desert plains with Zygophyllum spp., Artemisia spp., Astragalus spp., Haloxylon spp. etc.; salt pan lake; limestone outcrops; pasture lands | |||
| Location | 35°00' to 36°22'N; 55°00' to 57°02'E | |||
| Area (hectares) | ||||
| Total | 1,470,640 | |||
| Core area(s) | ||||
| Buffer zone(s) | ||||
| Transition area(s) when given | ||||
| Altitude (metres above sea level) | +600 to +2,281 | |||
| Year designated | 1976 | |||
| Administrative authorities | Department of the Environment | |||
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| Brief description |
Ethnological studies Impact of grazing by domestic livestock |
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| Specific variables... | ||||
| Abiotic | n.a. | |||
| Biodiversity | n.a. | |||
| Socio-economic | Livestock and related impacts/Overgrazing, traditional practices/ethnology/traditional knowledge. | |||
| Integrated monitoring | n.a. | |||
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| Contact address |
Department of the Environment P.O. Box 15875-5181 Tehran Iran |
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| Telephone | (98.21) 826 99 14 | |||
| Fax | (98.21) 826 99 14 | |||
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mfazel@chamran.ut.ac.ir |
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| Last updated: 2/28/2000 |
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