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Forest in Turkey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For orchards, see Agriculture in Turkey.
Autumn in Yedigöller National Park

Forest now covers less than a third of Turkey, but ten thousand years ago the land was mostly wooded.[1] The country is reforesting, which is important for the wildlife of Turkey.

Definition, vegetation and extent

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In 2023 forest covered about 30% of the country.[2]: 9  The legal definition of forest has minimum area 3 hectares[clarification needed].[3]: 291  However the national greenhouse gas inventory is different as it is in line with the Food and Agriculture Organization: it has minimum 1 ha and 5m tree height and subcategories of coniferous, deciduous, mixed, and ‘other forested land’ which has crown closure between 1 and 10 percent.[3]: 299, 301  Productive forest is defined as having a crown closure of over 10%.[3]: 292  Trees grown for crops for agriculture in Turkey (such as its hazelnuts) are not classified as forest.[3]: 301 

History

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Ten thousand years ago the land was mostly forested,[1] but forest cover before the formation of the Republic in 1923 is not well known.[4] Prehistory can be studied from tree rings, palynology(ancient particles such as pollen) and charcoal.[5]: 214  From 10000 BC onwards oak (both deciduous such as Turkey oak Quercus cerris and evergreen oak Quercus ilex [6]) increased in Central Anatolia, but after 4000 BC they were almost all cut down, such as for fuel and construction in Çatalhöyük.[5]: 214  Human impact is thought to be negligible until the Bronze Age around 3500 BC, which included wood transport from remote areas.[5]: 215  Much old growth forest was cut down in the last two thousand years, especially in the last five hundred, and sometimes armies burnt it to expose their enemies and sometimes ships were built and some was cleared for agriculture in Turkey.[5]: 214  As well as oak there was juniper and Black pine (Pinus nigra).[5]: 215  The Ottoman navy used timber from the coasts of the Black, Marmara and Aegean Seas.[5]: 214  But armies used more wood than navies.[5]: 218  From sources such as Theophrastus Ancient Mediterranean civilisations used wood as a fuel in houses, bakeries, bathhouses and for metalwork. Cedar was used for temples such as at Ephesus and Artemis. Chestnut and fir was used for charcoal.[5]: 217 

The first big afforestation project was in 1939.[7] Turkish sweetgum (Liquidambar orientalis) was formerly widespread but is now restricted to Southwest Anatolia.[8]

Old-growth forest

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There is old-growth forest (sometimes called ancient woodland) and over 500 taxa of trees and shrubs in the country.[5]: 213 It is defined differently to ancient woodland in the UK as “A primary or natural/near natural forest area containing tree species, whose existence can be traced back from hundreds of years to neolithic ages.” Degraded ancient woodlands are sometimes very scattered. [5]: 219  Both local support and national policy are needed to rehabilitate them.[5]: 213 

Climate and forests

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Forest covers 23 million[9] of Turkey's 78 million hectares (almost 30%), but 3 million hectares have less than 10% crown cover.[3]: 301  Almost all forest is state owned and managed by the General Directorate of Forestry [tr][7] of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,[10] and they plan to increase the amount of forest to increase the carbon sink.[2]: 27 The constitution prohibits forests being transferred from state ownership; however, private afforestation permits allow the private sector to reforest state land.[11] Less than four thousand hectares a year are reforested by the private sector.[12] 4% of forest is coppice and the rest high forest.[2]: 9  There are also six million hectares of maquis, mostly in the south and west.[13] High rainfall in the eastern Black Sea Region sustains temperate rainforest.[14] Drought in Turkey is a threat both directly and by encouraging bark beetles.[15]

The Turkish Industry and Business Association predicts a 90% reduction in habitat suitable for Black pine.[16]: 18  Decrease in precipitatİon is especially snow.[16]: 18  They say that the mega forest fires that took place in 2021 and the shrinkage and even drying of wetlands in Central Anatolia are the most obvious examples of aridification. And that the severity of drought and the size of the area it penetrates will increase with the effects of climate change; and that it is predicted that this will negatively affect forest. And that in a climate that becomes more arid, efforts to increase sink areas, such as afforestation and carbon sequestration, will become less efficient.[16]: 17  They say that not much land is suitable for afforestation.

