Vegetation Zones in the Caucasus

Abstract

spite of exceptions and confusions, the zone is a convenient geographic unit by which to characterize plant distribution on mountain slopes. The Caucasus (Fig. 2) offers every conceivable problem in plant geography.' South of the main range lie the semideserts of Tiflis, the subtropical shores of the Black Sea, the luxuriant forests and fields of Svanetia, and, in the Minor Caucasus (or Transcaucasus), the garden spots of Borzhom and Bakuriani and the parched hills along the Armenian border. The north slopes of the main range, which fall away to the flat expanses of the Russian steppes, are more uniform among themselves but differ wholly from anything to be found on the south side. From Mt. Kazbek on the east to Mt. Elbrus on the west, these slopes are rocky and precipitous, with grass fields insufficient for grazing. The southern Caucasus supplies the northern with hay; but although the south surpasses the north in wealth of forests and pastures, the north has some of the finest natural flower gardens in the world. In the Caucasus there is an extraordinary variety of plants. Many of these are endemic, as is evident from the frequent occurrence of the