Uploaded on 2018-10-31 by saqaar

. I live in Karaj, capital of Alborz Province, Iran. Alborz is located on the south side of Alborze Mountains and is limited to desert areas to the South. Therefore, it has a great biodiversity. Unfortunately, during the past few decades many of its resources have been diminished due to rapid urbanization. Still, Alborz provides its citizens with many many services. Provisioning Services: Karaj River that originates from Alborz’s southern mountainsides and flows into the Khazar Sea in the North, is a rich source for food and fresh water provision. Also, Karaj River’s dam is an electricity generator using water turbines. Alborz mountains are great soil and stone resources for building construction. We obtain lots of vegetables from Alborz mountainsides, Karaj riverside forests and manmade gardens, and suburban areas. Also, there are a number of urban farms in Karaj, especially in Mehrshahr that provide us with vegetables like eggplant, pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, etc. Urban farming in Mehrshahr Alborz mountains are rich resources for medicinal plants like lavender, rosemary, pennyroyal, etc. Regulating Services: Alborz, despite the heavy urbanization, has a rich vegetation in suburban planes, mountains and riverside forests that help mitigate the climatic conditions such as cooling and cleaning the