|
Pak. J. Bot., 44: 7-17, Special Issue May 2012. |
Back to Contents | ||||
|
|
Updated: 06-07-12 | ||||
|
|
AEGEAN GRASSLANDS AS ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEMS IN TURKEY
MUNIR OZTURK1*, VOLKAN ALTAY2, SALIH GUCEL3 AND AHMET AKSOY4
Abstract: In all 86 grasslands were investigated in the Aegean region of Turkey. Out of these 10 are found among the red-pine, black-pine, beech-fir, oak-pine and degraded oak-maqui forests. A total of 699 taxa of plants belonging to 68 families are distriburted in these grasslands. Out of these taxa only 104 are of good fodder value, 66 taxa belonging to the family Fabaceae and 38 to Poaceae. Aboveground biomass production in Aydin (139.18 g), Balikesir (122.68 g) and Canakkale (103.78 g) was maximum in Spring, whereas belowground values for Aydin (80 g) and Canakkale (80 g) were highest during spring and for Balikesir (80 g) during winter. In the provinces of Izmir (1144 g), Kutahya (400 g), Usak (800 g), and Manisa (1312 g) aboveground biomass production was highest during Autumn, whereas belowground production was maximum during winter at Usak (600 g), Izmir (1360 g), and Kutahya (910 g). In Denizli aboveground biomass production was higher in summer (400 g) and belowground in autumn (350 g). The biomass production in general was highest in the fenced as compared to open areas. The calorific values of the species in the fenced areas too were higher (107.2 cal.) as compared to the open areas (99.40 cal.). Borulceagac and Maltepe were the best areas from the point of view of calorific values. The grasslands of Isikeli, Pamucak, Karateke, Halitpasa, Urganli, and Gullucam were observed to be the best as regards the biomass production. However,nomadic activities like summer grazing, trampling and summer tourism are exerting a great pressure on these, leading towards a degradation and ultimately a loss of eco-diversity in the grassland ecosystems of the region. This paper enlightens the general plant composition and biomass potential of Aegean grasslands.
Dedicated to Dr. Mehmet Pirdal, a collaborator in this project at the start who lost his life in the devastating Golcuk Earthquake in 1999.
1Department of Botany, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey 2Department of Biology, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey 3Institute of Environmental Sciences, Near East University, Lefkosa, The Northern Cyprus 4Department of Biology, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey *Corresponding author’s e-mail: munirozturk@gmail.com |
||||
|
|
|||||
| Back to Contents |
|
Back to Contents | |||
|
|
|||||