Changes in biodiversity of the extremely polluted Golden Horn Estuary following the improvements in water quality

Yüksek, Ahsen; Okuş, Erdoǧan; Yılmaz, I. Noyan; Aslan-Yılmaz, Aslı; Taş, Seyfettin

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2006.02.006

Cited by 41 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…plankton, benthos, fishes, etc.) together with physico-chemical data from waters and sediments, showing the recovery trajectories after remediation or restoration processes in marine environments (see examples in Borja et al 2009a;Jones and Schmitz 2009;Lotze et al 2006;Simenstad et al 2006;Stein and Cadien 2009;and Yuksek et al 2006). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medium- and Long-term Recovery of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems: Patterns, Rates and Restoration Effectiveness

Borja

Dauer

Elliott

et al. 2010

Estuaries and Coasts

346

175

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Many estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems have increasingly experienced degradation caused by multiple stressors. Anthropogenic pressures alter natural ecosystems and the ecosystems are not considered to have recovered unless secondary succession has returned the ecosystem to the pre-existing condition or state. However, depending upon the scales of time, space and intensity of anthropogenic disturbance, return along the historic trajectory of the ecosystem may: (1) follow natural restoration though secondary succession; (2) be re-directed through ecological restoration, or (3) be unattainable. In order to address the gaps in knowledge about restoration and recovery of estuarine and coastal ecosystems, this special feature includes the present overview and other contributions to provide a synthesis of our knowledge about recovery patterns, rates and restoration effectiveness. From the 51 examples collated in this contribution, we refine the recovery from the list of stressors into six recovery mechanisms: (1) recovery from sediment modification, which includes all aspects of dredging and disposal; (2) recovery by complete removal of stressors limiting natural ecosystem processes, which includes tidal marsh and inundation restoration; (3) recovery by speed of organic degradation, which includes oil discharge, fish farm wastes, sewage disposal, and paper mill waste; (4) recovery from persistent pollutants, which includes chemical discharges, such as TBT; (5) recovery from excessive biological removal, related to fisheries and (6) recovery from hydrological and morphological modification. Drawing upon experience both from these many examples and from an example of one comprehensive study, we show that although in some cases recovery can take <5 years, especially for the short-lived and high-turnover biological components, full recovery of coastal marine and estuarine ecosystems from over a century of degradation can take a minimum of 15-25 years for attainment of the original biotic composition and diversity may lag far beyond that period.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medium- and Long-term Recovery of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems: Patterns, Rates and Restoration Effectiveness

Borja

Dauer

Elliott

et al. 2010

Estuaries and Coasts

346

175

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“…An increase in oxygen concentrations was observed in the Golden Horn following recovery studies. Minimum value of dO at the surface of outer estuary was ~3 mgØl -1 in 1998 but reached ~5 mgØl -1 in 2000 (YÜKSEK et al, 2006) and was measured to be 7.5 mgØl -1 in the present study (December 2005). Such a recovery was also declared by GÖNÜLLÜ et al (2006), both for the surface and bottom at the inner part of the Golden Horn estuary.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 41%

“…Particularly since the 1950s, the increase in settlements and different industrial plants around the estuary has caused dramatic rises in pollution levels, especially by blocking the water circulation because of floating bridges and dry docks. Subsequently, stressful environmental conditions characterized by hypoxia and the formation of hydrogen sulfide prevailed at the inner parts (KIRATLI & BALKIS, 2001;YÜKSEK et al, 2006). To improve the water quality, industrial facilities were moved from the estuary in the 1980s, followed by a rehabilitation plan in the 1990s.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…About 4.5 million m 3 of anoxic sediment was dredged from the inner part and pumped into an abandoned stone quarry, increasing the water depth at this part to 4-5 m. After the construction of northern and southern sewerage trunk systems in 1999 and the opening of the floating bridges to ease water circulation in 2000, the pollution in the estuary began to decrease. Recent studies have shown that water quality and ecological conditions were remarkably improved after the rehabilitation activities (ASLAN-YILMAZ et al, 2004;GÖNÜLLÜ et al, 2006;YÜKSEK et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ÜNSAL, 1988;TUNCER et al, 2001;ASLAN-YILMAZ et al, 2004;ALTUNKAYNAK et al, 2005). The most comprehensive one, with a holistic approach (YÜKSEK et al, 2006), is assessing environmental changes through macro-and microbiological data and water quality parameters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Golden Horn Estuary: Description of the ecosystem and an attempt to assess its ecological quality status using various classification metrics

Albayrak

Balkıs

et al. 2010

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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In this paper, we describe the pelagic and benthic ecosystem of the Golden Horn estuary opening into the Marmara Sea. To improve the water quality of the estuary, which had long been subject to severe anthropogenic pollution (industrial, chemical, shipping), industrial facilities were moved from the estuary in the 1980s, followed by a rehabilitation plan in the 1990s. Our results, based on chemical parameters and phytoplankton showed some signs of improvement of water conditions in the upper layer. However, macrozoobenthic findings of this study did not reflect such a recovery in bottom life.An approach to the Ecological Quality Status (EQS) assessment was performed by applying the biotic indices BENTIX, AMBI, BOPA, BO2A. Our final assessment was based on 'expert-judgements' and revealed a very disturbed overall ecosystem with 'bad' EQS for the station at the head of the estuary, 'poor' in the rest of the estuary and 'moderate' EQS only in the middle station.

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Local Assessment of İstanbul: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Güneralp

Tezer

Albayrak³

2013

Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities

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İstanbul, with a population of over 13 million, is Turkey's most populated metropolitan area and the economic powerhouse of the country. The city is located in a region that has rich biodiversity due partly to its unique location at the crossroads of two continental landmasses and two large water bodies. The geographical characteristics and the city's topography allow for diverse micro-climatic zones to exist in a relatively small area, 5,461 km 2 . Moreover, due to millennia of human settlement including sixteen centuries as an imperial capital, many exotic species have found their way to the region. This assessment provides an overview of the main challenges and opportunities that İstanbul is faced with in regards to biodiversity conservation and support for the ecosystem services upon which the city depends, while simultaneously managing population growth and economic development. The assessment will also highlight the Ömerli Watershed, which supplies most of the city's drinking water. The watershed's freshwater provisioning capacity has been degrading due to urbanization in its catchment area, while the demand for water in the city overall has been increasing. An ecological-asset evaluation of the watershed has been carried out to develop an ecosystem services-based spatial decision-making framework. The evaluation is part of the urban biosphere reserve initiative that may be a solution to prevent further decrease of the watershed's biodiversity and degradation of its ecosystem services. Keywords Illegal settlements (gecekondus) • Urban watersheds • Ecosystem services • Freshwater • İstanbul

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Changes in biodiversity of the extremely polluted Golden Horn Estuary following the improvements in water quality

Cited by 41 publications

References 5 publications

Medium- and Long-term Recovery of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems: Patterns, Rates and Restoration Effectiveness

Medium- and Long-term Recovery of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems: Patterns, Rates and Restoration Effectiveness

Golden Horn Estuary: Description of the ecosystem and an attempt to assess its ecological quality status using various classification metrics

Local Assessment of İstanbul: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

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