Forest products

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In 2023 five million stere of firewood, 23 million m3 industrial wood, and 29 million m3 “sewn stamp” [sic][note 1] were cut. [2]: 42  As of 2023 wood production provides the main income from forests.[17] 25 million m3 of wood was harvested in 2022, including 9 million m3 of timber, 9 million m3 of fibre-chip wood, 5 million m3 of paper wood and 1 million m3 of industry wood.[17]: 13  1.2 billion lira (49,000,000 USD) support was provided to eleven thousand families in 2023.[2]: 68  Coppices have become high forests,[3]: 305  and grassland in and around forest has become forest.[3]: 308 

Non-timber forest products include resin, acorns, mushrooms, truffles(forest created) and honey.[2]: 43 

Distribution of forests

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See also: Anatolia § Ecoregions
Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region, which is the most forested region.[18]

8 ecoregions are officially defined,[3]: 291  all of which can contain woodland: Euxine-Colchic deciduous forest; North Anatolian deciduous, coniferous and mixed forest; Mediterranean coastal zone deciduous and coniferous forest; Mediterranean Mountain zone; Aegean Inland deciduous and coniferous forest; Central Anatolian steppe; East Anatolian deciduous forest zone; and East Anatolian steppe.[19] However the World Wide Fund for Nature list has 13 with woodland. Almost all forest is in a temperate climate.[3]: 305 

A quarter of the Black Sea Region is forested, and other regions with over 10% forest are Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and East Anatolian.[20] Wildfires in Turkey are increasing in some regions due to climate change in Turkey.[21] Because of droughts in Turkey in 2008, 2020 and 2021 more forest burned in those years.[22]

Large area inventories can be done by satellite to hectare scale[3]: 288 and small areas by lidar.[23] The EVANIS database uses the national legal definition of forest and is very accurate for stands but not as good for greenhouse gas due to land use, land-use change, and forestry.[3]: 293 

National forests are: Amasya National Forest, Izmir National Forest, Kastamonu National Forest, Kayseri National Forest, Mersin National Forest, Kocaeli National Forest, Batman National Forest. Forest, Manisa National Forest and Siirt National Forest.[2]: 43 

Benefits of forests

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Detail of an old house in Çengelköy in Istanbul
Road sign
Foreigners visiting Belgrad Forest in Istanbul in the 1920s

Most forests are natural and semi-natural, on mountains and have a lot of biodiversity, hosting most species of the flora of Turkey and fauna of Turkey,[4] including flagship species such as Anatolian leopards.[24][25] Deciduous forests are along the Black Sea region. Species in various ecoregions in Turkey, namely Irano-Turanion, Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian, belong to about 800 woody taxa. The predominant species are Turkish pine (Pinus brutia), Black pine (Pinus nigra), European red pine (Pinus silvestris), Fir ( Abies spp.), Caucasian Spruce (Picea orientalis), Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani 2%) Juniper (Juniperus spp. 3%), Stone pine (Pinus pinea), Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis 9%), Oak (Quercus spp. 24%), Alder (Alnus spp.), Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa), and Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).[4][26]

8 million hectares of forests are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.[17]: 4  The value of both exports and imports of wood products increased from 2020 to 2022 but the value of exports is more than twice imports.[17]: 3 

Forests are the country's main carbon sink, in western Turkey mostly as living biomass rather than soil organic carbon.[27] Forests are estimated to have absorbed 34 million tonnes of the 600 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey in 2021, less than previous years because of both forest fires and a lot of wood being harvested.[3]: 287  As of 2016 the government did not have enough expertise to easily issue reforestation carbon certificates for the Clean Development Mechanism.[28]

