In this study, the effects of first thinnings having different intensities in oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) plantation areas were investigated in terms of diameter and height growth of trees. Sample plots were chosen from oriental beech plantation areas which are within the boundaries of Maçka–Yeşiltepe and Vakfıkebir districts of Trabzon province, Turkey. With removing of 0%, 10%, 25% and 40% of basal area in a hectare of stands which are in sapling stage, sample plots were established by applying thinnings which are in four different intensities (control, light, moderate, strong). After the thinning applications, basal areas were calculated by measuring diameters and heights of trees in established sample plots in order to reveal stand growth. The effects of thinnings were revealed related to some stand characteristics (average diameter, basal area, average height, relative diameter increment, etc.) and determined chosen trees. The effect of thinning intensity on average diameter, basal area, and volume values is statistically important in every two plantations. 2-year results showed that thinning increased the diameter increment significantly, and the increase in diameter increment was positively correlated with the thinning intensity in both experiments. Moreover, increments of diameter, height, basal area, and volume were higher in Maçka-Yeşiltepe experiment than in Vakfıkebir experiment. But, the values of moderate and strong thinning intensities applied in Vakfıkebir were close to each other. When all the results are evaluated, application of strong thinning intensity for Yeşiltepe sample plot, the moderate thinning intensity for Vakfıkebir sample plot is seen appropriate by us in terms of both stand development.
The distribution and characteristics of forest ecosystems are largely under the influence of climate. Climate directly affects the growth, leaf area and form, fenology and plant life, from seed to seedling formation. Climate varies from global scale to regional and local scales. Climate also has feedback mechanisms that can revert the changing vegetation back to its original state, through the changes it can create on vegetation. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationships between the distribution of tree species in the highland which is under the influence of the sea in Canik-Giresun Mountains, Trabzon Mountains and Rize-Kaçkar Mountains sites in the Eastern Black Sea Region, and spatial factors (altitude, distance from sea and latitude) and climate variables. The climate data, such as precipitation, temperature (average, minimum and maximum) and number of foggy days, of meteorological stations at different altitudes in coastal and mountainous areas under the influence of the sea were used in the study. 100 m increase in altitude led to a decrease in 26.9 mm precipitation in the Canik-Giresun Mountains, a decrease in 87.0 mm precipitation in the Rize-Kaçkar Mountains, and an average temperature decrease of 0.4 o C in sites. The decrease in annual precipitations reaches 70 mm in Trabzon Mountains, 100 mm in Canik-Giresun Mountains and 290 mm in Rize-Kaçkar Mountains at a distance of 10 km away from the coast. Statistical increases were determined in the number of foggy days depending on the altitude and distance from the sea. In the research area, at 3 rd altitude step where the distance from the sea and altitude are extreme, Scots pine, Oriental Spruce and Fir are spread in Canik-Giresun Mountains, Oriental Spruce and Scots pine are spread in Trabzon Mountains, and Oriental Spruce, Oriental Beech and Fir are spread in Rize-Kaçkar Mountains. Despite the decreasing amount of precipitation along with the increase in altitude and distance from the sea, the fog cloud in high mountainous areas plays an important ecological role in the conservation and distribution of these species.
Land degradation is already one of the major problems affecting the world. Land degradation by soil erosion is one of the most serious ecological problems and environmental issues in many sites of arid and semiarid regions. There has been an increasing concern regarding the semiarid highlands of Turkey that degradation of these ecosystems results in excessive soil erosion, ecosystem degradation, and loss of natural resources. This paper, therefore, explores the impact of land cover in a linkage to the soil erodibility indices and some soil properties of Koruluk (Gümüşhane-Turkey) dam watershed. Soil samples were taken from soil profiles opened in 78 sample pilots among the lands which border each other in the same altitude levels and same slopes on the andesite-basalt bedrock in the southern aspect group according to 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depths. Sand, silt, clay, soil organic matter, dispersion ratio, erosion ratio, structural stability index, aggregate stability, clay dispersion ratio, field capacity, available water capacity, bulk density, total porosity, soil pH and electrical conductivity analyses were performed in soil samples. The results obtained about land cover were tested by variance analysis. The relationships between the selected soil characteristics were determined by correlation analysis. Degraded scotch pine forest soils were observed to be more susceptible to erosion compared to degraded oak forests and open space areas. Consequently, it was revealed that soils that developed from similar parent material in semiarid ecosystem and under all land covers were susceptible to erosion. The fact that the watershed supplies Koruluk dam built for irrigation water production makes these results quite significant. Agricultural activities are very important in the protection and continuity of the socio-economic situation of local people. The continuity of agricultural activities, in one respect, is associated with the availability of irrigation in this semi-arid region. Therefore, priority should be given to the necessary rehabilitation, planning and management studies in Koruluk dam watershed, and the results of this study should be considered.
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