Yatir Forest

Yatir Forest is a forest in Israel, located on the southern slopes of Mount Hebron, on the edge of the Negev Desert. The forest covers an area of 30,000 dunams (30 square kilometers), and is the largest planted forest in Israel.

History

The first trees of the forest were planted in 1964 by the Jewish National Fund, which continues to expand it as of 2006. It is named after the ancient Levite city within its territory, Yatir, as written in the Old Testament: "And unto the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah with its suburbs, and Jattir with its suburbs, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs" (Book of Joshua sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Joshua|chapter=21|verse=13|range=-14|nobook=). [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1176152801104]

The forest is composed of more than four million trees, mostly coniferous trees - Aleppo Pine and Cypress. It also includes many broad leafed trees (such as Atlantic Terebinth, Tamarisk, Jujube, and Carob), Olive, Fig, Eucalyptus and Acacia, vineyards and various shrubs.

The forest is situated at a relatively high altitude (between 400 and 850 metres above sea level) in a semi-arid region with an average yearly rainfall of 250-275 mm and low humidity. The ground is composed of hard lime rocks, and soft chalk rocks.

Archeology and research

Several archeological sites are located within the forest, including the Anim and Yatir ruins. It is also the focus of research to determine the forest's relationship with its environment. The research is led by Prof. Dan Yakir of the Weizmann Institute of Science, in collaboration with other organisations as KKL-JNF [ [http://www.kkl.org.il/kkl/english/main_subject/forest_and_places/kkl%20afforestation%20work.htm KKL-JNF cooperating on afforestation at Yatir forest] ] researchers from several other institutes. This research is also a part of the NASA project FLUXNET, a global network of micrometeorological tower sites used to measure the exchanges of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy between terrestrial ecosystem and atmosphere. As such, the research conducted here focuses mainly on this.

In addition, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies also conducts research at Yatir forest. The research conducted here focuses mainly on the crops (eg dates, grapes, ...) grown within and near Yatir forest. This research thus focuses on improving agriculture. [ [http://programmes.france2.fr/vu-du-ciel/accueil.htm Vu du Ciel-documentary by Yann Arthus-Bertrand] ] [ [http://www.watsonblogs.org/meef/subjects/plants/ 2000 year old seed grows in the arava] ] The research is being led by Dr. Elaine Solowey, who works at the forest by day and resides at Kibbutz Ketura at night. At present, Dr. Solowey is working on MERC project M-20-0-18,which targets at introducing new crops to arid and saline zones. [ [http://www.desertagriculture.org/index.html MERC Project M-20-0-18 project] ] [ [http://www.arava.org/new/academics/faculty/dr_elaine_solowey Dr Elaine Solowey details] ] Dr. Elaine Solowey is also the wife of Michael Solowey, founding member of Kibbutz Ketura.

ee also

*Eshtaol Forest

External links

* [http://www.kkl.org.il/KKL/SBMANAGE/showcontent.aspx?id=15083 The forest's page in the Jewish National Fund website]
* [http://www.weizmann.ac.il/ESER/People/Yakir/YATIR/Yatir.htm The Weizmann Institute's Yatir Forest research group]
* [http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/FLUXNET/ FLUXNET]
* [http://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/site/en/weizman.asp?pi=371&doc_id=3192 Weizmann Institute study suggests that rising carbon dioxide levels might cause forests to spread into dry environments]

References