The natural regeneration establishment and diversity of different 50-year-old plantation types in Sorkhe-Hesar Forest Park

Through planting, Furthermore, selecting the appropriate species as well as the ability of new ecosystems for self- regeneration and restoration are also important. Currently, approximately 50 years have passed since the beginning of semi-arid plantations around huge cities of Iran like Tehran (i.e. Sorkhe-Hesar Forest Park, located in the eastern part of the city). This study aimed to investigate the regeneration in mentioned forest stands and answer to the question, whether the investigated vegetation types and species composition, despite the arid climate and tourist traffic, are able to regenerate and the grown seedlings are capable to establish? The inventory was performed in five forest types that five sample plots of 15×15 meter were established in each one. To compare the regeneration amongst different vegetation types and amongst different species the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used. The results of this study showed that regenerations of Celtis caucasica and Cercis siliquastrum were significantly higher than those of Cupressus arizonica, Fraxinus rotundifolia and Pinus eldarica. Moreover, the highest and lowest regeneration diversity were observed in Cercis and Pinus types, respectively. The species of C. caucasica and C. siliquastrum proved to play the most important roles in regeneration of studied area. Except Amygdalus lycioides, the regeneration of all studied species were highly dependent on nurse trees and their canopy. Compared to Celtis, theregeneration of Cercis was significantly dependent on water supply.