Emin Zeki Başkent

Controlling spatial structure of forested landscapes: a case study towards landscape management

This paper presents an overview of the landscape management design process and focuses on changes in forest landscape dynamics as a result of different harvesting patterns and initial landscape structure. A case study involved two different forest landscapes, one quite fragmented and the other little fragmented, with both covering the same total area and having similar forest age class distributions. The effects of four different harvesting patterns (scatter, negative edge distribution, edge progressive and nuclei progressive) and two different initial forest landscape structures on landscape fragmentation were explored using a GIS-based landscape management model (LANDMAN). The model suggested that future landscape patterns vary greatly according to initial landscape structure as well as to the four harvesting patterns. The scatter harvesting pattern created fragmented landscapes, while the nuclei progressive pattern significantly reduced fragmentation, regardless of initial spatial structure. Likewise, the negative edge distribution and edge progressive harvesting patterns tended also to reduce fragmentation. The model indicated that for a given harvesting pattern, fragmentation was generally reduced in the initially fragmented forest, whereas the clustered forest became fragmented initially, but later recovered. In conclusion, the case study demonstrated that geographically prescribed harvesting patterns, in combination with indicators of forest performance and landscape fragmentation, provide an opportunity to design management for the creation of alternative forest landscapes of significantly different spatial structure. The prerequisites for on-the-ground forest landscape management are a quantitative description of the forest landscape, a computer model, geographically-prescribed harvest interventions, an understanding of spatial forest dynamics, and a GIS-based management design process.

Comparing multipurpose forest management with timber management, incorporating timber, carbon and oxygen values: A case study

Abstract This paper comparatively examines two forest management planning approaches: multipurpose forest management and traditional timber management, with carbon, timber and oxygen production objectives in mind. The effects of both approaches on carbon and oxygen values were estimated with an oxygen and carbon flow matrix, while timber production was modelled through a growth and yield model. The estimated values were simultaneously integrated into a linear programming model developed for this study. The objective was to maximize the net present value (NPV) of the profits of timber, oxygen and carbon under the constraints of an even flow of timber production and ending forest inventory for each planning approach. The results showed that the ecological and environmental regulations in multipurpose management substantially decreased the NPV of timber production even though they increased the NPV of carbon and oxygen flow. The results also indicated that over a 100 year planning horizon the total NPV of all forest ecosystem values including carbon, timber and oxygen is almost the same (only 1.9% reduction in multipurpose management approach) in both management approaches. Although multipurpose management creates more NPV of carbon and oxygen than timber management does, the latter provides better results in terms of timber production. It is therefore important to take into account the NPV of all apparent and quantifiable forest values in preparing forest management plans, particularly in developing new management planning approaches.

Developing and Implementing Multiple-Use Forest Management Planning in Turkey

This paper explains briefly the conceptual framework of an ecosystem-based multiple-use forest management planning focusing on biodiversity conservation and participation. Some results from a case study were documented to realize the implementation of the concept. A strong liaison between the related institutions and major stakeholders and the effective use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) are necessary. Effective participation is evident only with the involvement of enthusiastic and skillful stakeholders. A case study of İğneada, Turkey, supported the idea that participation as communication has better possibilities to promote multiple-use forest management than participation as information gathering. Primary challenges relate to the effectiveness of conservation program, availability of coherent biodiversity data, capacity building; awareness, training, and common understanding of biodiversity and protected area concept; coordination among the related institutions and stakeholders; and willingness and enthusiasm of authorities to accept and implement the concept.

Object-oriented abstraction of contemporary forest management design

Abstract This paper presents a conceptual object-oriented design (OOD) framework for abstracting forest management design components. The framework for OOD encompassing modularity, encapsulation, interface and inheritance is used to abstract a forest management system in a modular way. We presented that using OOD approaches, a forest management model can be developed generically enough to accommodate various components of forest management modeling. The model framework is flexible and can be updated with relative efficiency, as the system design components are modularized and less independent than those designed with conventional approaches. We identified the basic components and discussed in detail their interface and behavior (functions) in a typical forest management planning process with three distinct modeling approaches; simulation, optimization and meta heuristics. We established OO management design framework which is both generic enough to provide the fundamental services to any types of forest management modeling such as simulation optimization and meta heuristics – however, we demonstrated the latter – and capable of providing specific services such as handling forest development patterns, forming strategies, forecasting and reporting forest changes. We concludes that the OOD approach for abstracting forest management design process allows a great deal of flexibility in constructing flexible, extensible, and adaptable forest management decision support systems tools and provides important information essential for the sustainable management of forested ecosystems.

Spatiotemporal Changes in Landscape Pattern in Response to Afforestation in Northeastern Turkey: A Case Study of Torul

Abstract Monitoring and understanding of land use/forest cover dynamics as well as the factors affecting the changes in land use/forest cover are necessary for the sustainable management of natural resources. This study analyzes the spatial and temporal changes in land use and forest cover patterns in a typical mountain forest area in the Torul State Forest Enterprise area of Northeastern Turkey. The investigation evaluates the temporal changes of the spatial structure of forest conditions through the spatial analysis of forest-cover type maps from 1984 and 2005 using GIS and FRAGSTATS. The evidence presented here showed that there were drastic changes in the temporal and spatial dynamics of land use/forest cover, and between 1984 and 2005 there was a net increase of 19.9% in total forested area. Productive forest area increased by 3161 ha, although degraded forest area increased 9216 ha. In examining the changes of crown closure and development stages of the forest ecosystem during the study period, the forest stand area with low crown closures increased. The regenerated area increased because of regeneration activities while the other development stages were left to grow to older development stages in the period. These results regarding the crown closure and development stage show that forest quality has increased, and this is partly due to emigration of the rural population in Torul. In terms of spatial configuration, the landscape structure in Torul, the State Forest Enterprise area, changed substantially over the 21-year study period, resulting in fragmentation of the landscape as indicated by large patch numbers and smaller mean patch sizes, owing to heavy timber subtraction, illegal cutting, and uncontrolled stand treatments.

