
          -19-

can serve as guides to range studies and management.  Such a semiarid
climate develops only an open sparse cover with short bush dominating
the landscape, photo 1.  Palatable grasses and herbs form only a 
small percentage of the cover.  Were the unpalatable bushes and weed
removed from the plateau range lands and replaced with edible forage
plants, it appears that range capacity could be increased many fold.

The High Mountain Area

It is only in the high altitude region that grassland occurs
as a vegetational dominant.  These grasslands all exist above 8,000 feet and below
11,000 feet elevations, while the best ones observed were around 10,000
feet in four distinct mountain areas of northern Iran;  The Sanandaj area
of Turkestan, the Kuhe Sahand of Azerbaijan, the Kuhe Sabelon of Azerbaijan,
and the Kuhe Demevand of El Borj Range.  Excellent forage
grasses are abundant in all of them.  These are all mountains of volcanic
origin, the latter three forming spectacular high conic peaks with some
permanent snow cover and reach elevations of 12,000, 16,000, and nearly
19,000 feet respectively.  The seeding season in all occurs mainly during
August, though many species, as among Festuca and Bromus, are
available in latter July, while many of the Agropyron do not mature
until September.

These high altitude grasslands divide naturally into meadow and
slope communities.  Both are relic in character, as they have been able
to survive, at least in anything like a natural state, in only relatively
small and few areas.  This occurs where traditional social
customs have operated to protect pastures from the predominate
        