Khojir National Park

Khojir National Park is the oldest protected area in Iran, located on the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountains east of Tehran in Tehran Province. It was established as a wildlife reserve in 1979 and promoted to national park in 1982. It covers 99.71 km2 (38.50 sq mi) in the Jajrood River basin and ranges in altitude from 1,200 to 2,200 m (3,900 to 7,200 ft).[1]

Khojir National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location in Iran
LocationIran
Coordinates35.41°N 51.41°E / 35.41; 51.41
Area99.71 km2 (38.50 sq mi)
Established1982
Governing bodyDepartment of the Environment

History

The area has been a royal game reserve since 1754 and was included in the Jajrood Protected Area in 1979.[1]

The park contains within its confines the village of Khojir, and the "vast" Khojir missile production complex, which is owned by the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group.[2]

Flora

Hemicryptophytes are the most abundant Raunkiær plant life-form occurring in Khojir National Park, with 116 species belonging to the Irano-Turanian Region.

Vegetation above 1,400 m (4,600 ft) comprises foremost Persian pistachio tree (Pistacia atlantica), wild almond (Prunus lycioides), interspersed with buckthorn (Rhamnus pallasi), Persian juniper (Juniperus excelsa), wild cherry (Prunus cerasus), and Cotoneaster bushes.[3]

Fauna

Persian leopard and Asiatic wildcat were recorded during camera-trapping surveys in the protected area since 2005, and a Pallas’s cat for the first time in spring 2008.[4]

References
  1. Kolahi, M.; Moriya, K.; Sakai, T.; Khosrojerdi, E.; Etemad, V. (2014). "Introduction of participatory conservation in Iran: case study of the rural communities' perspectives in Khojir National Park" (PDF). International Journal of Environmental Research. 8 (4): 913–930.
  2. Sanger, David E.; Bergman, Ronen; Fassihi, Farnaz (29 June 2020). "Explosion at Iranian missile facility produces conspiracy theories". The Globe and Mail Inc. The New York Times News Service.
  3. Abkenar, K. T.; Salehi, A.; Bagheri, J.; Ravanbakhsh, H. (2013). "Some Ecological Properties of Pistacia atlantica Desf. in Khojir National Park of Iran". Chinese Journal of Applied and Environmental Biology. 9 (3): 415–420. doi:10.3724/SP.J.1145.2013.00415.
  4. Chalani, M.; Ghoddousi, A.; Ghadirian, T.; Goljani, R. (2008). "First Pallas's Cat Photo-trapped in Khojir National Park, Iran". Cat News (49): 7.


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