Investigating the correlation between environmental variables and species distribution should be performed using data acquired from appropriate spatial scales to meet adaptive management requirements ...in a changing environment. This research aimed to model the influence of climate change on the spatial distribution of Brant’s oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) via presence data acquired from local (Ilam province, western Iran), regional (Zagros ecoregion), and global (whole distribution extent of Brant’s oak) extents. To project the potential habitat of Brant's oak, general circulation models (CCSM4, HADGEM2-ES, BCC-CSM1–1 and GISS-E2-R) under the 2.6 and 8.5 representative concentration pathways (RCP) for 2050 and 2070 were used. To model the distribution of Brant’s oak, artificial neural network (ANN), random forest (RF), generalized linear model (GLM), and maximum entropy (MaxEnt) were compared. To validate the models, random-holdback cross-validation, whereby 80% of the data was randomly selected to calibrate the model and the remaining 20% was used to validate the models, was carried out. The results revealed that enhancing the modeling extent increased the accuracy of the model; hence, a model trained using the global dataset performed better than local and regional datasets. In all three geographical extents, RF and MaxEnt had the best performance in modeling the spatial distribution range of Brant’s oak. The main predictors of Brant’s oak distribution were different in local, regional, and global models. The mean temperature of driest quarter (bio9), at the local extent; precipitation of wettest month (bio13), at the regional extent; and temperature annual range (bio7), at the global extent were the most important climatic variables. The findings also indicated that the potential habitat of Brant’s oak will decline in the future under climate change scenarios (i.e., RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5) and across all three geographical extents compared to the current habitat. Using the findings of this study, it is possible to identify the suitable habitats of Brant's oak forests with more certainty and take measures to manage and protect them.
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•The potential habitat of Persian oak was predicted based on local, regional and global models.•The most important variables affecting the distribution of oak were different in local, regional and global models.•The potential habitat of oak would decrease in the future based on all three geographical extents.•Management and protection of these forests must be carried out while accounting for climate changes.
Düzlerçamı Wildlife Reserve Area (WRA) is the last natural habitat of fallow deer (
Dama dama
) in the world. Fallow deer is native to Turkey, however, its geographical range is currently confined to ...Düzlerçamı WRA, Antalya. To date, a detailed habitat investigation of fallow deer distribution has not been conducted. This study is vital for the last surviving populations of fallow deer in Turkey. Therefore, we studied the habitat suitability and utilization of fallow deer in the Düzlerçamı WRA. Vegetation and wildlife inventory was surveyed across a total of 304 sample areas between 2015 and 2017. Plant species were recorded according to the Braun-Blanquet method and wildlife surveys were based on footprints, feces, and other signs of fallow deer. Classification and regression tree techniques, as well as MAXENT, were used to model vegetation and fallow deer habitat. Topographic position index, terrain ruggedness index, roughness index, elevation, and bedrock formation were also calculated and included in the models. Based on our results, we drafted a habitat protection map for fallow deer. To ensure sustainability of habitats where populations of fallow deer are found in Turkey, we developed recommendations such as closuring human access of the 1st-degree Protection Area and reintroduction of the species to other potential habitats.
Maquis ecosystems are among the most uncertain and controversial vegetation types within Turkish forestry. Our review aims to describe and classify these ecosystems in Mediterranean-climate regions ...of Türkiye, shedding light on the evolution of their legal status in Turkish forestry since the last century. We emphasize their conservation importance and the neglect when compared to pine forests. The description and classification of maquis vary according to many studies, and even the distribution of maquis vegetation in Türkiye has not been fully clarified. Additionally, the legal status of maquis has changed many times over the years. While maquis were considered forests in the early years of the Republic of Türkiye, recent constitutional amendments allow maquis areas to be converted into agricultural land if it is deemed beneficial. Furthermore, clear-cutting is even encouraged for firefighting purposes. Given the rich ecological and biological diversity of these ecosystems and their role as carbon sink, a novel management and conservation approach for the management of maquis including conversion to Turkish pine forests, post-fire restoration, resilience and resistance to climate change should be developed.