The World Bank says, "Increasing forest cover and improving forest health can help prevent soil erosion and landslides and reduce the impacts of floods."[29] In the mid-2020s the bank is supporting a project to make the forests more resilient against climate change in Turkey.[30]

Some forests, such as Belgrad Forest in Istanbul, are important for recreation and tourism in Turkey. There is an ecotourism plan to 2025.[31] There are forest schools[32] and preschooling.[33]

As of the early 2020s there is no regulation encouraging more use of wood in buildings[34] (and no standard LCA[35]) instead of concrete and steel, which are carbon-intensive, and no plans to reduce firewood burning.[36] Firewood burning emits black carbon, which is bad for health.[37]

Threats

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See also: Environmental issues in Turkey
Marmaris forest fire in 2021

Some non-native insects are pests.[38] Big fires, such as in 2021, affect the economy, for example tourism.[39] The 2021 mega fires are estimated to have emitted 10 million tonnes of CO2 from 135 million hectares burnt.[3]: 366  Satellites such as Landsat and Sentinel can be used to study fire damage.[40] As of 2018 Istanbul northern forest is suffering from urban growth.[41]

Regeneration and reforestation

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See also: Forest dynamics

Regeneration of ancient woodland (also called old-growth forest) may be possible, if local needs are properly considered.[5]: 236  As some reforestation attempts have suffered due to lack of water desalination has been suggested.[42]

As of 2022 how much of the Central Anatolian steppe was originally forested was not certain: but in some lower parts it is thought that it has always been steppe and too dry for trees due to rainshadows of the mountains. [43] A 2006 study suggested that 50 million ha (64%) of land was potential forest.[44]: 344  For steppe it has been suggested that overgrazing should be stopped but that full recovery to woodland should be prevented so as to have both steppe and woodland wildlife.[45]

Anatolian black pine is commonly used for reforestation.[46]

Some forest is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.[47] It takes twenty years to convert to forest.[3]: 311 

People and culture

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Turkic mythology may have included the tree of life Ulukayın and forest spirits archura and äbädä.[48]

Notes

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  1. ^ brushwood? dikili damga has been mistranslated - maybe means timber mark?

