Lorestan is situated in the Irano-Turanian region of south-west Iran, with much diversity of vegetation, topography and climate. It is 3100 km2 in extent and has about 750 000 hectares of forest trees and 1 500 000 hectares of forest-pasture. The dominant trees of these forests are oaks. These are accompanied by Pistacia, almond, pear, rock-cherry and azarole. There are also a large number of xerophytic species (adapted to dry conditions) which flower in late spring and early summer, mainly Astragalus, and other endemic species of different genera. Lorestan's beekeeping history goes back about 4000 years and today traditional hives are common in many parts of the province. Although modern beekeeping started about 30 years ago, its progress has been very slow and many honey production regions and their nectar-producing plants were unknown until recently.
Keywords
Honey, Pollen Sources, Lorestan, Iran, traditional beekeeping