Maki ekosistemleri, Türkiye ormancılığındaki en belirsiz ve tartışmalı vejetasyon tipidir. Araştırma makalemiz Türkiye’nin Akdeniz iklimi altındaki bölgelerde yer alan ekosistemlerin tanımlanması ve sınıflandırması ile son yüzyılda Türkiye ormancılığındaki makiliklerin yasal statülerin değişimini ortaya koymayı amaçlamıştır. Makiliklerin tanımı ve sınıflandırılması birçok çalışmaya göre değişiklik göstermektedir, hatta Türkiye’deki maki vejetasyonu dağılımı bile tam olarak net değildir. Bunun yanı sıra, seneler içinde makiliklerin yasal statüsünde de birçok defa değişiklik yaşanmıştır. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin erken dönemlerinde makilikler ormandan sayılırken, son anayasa değişiklikleri ile makilik alanların, uygun görülmesi halinde, tarım arazisinde dönüştürülmesine izin verilmektedir. Ayrıca, yangınla mücadele kapsamında tıraşlama kesim bile teşvik edilmektedir. Bu ekosistemlerin ekolojik ve biyolojik çeşitliliği ile karbon yutağı görevi göz önüne alındığında, kızılçam ormanlarına dönüştürülmeleri, yangın sonrası onarımı, iklim değişikliğine karşı direnç ve direngenlik durumları dahil makiliklerin yönetimi için yeni bir planlama ve koruma yaklaşımı geliştirilmelidir.
Forest litter (FL) carbon accumulation patterns can be predicted by certain tree and stand parameters to assess how variably managed forests may accumulate carbon. The aim of our study was to use ...tree stand data to refine methods to predict the composition of FL fragments in temperate, semi-humid black pine forests (Pinus nigra) in western Anatolia, Turkey. Predictive models were established between FL fractions (fine fragments of < 2, 2-4, and > 4 mm and coarse woody debris of branches < 5 cm, > 5 cm, cones and bark) and tree parameters (stand age, tree height, diameter at breast height, tree basal area, tree density, lowest tree crown height and tree crown thickness). We sampled 105 stands of ages < 50, 50-100, and > 100 years, that were distributed at 5 altitudinal steps (500 to 1,750 m). A multi-regression analysis was used to estimate FL fraction for different-age stands. Total FL dry biomass varied from 18 to 213 Mg/ha (average: 94 Mg/ha). The fine fragment fraction (> 4 mm) represented the largest proportion of FL (36 %). Coarse woody debris amounted for 6.6-7.8 % of the FL and branches < 5 cm accounted for the highest proportion (12.4-26.4 %) of coarse woody debris. The most influential parameters predicting FL fragment proportions included dry branch thickness, thinning rate, height and age (R2: 0.11 to 0.67). The combination of long-term observation and fine and coarse litter trapping methods should improve the estimation rates of sequestered carbon in forest ecosystems.
The Kasatura Bay region is one of Türkiye’s Important Plant Areas and plant biodiversity hotspots. In this study, the diversity and gradient of the sand-dune vegetation in Kasatura Bay were studied. ...Vegetation sampling was carried out by using the Braun-Blanquet method. The vegetation dataset was recorded in the TURBOVEG database management program. For classification, Beta-Flexible clustering (β = −0.25) and the correlation similarity index were used in the PC-ORD program. Diagnostic species of the communities were determined in the JUICE program using the φ-coefficient (higher than 0.30). Detrended Canonical Correspondence analysis was applied to data in the CANOCO program to understand the effect of ecological factors on vegetation diversity. Ellenberg ecological indicator values were used as the ecological variables. As a result, seven different plant communities were identified at the Kasatura Bay sand dunes. A new association of Sileno thymifoliae–Cionuretum erectae ass. nova was identified under the alliance Sileno thymifoliae–Jurineion kilaeae. The sand-dune vegetation represents high diversity, also including endemic plants, some of which are globally threatened. Due to all this diversity, settled on sensitive conditions, conservation strategies need to be developed to protect and ensure the continuity of Kasatura Bay sand-dune vegetation in the face of intense human pressure.
The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and ...first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional vegetation‐ plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on‐going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management of multiple databases that use different species lists. This is facilitated by the SynBioSys Taxon Database, a system of taxon names and concepts used in the individual European databases and their corresponding names on a unified list of European flora. TURBOVEG 3 also includes procedures for handling data requests, selections and provisions according to the approved EVA Data Property and Governance Rules. By 30 June 2015, 61 databases from all European regions have joined EVA, contributing in total 1 027 376 vegetation plots, 82% of them with geographic coordinates, from 57 countries. EVA provides a unique data source for large‐scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database.
