Kürşad Özkan

Vegetation‐environment relationships in Mediterranean mountain forests on limeless bedrocks of southern Anatolia, Turkey

Abstract The forest resources of south Anatolia (Turkey) are characterized by degradation due to wood extraction, overgrazing and fire. In the context of forest restoration, afforestation, conservation, utilization and sustainability, vegetation‐environment relationships need to be known. In the study, a data set from Mediterranean mountain forests on limeless bedrocks of southern Anatolia, consisting of species cover and environmental measures in 56 sample plots, was examined with canonical correspondence analysis. Results illustrated two vegetation gradients related to factor complexes of altitude‐aspect and pH‐total calcium carbonate. Axis I of the ordinate was strongly related to altitude, aspect, available water percentage of Bv, field capacity percentage of Bv, schistose quartzite and soil stoniness percentage. Axis II was strongly related to total lime percentage of Ah, total lime percentage of Bv, pH of Bv, schistose quartzite, pH of Cv, pH of Ah, slope degree, respectively. Species richness was c...

Ecological Land Classification and Mapping of Yazili Canyon Nature Park in the Mediterranean Region, TURKEY

Abstract Distinction of lands corresponding to hierarchical sequences of plant communities means hierarchical classification of ecosystems. In this context, it is essential in determining of effective environmental characteristics at each different hierarchic level of vegetation distinction. Thus, a hierarchical mapping including ecological land units can be provided owing to comparison of same hierarchical level of vegetation classes with the land units marked at the hierarchical level of the map. The study was carried out in order to classify and map hierarchically Yazili Canyon Nature Park situated in the Mediterranean region, Turkey. 107 sample plots were selected. TWINSPAN (the two-way indicator test) was applied in order to divide land into units, and chi-square tests were applied for confirmation of the units. Interspesific correlation analysis was also applied to determine the indicator species at each level of division. As a result, six portions were defined at different hierarchical levels in Ya...

Application of Information Theory for an Entropic Gradient of Ecological Sites

The present study was carried out to compute the straightforward formulations of information entropy for ecological sites and to arrange their locations along the ordination axes using the values of those entropic measures. The data of plant communities taken from six sites found in the Dedegul Mountain sub-district and the Sultan Mountain sub-district located in the Beysehir Watershed was examined in the present study. Firstly entropic measures (i.e., marginal entropy, joint entropy, conditional entropy and mutual entropy) were computed for each of the sites. Next principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the data composed of the values of those entropic measures. As a result of the first axis of the applied PCA, the arrangement of the sites was found meaningful from an ecological point of view because the sites were located along with the first component axis of the PCA by illustrating the climatic differences between the sub-districts.

On the way of only one fundamental information layer for everything within new paradigm sense; ecosystem qualification mapping

The study was carried out to attract attention to the importance of holistic approach in ecological research studies and provide information about ecosystem qualification mapping, the fundamental layer for ecosystem-based management plans, by means of a case study example. In the study, species richness, potential energy footprint, resilience, rarity and dissimilarity were accepted as qualification components and the statistical analysis was performed by using 107 sample plot data taken from Yazılı Canyon Nature Park, located in the transition zone of the Mediterranean region, Turkey. All components were calculated for each sample plot. Then, Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to the components. As a result of the PCA applied, it was found that all components, except for dissimilarity, correspond with each other. Therefore, the formula for qualification index was created by taking species richness, potential energy footprint, resilience and rarity components into consideration. At the second phase of the study, qualification index and the dissimilarity component were modeled according to environmental factors taken as explanatory variables by using regression tree technique. With the regression tree models obtained, distribution maps of qualification index and the dissimilarity component were formed and group distinctions of the maps were drawn. Finally, by combining the groups of qualification index and the dissimilarity components, numerical values were assigned to the newly combined groups by using if-then rules. Thus, ecosystem based qualification value map of Yazılı Canyon Nature Park was formed.

Relationships between vegetation, plant species diversity and productivity of scots pine: a case study from Turkmen Mountain

Bu calismada Turkmen daginda saricamin verimliligi ile vejetasyonun dagilimi ve bitki cesitliligi arasindaki iliskiler arastirilmistir. Bu amacla, saricamin bonitet endeksi degerleri ile ornek alanlarda bulunan odunsu ve otsu taksonlar, 33 ornek alanda, analitik degerlendirmeler icin oncelikle belirlenmistir. Calismada vejetasyon gruplarinin ayrimi icin iki yonlu gosterge analizi (TWINSPAN) kullanilmis ve iki alt grubun ayrimi gerceklestirilmistir. Ayrica, alt vejetasyon gruplarinin uyumlulugunu ortaya koymak ve ornek alanlarin eksen degerlerini belirlemek maksadiyla, vejetasyon veri matrisine, egrisel uyum analizi (DCA) uygulanmistir. Daha sonra, DCA eksen verileri ile saricam bonitet endeksi degerleri arasinda korelasyon analizi yapilmistir. DCA analizinin I. ekseni ile bonitet endeksi arasinda pozitif onemli iliski mevcuttur. Ayrica her ornek alanin bitki cesitliligi Shannon-Wiener cesitlilik indisi ile belirlenmistir. Cesitlilik degerleri ile bonitet endeksi degerleri arasinda korelasyon analizi yapilmis ve pozitif onemli iliski tespit edilmistir. Elde edilen bulgular, saricamin verimliliginde vejetasyonun dagiliminin ve bitki cesitliliginin onemli gostergeler olabilecegini ortaya koymaktadir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Vejetasyon, Bitki cesitliligi, Saricam, Verimlilik, Uyum analizi, Iki yonlu gosterge analizi, Gosterge turler

Monitoring of Wetlands by Using Multitemporal Landsat Data; A Case Study from Fethiye – Turkey

In the last two decades, tourism has led to a drastic conversion of the wetlands into settlement areas in the surroundings of Fethiye town located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The coast of Fethiye Bay abounds in coastal wetlands, riparian corridors, marshes, forested wetlands, swamps and grasslands that need urgent conservation. In addition to tourism activities, pollution resulting from residential and agricultural areas, urbanization, and other activities are threatening the wetland ecosystems in the area. The transformation of wetlands has resulted in a loss of biodiversity. The wildlife, notably many water birds are under a threat of extinction. These biotopes need to be monitored at short time intervals, as changes in the wetlands are rapid and serious due to these factors. Accurate and timely information will play a vital role in supporting decision making and effective sustainable management of these wetlands. In this connection the ground based survey for monitoring purpose is not entirely well-suited because of transportation difficulties as well as the working conditions. On the other hand, satellite data can provide an effective tool for mapping and monitoring of these areas. While high resolution satellite imageries including Ikonos and Quickbird generally provide detailed vegetation mapping, medium resolution satellite imageries including Landsat and Spot have been widely used for detecting the changes during definite time intervals. The aim of this study is to detect the changes in the wetlands between 1990–2001 along the coast of Fethiye and its inland parts by means of multitemporal Landsat data.