Reforestation and Afforestation

With elevation ranging from 1600 – 1750 m this area truly belongs to mesophyll forest ecosystem, predominantly made up of Quercus macranthera, Carpinus orientalis, with sparse spots of Fagus orientalis and shrubs with a high domination of Crategus and rose shrubs.
During the economic crisis of the early 90s, high anthropogenic pressure turned many areas of this high canopy covered forest into a sparse forest.
Even with good undergrowth, small trees can not grow in height, because of grazing in this area. People were still using the national park as pastures which directly influenced the health of the forest.
Reforestation activities for this site includes fencing of the area, endemic seed sowing and tree planting. Seeds and trees will represent key species of the national park’s biodiversity.

But before that, it took us 900 wooden poles and 1000 concrete poles to fence all the area we would reforest. This was essential to prevent animals from grazing.

After the severe drought in the summer of 2021, with temperatures climbing up to 27° at 2000 m altitude, we installed two powerful pumps and about 3.000 meters of tubing plus 8 hoses of 50 meters to organise the watering of the seedlings from the nearby canal. Moreover, we replaced all dead seedlings with pine trees already in April, 2022. Pine trees have a double advantage: they are more resistant to dryness and grow quickly, thereby creating some shade for deciduous trees.

It is simply huge! We put 1.000 poles on a distance of 4.000 m, going sometimes through difficult terrain with gorges and steep hills. This work is essential as this area is widely used by cow and sheep herders. In Jrashen 1 we mostly planted pines, oaks, wild pears, maples, and of course several species of shrubs.Up to 140 people have worked here during planting and maintenance seasons.

That means good quality land and high moisture. One drawback though is that many areas are quite steep. It will be a challenge both for fencing and for planting. We will start planting there in the fall of 2022.

The mayor of the village was keen on us doing a reforestation project in his village. Here we planted some forest tree species such as walnut trees that do not do well in high-altitude lands.

Here we will carry out both reforestation and afforestation works, as the land is partly covered by forest. The whole area is very favorable for growing many varieties of trees, and the only reason it is not covered by dense forest is because of human presence and animal grazing in the area. We will plant around 15 native tree species, in order to preserve biodiversity. 8 species of shrubs will also be planted, making up around 10% of the whole plantation. This is a factor supporting the creation of a living ecosystem.

Like all our projects this one will also have a socio-economical impact. It will benefit directly the 3 communities, Sarahart, Shenavan and Arevashogh, to whom the lands belong, as well as the inhabitants of other rural communities and Stepanavan town.

This project will be a major accomplishment for us and probably a work for 10 years and more!