References

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  1. ^ a b Gümüşçü, Osman; Uğur, Abdullah; Aygören, Tülay (2014). "Deforestation in Sixteenth Century Anatolia: The Case of Hüdavendi̇gar (Bursa) Sancak". Belleten. 78 (281): 167–200. doi:10.37879/belleten.2014.167. ISSN 0041-4255. S2CID 245293300.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 2023 Activity Report (PDF) (Report). Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Turkish Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990 - 2021 [TurkStat report]. Turkish Statistical Institute (Technical report). 14 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Turkey Forests". web.ogm.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kırca, Simay; Çolak, Alper H.; Rotherham, Ian D. (2018). "The ancient woodland concept as a practical conservation tool: the Turkish experience". Ancient Woodlands and Trees: A Guide For Landscape Planners And Forest Managers. Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi. doi:10.53478/TUBA.2018.014 (inactive 31 January 2024).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)
  6. ^ Marston, John M.; Çakırlar, Canan; Luke, Christina; Kováčik, Peter; Slim, Francesca G.; Shin, Nami; Roosevelt, Christopher H. (2022-11-02). "Agropastoral Economies and Land Use in Bronze Age Western Anatolia". Environmental Archaeology. 27 (6): 539–553. doi:10.1080/14614103.2021.1918485. ISSN 1461-4103.
  7. ^ a b Bilir, Nebi (June 2017). "General over-view of forest establishment in Turkey" (PDF).
  8. ^ "ANATOLIAN SWEET GUM TREE (LIQUIDAMBAR ORIENTALIS Miller)" (PDF).
  9. ^ "Resmi İstatistikler". www.ogm.gov.tr. pp. 1.1 Orman alanlari_2022. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  10. ^ 2019-2023 Stratejik Plan [2019-2023 Strategic Plan]. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Report). Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  11. ^ Gençay, Gökçe (2020-07-01). "Legal framework of private afforestation: The case of Turkey". Land Use Policy. 96: 104673. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104673. ISSN 0264-8377. S2CID 218962170.
  12. ^ "ORMANCILIK İSTATİSTİKLERİ, 2019" [2019 forestry statistics] (PDF).
  13. ^ EFIMED (2020-10-27). "Integrating maquis vegetation to forest management plans in Turkey". MedForest. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  14. ^ "Climate & the Ecology of Turkey's Temperate Rain Forest". www.ldeo.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  15. ^ Tufekcioglu, Aydin (March 2018). "Forest ecosystems and drought interactions".
  16. ^ a b c "TÜSİAD'ın "Türkiye'de İklim Krizi ile Mücadelede Orman Ekosistemleri ve Yutak Alan Yönetimi" Raporu kamuoyu ile paylaşıldı". tusiad.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  17. ^ a b c d "Türkiye Forest Products Annual Market Review- 2023" (PDF).
  18. ^ "EN FAZLA ORMANA SAHİP BÖLGEMİZ HANGİSİ!". Özgürses Gazetesi (in Turkish). 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  19. ^ "Eastern Anatolian Montane Steppe". One Earth. Retrieved 2024-02-02. Juniper-almond woodlands
  20. ^ "Türkiye'de Ormanların Coğrafi Bölgelere Göre Dağılımı". www.cografyatr.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  21. ^ "Climate change and forest fire trend in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions of Turkey".
  22. ^ "Using Meteorological Early Warning System (MEUS) and Meteorological Indices for Assessment of Manavgat Forest Fires Occurred in Turkiye July-August 2021".
  23. ^ Vatandaşlar, Can; Zeybek, Mustafa; Borucu, Süleyman (2022-08-15). "Mobil LiDAR ile Orman Envanterlerinde Farklı Örnekleme Tasarımlarının Veri Hassasiyeti ve İş Verimliliğine Etkisi: Rize Şenyuva Örneği". Bartın Orman Fakültesi Dergisi (in Turkish). 24 (2): 258–271. doi:10.24011/barofd.1070484. ISSN 1302-0943.
  24. ^ Karataş, A.; Bulut, Ş. & Akbaba, B. (2021). "Camera trap records confirm the survival of the Leopard (Panthera pardus L., 1758) in eastern Turkey (Mammalia: Felidae)". Zoology in the Middle East. 67 (3): 1–8. doi:10.1080/09397140.2021.1924419. S2CID 235564429.
  25. ^ Sarı, A.; Gündoğdu, E.; Başkaya, Ş. & Arpacık, A. (2020). "Habitat preference by the Anatolian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana Valenciennes, 1856) in North-eastern Anatolia, Turkey". Belgian Journal of Zoology. 150: 153–168. doi:10.26496/bjz.2020.78. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  26. ^ "Türkiye orman Varlığı" (PDF). Orman Genel Müdürlüğü. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  27. ^ Mumcu Kucuker, Derya (2020-08-01). "Spatiotemporal changes of carbon storage in forest carbon pools of Western Turkey: 1972–2016". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 192 (8): 555. Bibcode:2020EMnAs.192..555M. doi:10.1007/s10661-020-08431-x. ISSN 1573-2959. PMID 32740772. S2CID 220886275.
