Iranian long-lived walnuts (Part one)

Walnut (Juglans regia) is native to Iran and is being planted in most provinces of the country. The walnut is a tall tree with a height up to 25 m in the forest areas. This tree has been preserved for centuries in the gardens of various provinces to exploit its product; therefore, there are a lot of long-lived stands of walnut. According to a survey, up to 2016, there are 150 long-lived stands of walnut in 27 provinces, of which 104 stands have been recorded. In the present paper, the characteristics of long-lived stands in eight provinces are introduced. Certainly, more stands of long-lived trees will be identified in more provinces and introduced in the next issue. The highest frequency of walnut long-lived stands was recorded in Isfahan province with 24 stands, followed by Qazvin (22 stands), Semnan (21 stands), and North Khorasan (19 stands). The most long-lived walnut stand was recorded in Isfahan province, Kloce village, with almost 900-950 years old and 101 cm of trunk perimeter, followed by Chapanlo long-lived walnut in North Khorasan, and Bage Khan Oregan in Chahar Mahle Bakhtiari province. In addition, a long-lived walnut stand in Qazvin province, Yaroood village, had the widest canopy with 39.1 m of crown diameter and 1200 m2 canopy among all identified long-lived species in Iran.