Gardabani Managed Reserve
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| Gardabani Managed Reserve | |
|---|---|
| Georgian: გარდაბნის აღკვეთილი | |
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
   | |
| Location |  Georgia |
| Nearest city | Rustavi |
| Coordinates | 41°27′11″N 45°01′21″E / 41.45306°N 45.02250°E |
| Area | 34.84 km2 (13.45 sq mi) |
| Established | 1996 |
| Governing body | Agency of Protected Areas |
| Website | Tbilisi National Park Administration |
Gardabani Managed Reserve (Georgian: გარდაბნის აღკვეთილი) is a protected area in Gardabani Municipality and Marneuli Municipality in Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia. Reserve is located on the left bank of Mtkvari river near the Azerbaijan border at a distance of 39 km from Tbilisi. It protects floodplain forest groves as well as local fauna.[1] It has been considered to be included into Ramsar Convention list of Wetlands of international importance. Gardabani Managed Reserve is part of the Georgian protected areas system which also includes Tbilisi National Park, Saguramo Range, Gldani, Martqopi, Gulele.[2]
Reserve offers opportunities for bird watching, animal watching and botanical and ecological tours.
Reserve resides in historical region of Kakheti. On Iori Plateau near the Gardabani Managed Reserve numerous archaeological sites of past settlements has been discovered dated back from the Eneolithic period to Early Iron Age. Most prominent cultural monument in this area, the David Gareja monastery complex, is located across the border in the territory of Azerbaijan.
Flora
Reserve floodplain forest main specimens of trees are gray poplar (Populus × canescens), black poplar (Populus nigra), white willow (Salix alba), aspen (Populus tremula), long stalk oak (Quercus longipes), Wych elm (Ulmus glabra) and field elm (Ulmus minor). Shrubs are represented by hawthorn Crataegus heterophylla, tamarisk, cornel (Cornus mas), elder (Sambucus), and butcher's broom (Ruscus aculeatus). Floodplain forest also has variety of lianas such as Clematis, silk vine (Periploca graeca) and common hop (Humulus lupulus). Forest quickly transition into steppe primarily grown with nipplewort (Lapsana).[3]