  28. ^ Kuş, Melike; Ülgen, Hüma; Güneş, Yusuf; Kırış, Rüstem; Özel, Ali; Zeydanlı, Uğur (2017), Erşahin, Sabit; Kapur, Selim; Akça, Erhan; Namlı, Ayten (eds.), "Carbon Certification of Afforestation and Reforestation Areas in Turkey", Carbon Management, Technologies, and Trends in Mediterranean Ecosystems, The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science, vol. 15, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 131–137, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-45035-3_9, ISBN 978-3-319-45035-3, retrieved 2021-05-30
  29. ^ "Turkey Resilient Landscape Integration Project". World Bank. 12 March 2020.
  30. ^ "Development Projects : Türkiye Climate Resilient Forests Project - P179345". World Bank. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  31. ^ "Ecotourism Action Plan" (PDF).
  32. ^ Ahi, Berat; Kaya, Gökhan; Kahriman-Pamuk, Deniz (2023-04-04). "Forest schools as a family choice: a narrative study". Early Child Development and Care. 193 (5): 647–660. doi:10.1080/03004430.2022.2131779. ISSN 0300-4430. S2CID 252831666.
  33. ^ Sevimli-Celik, Serap; Canaslan-Akyar, Begum (2024-03-01). "Pre-schoolers in nature: A five-week play & learning experience within a Turkish context". Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 14 (1): 87–101. doi:10.1007/s13412-023-00867-0. ISSN 2190-6491. S2CID 264337024.
  34. ^ Gençay, G.; Birben, Ü. (2024-06-01). "Striving for sustainability: Climate-Smart Forestry measures in Türkiye". International Forestry Review. 26 (2): 198–211. doi:10.1505/146554824838819879.
  35. ^ Mercan, Muhammed Cihat; Koşma, Elvan Burcu; Karakaş, Yusuf; Akyüz, Serra Melek; Gül, Fuat Berke; Görüryilmaz, Mehmet Turan; Ünal, Berat Berkan (2024-05-03). "Overall approach to building LCA and recent studies in Türkiye". Advances in Building Energy Research. 18 (3): 322–352. doi:10.1080/17512549.2024.2361343. ISSN 1751-2549.
  36. ^ "Household energy poverty: The concept, issues and implications for Turkiye".
  37. ^ İPEK, Özlem; İPEK, Egemen (2021-12-01). "Effects of indoor air pollution on household health: evidence from Turkey". Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 28 (47): 67519–67527. doi:10.1007/s11356-021-15175-9. ISSN 1614-7499. PMC 8277228. PMID 34258706.
  38. ^ "Invasive Alien Forest Insects in Turkey".
  39. ^ Sciences, Turkish Academy of. "Forest Fires Causes, Effects, Monitoring, Precautions and Rehabilitation Activities | Turkish Academy of Sciences". www.tuba.gov.tr. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  40. ^ Güney, Coşkun Okan; Mert, Ahmet; Gülsoy, Serkan (2023-12-01). "Assessing fire severity in Turkey's forest ecosystems using spectral indices from satellite images". Journal of Forestry Research. 34 (6): 1747–1761. doi:10.1007/s11676-023-01620-7. ISSN 1993-0607.
  41. ^ "The effects of urban growth on natural areas: the three metropolitan areas in Türkiye".
  42. ^ Caldera, Upeksha; Breyer, Christian (2023-02-06). "Afforesting arid land with renewable electricity and desalination to mitigate climate change". Nature Sustainability. 6 (5): 526–538. Bibcode:2023NatSu...6..526C. doi:10.1038/s41893-022-01056-7. ISSN 2398-9629. S2CID 256646404.
  43. ^ Kahveci, Gülzade. "General Characteristics and Distribution of Forest Relicts in Central Anatolia" (PDF).
  44. ^ "A Review of the Forest Vegetation of Turkey: its Status Past and Present and its Future Conservation".
  45. ^ Ambarlı, Didem. Assessment of Current Condition of Steppes in Central Anatolia for Conservation Purposes/ Turkey (PDF) (Report).
  46. ^ https://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/artkey/jfs-202110-0001_a-major-tool-for-afforestation-of-semi-arid-and-anthropogenic-steppe-areas-in-turkey-pinus-nigra-j-f-arnold-s.php
  47. ^ DURUSOY, İdris; SAKICI, Oytun Emre; ÖZCAN, Gonca Ece (2023-11-30). Certifying Turkish Forests: A Path to Sustainable Forestry Practices. Akademisyen Kitabevi. ISBN 978-625-399-467-9.
  48. ^ "TURKIC FOLKLORE AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF THE WORLD PICTURE".
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