Aim The Caucasus is a global biodiversity hotspot that includes a wide diversity of temperate forests, from xeric to mesic and rain forest. Little is known about their vulnerability to climate change. We aimed to identify the major climate constraints on tree growth. Location Western Caucasus of Georgia, Russia and Turkey (40–43° N, 41–43° E). Time period Twentieth century. Major taxa studied Trees, angiosperms and gymnosperms. Methods We used a new network of 35 tree‐ring width chronologies from four angiosperm and four gymnosperm species across an elevational gradient of > 2,000 m. We used correlations to identify the major climate factors (temperature, precipitation and drought) at monthly and seasonal scales affecting tree growth and to assess whether their effects change over time. To explore common response patterns among species, we used self‐organizing maps, a type of artificial neural network. Results Spring or summer drought reduced radial growth of most tree species, despite large differences in elevation. As expected, drought was particularly detrimental at warm, low‐elevation sites. Besides drought, growth of conifers at high elevations was also limited by cold winters and summers. Important species‐specific climate–growth responses were also evident. In general, climate–growth relationships were stable over time, except at some cold‐limited sites, where positive responses to summer and winter temperatures have diminished over the last few decades. Main conclusion Growth responses to precipitation and drought among species were more similar than they were to temperature, even at humid sites, providing further evidence of drought vulnerability in mesic forests. The productivity of high‐elevation conifer forests, limited by summer drought and low temperatures, will depend on the balance between temperature and precipitation. Given that climate change is expected to induce larger climatic gradients in the region, the potential reduction of forest cover at a regional scale would make the conservation of these mesic forests more essential.

In this study, we identified the most important climate factors affecting the radial growth of black pine at different elevations of the mountain regions of Southwestern Turkey (Sandıras Mountain, Muğla/Turkey). We used four black pine tree-ring chronologies, which represent upper and lower distribution limits of black pine forest on the South and North slopes of Sandıras Mountain. The relationships between tree-ring width and climate were identified using response function analysis. We performed hierarchical cluster analysis to classify the response functions into meaningful groups. Black pine trees in the mountain regions of Southwestern Turkey responded positively to a warmer temperature and high precipitation at the beginning of the growing season. As high summer temperatures exacerbated drought, radial growth was affected negatively. Hierarchical cluster analysis made clear that elevation differences, rather than aspect, was the main factor responsible for the formation of the clusters. Due to the mountainous terrain of the study area, the changing climatic conditions (air temperature and precipitation) affected the tree-ring widths differently depending on elevation.

To cite this article: Doğan, M., Köse, N., 2015. Sandıras Dağı'ndaki (Muğla) Four new tree-ring chronologies from old black pine forests of Sandıras Mountain (Mugla, Turkey)Abstract: Sandıras Mountain is located in southwest of Gölgeli Mountain, which lies parallel to border of Aegean and Mediterranean Regions, in Southwestern Anatolia. This mountainous area is one of the natural distribution areas of black pine (Pinus nigra Arn.) and has the oldest black pine communities in Turkey. Monumental black pine stands and the large number of individual monumental trees can be observed between the 1200 and 2000 m elevations of the mountain (especially north slope of the mountain). In this paper, we present preliminary results of a dendrochronological research on old black pine trees of Sandıras Mountain. Four new tree-ring chronologies were built from upper and lower elevations of south and north slopes of the mountain. The shortest and the longest chronologies were 241 and 820 years-long (obtained from upper elevation of the north slope), respectively. In this research, we record the most sensitive black pine trees (mean sensitivity value is 0.27) of Turkey from the north slope of Sandıras Mountain.

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The Pergamon micro-region (western Türkiye) has experienced several phases of increased geomorphodynamics during the Holocene. However, the role of local–regional human activities during a transformation between Hellenism and the Roman Imperial period and supra-regional climate fluctuations is still under discussion. Five sediment profiles from the alluvial fan of the rural Deliktaş catchment are analyzed and radiocarbon-dated to provide a sedimentological record covering the Holocene. Our results indicate seven phases of changing sediment dynamics. Five Holocene cycles of coarse- and fine-textured fan sediment deposition covered the paleochannel deposits of the Çaylak creek, and the floodplain sediments of the receiving Geyikli river which aggraded toward the piedmont during the Mid-Holocene. The landscape became stable on the Deliktaş fan and Geyikli floodplain at least ca. 4–3.4 cal ka BP as indicated by paleosols. These paleosols were again buried by fan sediments marking the first phase of accelerated geomorphodynamics during the Late Holocene. Both the local onset of human activities and the regional Mid-Holocene aridization with rapid climate changes play a role. The increased number of archeological sites and high human pressure on the environment during the Hellenistic–Roman transformation in the Deliktaş area and Pergamon micro-region were hypothesized to contribute to a phase of increased geomorphodynamic activity during the last 2.5 ka. This, however, is less apparent in our record. Our study emphasizes the importance of both, the climatic system and rural-urban cultural history, on landscape development, suggesting potential responses of locally diverse geomorphodynamics on regional-scale transformation in the eastern Mediterranean.

Daskyleion Höyüğü ve çevresinde delgi sondaj yöntemli ilk paleocoğrafya-jeoarkeoloji araştırmalarımız 2022 yaz döneminde 18 ve 24 Temmuz 2022 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Daskyleion antik kentindeki ilk yerleşimin, bazı antik yazarlara göre MÖ 12. Yüzyıla kadar gittiği ifade edilmekle birlikte, antik kent tarihini daha eskiye yani Kalkolitik Döneme götüren buluntular yüzey araştırmalarında gözlenmiştir. Tarihi bu kadar eskiye uzanan Daskyleion’un coğrafi çevresi geçen süre içinde kuşkusuz önemli değişiklikler göstermiştir. Bu değişmelerin belirlenmesi amacıyla başladığımız çalışmalarımızda çevrede 12 adet delgi sondaj yapılmıştır. Sondaj verileri ve genel bilgilerimiz, gözlemlerimizle birlikte değerlendirilerek ilk ön sonuçlarımız bu yazının içeriğini oluşturmuştur. Manyas Gölü kıyısında ve gölün ayağını oluşturan Karaçay’ın yakınında bulunması nedeniyle, Daskyleion çevresinde meydana gelen coğrafi değişmeler üzerinde, bu su kaynaklarının etkisi büyüktür. Özellikle Manyas Gölü seviye değişmeleri ile alüvyal birikime bağlı kıyı çizgisindeki değişmelerin, antik kent ve sakinleri için önemi fazladır. Karaçay’ın akım özellikleri ve taşkınları da aynı şekilde antik kent açısından önem taşımaktadır. Tarihsel süreçte meydana gelen bu etkilerin ve değişmelerin belirlenmesi, büyük ölçüde Daskyleion çevresindeki genç birikimlerin ayrıntılı incelenmesi ile ortaya konulabilecektir. İşte bu amaçla genç dolgular içinde yaptığımız alüvyon delgi sondajları, bize önemli bilgiler sağlamıştır. Bu çalışmalarımız sonucunda Daskyleion kentinin Neojen (Pliyosen) anakayadan oluşan bir tepe üzerinde kurulduğu, kabaca yayılış alanı ve ilk yerleşildiği dönemde göl kıyılarının uzanışı ortaya konmuş, seviye ve kıyı çizgisi değişmeleri yorumlanmıştır. Ancak henüz C14 analizlerimiz bulunmadığı için, bu gelişmelerin zamanı hakkında, bu alanda daha önce yapılan araştırmalardaki tarihleme analiz sonuçlarından yararlanılmıştır.