During the last decades, contrasted trends in forest fires among countries around the Mediterranean basin have been observed. In the northern/western countries, Land Use-Land Cover (LULC) changes led ...to more hazardous landscapes, with consequent increases in fires. This contrasted with fire trends in southern/eastern countries. The recent incidence of large fires in some of the latter prompted the question of whether they are now following the path of their neighbors decades earlier. In this study, we investigated recent LULC changes in southwestern Turkey, focusing on those that could affect fire, and the factors driving them. To this end, LULC maps at different time steps (1975, 1990, 2000 and 2010) were obtained from Landsat images, together with relevant socioeconomic data. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) were applied to assess the effects of socioeconomic and geophysical factors on the dominant LULC changes over time. Over the whole period studied, the most important LULC changes were deforestation followed by afforestation. Deforestation was positively related to high livestock density and proximity to villages and increased forest interfaces with other LULC types. We found no evidence that LULC changes were making the landscape more hazardous as there was a net decrease in fuels biomass and the landscape became more fragmented over time. However, despite the area being heavily used and relatively fragmented, large fires can occur driven by severe weather.
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•The study region did not experience significant land-abandonment from 1975 to 2010.•Deforestation dominated, decreasing the hazardousness of the landscape.•Deforestation was driven by livestock density, forest interfaces and distance to villages.•The largest fire in the recent history of Turkey was not driven by increased landscape fire-hazard.
Diversity and ecological differentiation of oak forests in NW Thrace (Turkey) Kavgaci, A., Southwest Antalia Forest Research Institute, Antalya (Turkey); Čarni, A., Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana (Slovenia). Scientific Research Centre, Institute of Biology; Tecimen, B., Faculty of Istambul University, Istambul (Turkey). Department of Soil Science and Ecology of Forestry ...
Archives of biological sciences,
(2010), 2010-00-00, 2010-01-01, Letnik:
62, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
Quercus robur, Q. frainetto, Q. cerris and Q. petraea that predominate in forests in the Thrace region, a bridge between the Balkans and Andolia, were sampled, elaborated and classified. The ...ecological conditions were estimated by bio-indicator values. Oak forests can be divided into four groups: Q. robur-Fraxinus angustifolia forests thriving in floodplains, Q. petraea forests found a higher altitudes, Q. frainetto-Carpinus orientalis forests appearing in the warmest and driest sites and Q. frainetto forests on more humid sites. It was established that the most important topographic factor is altitude, while slope and aspect are of minor importance.
Aim
To analyse the biogeographic patterns of Temperate Deciduous Forests (TDFs) in Western Eurasia based on different life‐forms and forests layers and explore their relationships with the current ...climate, Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) climate and topography.
Location
Western Eurasia.
Taxon
Vascular plants.
Methods
We delimited nine regions encompassing the variability of TDFs in Western Eurasia and collected 1000 vegetation plots from each. We deconstructed the plant communities into three layers, tree, shrub and floor. We used (i) generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to analyse the influence of current climate, historical climate and topography on species richness by accounting for regional effects and (ii) redundancy analysis (RDA) with variance partitioning to describe the variation in life forms along abiotic gradients. The three forest layers were analysed jointly and separately.
Results
The Balkans, Alps and Carpathians appeared to be the richest in plant species, whereas the British Isles and the Hyrcanian region were the poorest. Annual temperature range and annual mean temperature were the best predictors of species richness for the whole dataset and for the shrub layer. The tree layer richness was mainly explained by the annual temperature range and by elevation, whereas the forest floor richness was more related to the annual temperature range and the annual mean temperature differences between the LGM and current climate. The current climate was the main predictor of the composition of the whole community, the tree layer and the floor layer, while the shrub layer was also influenced by historical climate.
Main conclusions
Our overview of the diversity of temperate deciduous forests in Western Eurasia demonstrates different patterns and drivers across life‐forms and forest layers. While the diversity of trees is mainly linked to current climatic conditions, the shrub layer is also driven by postglacial‐glacial climatic stability, suggesting a different origin from forest trees.
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