Environmental and Social Management Framework (esmf)

2.3.6. Land cover

69. 
    The relief and climate play an important role in the formation of Azerbaijan’s top-soil. As a result of these factors, the soil in the territory of the country is mostly located on vertical girders. There are 25 types and 60 subtypes of soil in the country.
    
70. 
    Chestnut soils (gray-brown) are spread across the country at altitudes of 400-800 m. Humus content in these soils is 2.5-3.5%. This soil reaches up to 600m at the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains, Ganja-Gazakh and Mil-Garabagh plains, Acinohur and Jeyranchol low mountain ranges, and more than 1000 m in Nakhchivan. light brown, chestnut and dark chestnut soils are replaced by one another from the bottom to the top. Light brown soils dominate in the Greater Caucasus, the Lesser Caucasus, Ganja-Gazakh and Mil-Garabagh plains, and dark-chestnut soils in Ajinohur.
    
71. 
    In mountains at 700-2000 m. of height the mountain-forest soils were formed. In lower zones, relatively dry areas brown mountain-forest soils are spread. In these soil with sparse forests and bushes the humus content is 5-7%. In upper parts brown mountain-forest soils can be found. Humus in beech and hornbeam forests reaches 5-6%. In Lankaran region due to the much precipitation the brown mountain-forest soils cover a large area. Due to the dry climate in Nakhichevan this soil type does not exist.
    
72. 
    In south-east of the Lesser Caucasus in Azerbaijan, in the north of Garabakh and Murovdagh mountains ranges black soils are located. Humus in these lands is 6-6.5%. In lower parts of the Talysh Mountains and Lankaran lowland yellow and red soils are available. In these soils with humus of 8-12% the amount of iron-oxide is much.
    
73. 
    Alazan-Ayrichay valley, Samur-Davachi lowland and Shollar meadow covered with the steppe-forest soils. In the northern foothills of the Talysh Mountains alluvial-meadow soils, on the banks of Kyzylaghaj Gulf, along the Kura River and Shirvan collector the marsh-meadow soils were formed.