Relationship between site index of oriental spruce [Picea orientalis (L.) Link] and ecological variables in Maçka, Turkey

Abstract Oriental spruce [Picea orientalis (L.) Link] is a species native to Turkey, covering about 350,000 ha. The species is of great importance to the production of timber as well as to the creation of social welfare in eastern Black Sea region. There are few studies about ecological variables affecting oriental spruce site productivity. Based on data from 90 sample plots, multiple regression models were developed using topographic, edaphic, soil nutrients, climatic subgroups and all factors integrated. Within the different subgroups of site factors, the integrated model with all ecological variables provided the best statistical results, which explained 77% of index variation. Other topographic, edaphic, soil nutrients and climatic subgroup models were enumerated by the success of modelling site index of oriental spruce from the related site variables. The results show that the integrated model is more successful than the models developed separately for each ecological variable. However, the integrated model included 12 different variables and thus the assessment of some of these model variables, e.g. element content of the soil (Ca2+, Mg2+, etc.), require potentially laborious soil analyses and costly applications. Therefore, the topographic model with only three variables (R 2=0.656), which can be assessed directly from digital maps by Geographical Information System (GIS), seems to be more promising and convenient, since the model can be easily applied to large areas. The results can be translated into practical recommendations to forest managers for selecting suitable site conditions for oriental spruce.

The effects of land-use and land-cover changes on carbon storage in forest timber biomass: a case study in Torul, Turkey

This study presents spatial and temporal changes of carbon storages of forest timber biomass in a typical forest management unit of the northeastern part of Turkey. The effects of land-use and land-cover changes on the amount of carbon storage are analyzed. Temporal changes of carbon storage of the area were estimated using forest inventory data. The spatial distribution of carbon densities was mapped using Geographic Information Systems (GISs). As an overall change between 1984 and 2005, there was a net increase of 12,379 ha in forested areas. The results indicated that the total amount of carbon stored in the above- and belowground forest ecosystems increased nearly by 47% from one period to the next mainly due to increase of forest area and the quality of forest ecosystem structure.

Monitoring thirty years of land cover change: Secondary forest succession in the Artvin Forest planning unit of Northeastern Turkey

Abstract As a major topic in forest ecosystems, determining plant successional changes is crucial to understanding the vegetation dynamics, composition and environmental disturbance of forest landscapes. This study is designed to evaluate the consequences of human and natural impacts on changes in secondary forest succession land cover from 1972 to 2002 in the Artvin Forest Planning Unit, in NE Turkey. This paper also contributes to the development of a framework for effective conservation of biodiversity through forest management plans by using successional stages and land cover types. Secondary forest succession stages and land cover types were determined according to Clementsian theory and mapped with Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) technologies through aerial photos and high resolution satellite images (IKONOS). The results indicated that the forest area in 1972 and 2002 was 88% and 80%, and the number of forest patches were 106 and 222, respectively. While the total road length in the Forest Planning Unit (FPU) was 67.7 km in 1972, it was 130.0 km in 2002, an increase of 62.3 km. Results show that urbanisation, industrial development and dam construction, together with unregulated forestry activities with clear-cut as well as insect outbreaks, affected the secondary forest succession and fragmented the forest ecosystem in the study area. Determining the secondary forest succession in detail is necessary for the sustainable management of such fragmented forest areas and for the preparation of biodiversity-friendly integrated forest management plans.

Monitoring forest structure at landscape level: a case study of Scots pine forest in NE Turkey

This study aims to investigate the change in spatial-temporal configuration of secondary forest succession and generate measurements for monitoring the changes in structural plant diversity in Yalnızçam Scots pine forest in NE Turkey from 1972 to 2005. The successional stages were mapped using the combination of Geographic Information System (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), aerial photos and high resolution satellite images (IKONOS). Forest structure and its relationship with structural plant diversity along with its changes over time were characterized using FRAGSTATS. In terms of spatial configuration of seral stages, the total number of fragments increased from 572 to 735, and mean size of patch (MPS) decreased from 154.97 ha to 120.60 ha over 33 years. The situation resulted in forestation serving appropriate conditions for plant diversity in the area. As an overall change in study area, there was a net increase of 1823.3 ha forest during the period with an average annual forestation rate of 55.25 ha year−1(0.4% per year). In conclusion, the study revealed that stand type maps of forest management plans in Turkey provide a great chance to monitor the changes in structural plant diversity over time. The study further contributes to the development of a framework for effective integration of biodiversity conservation into Multiple Use Forest Management (MUFM) plans using the successional stages as a critical mechanism.

Investigating the 40-Year Legacy of Forest Management Plans in Eastern Black Sea Forests of Turkey

Abstract Eastern Black Sea forests in Turkey have been managed with both even-aged and uneven-aged management approaches. The forests, however, are severely degraded and depleted as a result of mismanagement particularly in applying uneven-aged management practices. This paper explains and discusses the results of management plans in two consecutive periods, 1971-1990 and 1983-2004. The analysis showed that considerable changes occurred in planning parameters between the two periods: the forest landbase and allowable cut levels decreased and the growing stock increased. We demonstrated that several factors (inconsistent volume and increment tables, lack of silvicultural plans, lack of site classification, poor regional socio-economic structure, inconsistent forest management planning process and personnel policy) were together accountable for such dramatic changes and suggested few recommendations for better management of the regions diverse and fragile forest in the future.