Evaluation of forest fragmentation with particular reference to landscape-based ecological assessment and wildlife conservation

Year 2020, Volume: 21 Issue: 1, 84 - 93, 26.03.2020

Derya Gülçin , Tuluhan Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.18182/tjf.654954

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Landscapes are composed of diverse units that associate with each other, and these units have different functions both in ecology and physiognomy. Thus, evaluating landscape character plays an important role for conserving bio-diversity, as well as spatial planning and management of habitats and landscapes. Determining and analyzing environmental factors is an important part of assessing the conservation value of landscape types. For its ecological value, stone pine, botanical name Pinus pinea L. was chosen to be evaluated according to the environmental parameters in this research, because of its scattered distribution around the Mediterranean basin. Although P. pinea L. does not have a widespread distribution, it is naturally found in five regions of Turkey. This research was conducted in three provinces (Muğla, Denizli, and Aydın), located in western Anatolia. Maps representing different classes of soil, geology, aspect, and slope were overlaid in ArcMap 10.5, and characterized by Landscape Character Assessment (LCA). A total of 309 character types were determined, according to tree species composition, represented by 4 variants of the P. pinea L. community. To assess fragmentation among 34 different stands, landscape metrics were calculated using Fragstats v4.2 software. Potential range for regenerating stone pine stands was suggested in this paper, which can be considered as habitat corridors providing connectivity between mature stands. Spatial variation in bird species composition, reflecting wildlife richness, was evaluated as evidence for forest fragmentation.

Keywords

Landscape ecology, Landscape character assessment, Landscape metrics, Environmental factors, Wildlife richness

Thanks

We thank the Muğla Regional Directorate of Forestry, for providing forest stand maps of the research area, which were very valuable reference materials. Also, special thanks to the Directorate of Zoning, and Urban Planning of Municipal Hall of Aydın, for sharing highly critical, specific data for the research area, including vector maps of soil groups and geological formations.

Orman parçalanmasının yaban hayatı koruması ve peyzaj ekolojisi temelinde değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Peyzajlar, birbirleriyle ilişki içinde olan çeşitli peyzaj birimlerinden oluşur. Bu birimler hem ekolojik hem de fizyolojik açıdan farklı işlevlere sahiptir. Peyzaj birimlerinin çeşitli işlevlere sahip olması; peyzaj karakterinin değerlendirilmesi, biyolojik çeşitliliğin korunması, mekânsal planlama, habitat ve peyzaj yönetiminde önemli rol oynamaktadır. Peyzaj birimlerinin sağladığı fonksiyonların yanında onlara etki eden çevresel faktörlerin belirlenmesi ve analiz edilmesi, peyzaj tiplerinin koruma değerinin ortaya konmasını sağlar. Bu araştırmada, ekolojik değeri ve Akdeniz havzasındaki parçalanmış dağılımı ile ön planda olan fıstık çamı (Pinus pinea L.) çevresel değişkenlere göre değerlendirilmiştir. Batı Anadolu’da geniş bir yayılışa sahip olan P. pinea L. Muğla, Denizli ve Aydın olmak üzere üç il sınırı içinde peyzaj karakter analizi yöntemi ile incelenmiştir. Bu türün mekânsal yayılışının en yüksek olduğu peyzaj kümesi ise peyzaj metrikleri ile değerlendirilmiştir. P. pinea L. topluluğunun 4 varyantı ile temsil edilen ağaç türleri kompozisyonunun veri altlığı olarak kullanıldığı analiz sonucunda çevresel değişkenleri temsil eden toplam 309 karakter tipi elde edilmiştir. 34 farklı meşcere arasındaki mevcut parçalanmayı değerlendirmek amacıyla Fragstats v4.2 yazılımı kullanılmıştır. Bu araştırmanın sonucunda, P. pinea L.’nin rejenerasyonu için habitat koridorları arasında bağlantı sağlayabilecek potansiyel alanlar haritalanmıştır. Ayrıca, yaban hayatı zenginliğini yansıtan kuş türlerinin kompozisyonundaki mekânsal değişim, orman parçalanmasının araştırılmasında bir gösterge niteliği taşıdığı için incelenmiştir. 

Keywords

Peyzaj ekolojisi, Peyzaj karakter analizi, Peyzaj metrikleri, Çevresel faktörler, Yaban hayatı zenginliği

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