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| Flora & Fauna |
 There are different types of vegetative landscapes represented in Georgia,
including forests, bushes, peatlands, meadows, steppes, semi-deserts,
vegetation of coastal sands, and subnival floristic complexes. The
diversity of endemic flora is related to the diversity of local physiographic
conditions.
Today species that are found on the territory of Georgia include 4300
species of endophyllous (floral) plants, 20 species of naked-leaved plants,
75 species of pteridophytes, 665 species of anophytes, and up to 2000
species of hydrophytes.
The history of the Georgian vegetation is very long and very difficult.
Paleobotanic data show that in the Paleogenic epoch there was tropical
flora on the islands that used to exist where Georgia is situated today.
During Neogene, as climate gradually got colder, the most of the tropical
plants were destroyed and Colchic refugium of old warm and humid climate
originated.
 There are three main types of soil within the Mtirala National Park area.
Red soils that are rather rare for the Caucasus are spread under mixed
broad-leaved forests at 600m above sea level. Further uphill, the red
soils are substituted by yellow soils, brown soils and brown forest soils
where beech and mixed beech-chestnut forests grow. These two latter types
of soils are most widespread on the park area. Alluvial soils occur in
some locations in floodplains.
The area of the Mtirala National Park has unique diversity of relict
plants: 284 species of 202 genera representing 686 families are found
in the Park, including 18 species of trees, 21 species of shrubs, and
245 species of grasses. Sixteen species are endemic, including 5 species
endemic for the Caucasus, one endemic for Georgia, 3 for Colchis and
3 for Adjara. The following rare relic endemic species are red-listed
in Georgia: pontine oak (Quercus pontica), birch (Betula medwedewii),
Rhododendron ungernii, Epigaea gaultherioides, and others. Rhododendron
ungernii, Epigaea gaultherioides and Betula medwedewii are unique plants
found only in Adjara and adjacent area of Turkey.
 Almost 100% of the territory of Mtirala National Park is covered with
forests and dense shrubs. The forest areas can be subdivided in to the
following zones:
500 – 600 m - Mixed broad-leaved Colhic forest;
500-600 – 1000-1200 m - Chestnut forests (Castanea sativa);
1000-1200 m - Beech forests (Fagus orientalis).
Large part of the Park area is covered with phytocenoses, mainly of beech species:
mixed chestnut-beech forests are found in the lower zone where Carpinus caucasica,
Fraxinus excelsior and others prevail in the first layer vegetation. Staphylea
Colchiana, Buxus Colchiana, Rhododendron ponticum, Rh. Luteum, Laurocerasus
officinalis, and others are found in the undergrowth. The same zone also includes
cenoses where chestnut prevails and compositionally does not seriously differ
from the beech.
Unique beech cenoses are found above 1000-1200 m above sea level, with Rhododendron
ungernii and other types of evergreen and deciduous undergrowth (Rhododendron
ponticum, Laurocerasus officinalis, Vaccinium arctostaphyllos, Rhododendron
luteum, Viburnum orientalis, Rubus caucasicus). Alder-trees are typical for
gorges, with Alnus barbata prevailing in the lower forest zone and Alnus Incana
dominating in the mid-zone.
 The unique beauty of the local landscape also owes to dense formations of Rhododendron.
A lot of rare plant associations are identified among the relic Colchic Rhododendron
species; these are: Rh. ponticum, Rh. ungernii, Rh. Luteum, Ilex Colchiana,
Laurocerasus officinalis, Ruscus Colchianus. These associations are mostly
found in the Korolistskali valley (in the upstream of its tributary, the Namtsvavistskali)
where one of the rarest species of the Adjara-Lazeti region – Epigaea gaultherioides
– is found.
The Rhododendron zone is poor in grass vegetation as the shrubs dominate most
of the area. Yet there are some umbraticolous and hygrophilous species found
there, including: Dryopteris oreopteris, Athyrium filix-femina, Blechnum spicant,
Oxalis villosa, and others.
Data from preliminary studies show that the park’s fauna is represented
by 95 animal species, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles,
and fish. Nine species out of those undoubtedly found in the Mtirala
National Park are red-listed by IUCN as globally endangered species;
these are bats (Rhinolophus euryale and Barbastella barbastellus),
Caucasian squirrel (Sciurus anomalus), greater spotted eagle (Aquila
clanga), saker falcon (Falco cherrug), Caucasian salamander, Caucasian
viper (Vipera kaznakovi) and butterflies – the Apollo butterfly (Parnassius
apollo) and Nordmann’s Apollo (Parnassius nordmanni). Twenty-three
species are listed in the Red Book of Georgia, including the above
nine and also lynx, brown bear, trout, etc. Big mammals spread in
the park area also include roe deer (Capreolus cepreolus) and wild boar
(Sus scrofa). Some relatively big birds include booted eagle (Hieraaetus
pennatus), black kite (Milvus migrans), honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus),
goshawk (Accipiter gentiles marginatus) and others.
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| The
project was implemented by WWF Norway and WWF Caucasus,
with the financial support of the Norwegian Government. |
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