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ABSTRACT:Forest fire incidences are one of the most detrimental disasters that may cause long terms effects on forest ecosystems in many parts of the world. In order to minimize environmental damages of fires on forest ecosystems, the forested areas with high fire risk should be determined so that necessary precaution measurements can be implemented in those areas. Assessment of forest fire fuel load can be used to estimate forest fire risk. In order to estimate fuel load capacity, forestry parameters such as number of trees, tree height, tree diameter, crown diameter, and tree volume should be accurately measured. In recent years, with the advancements in remote sensing technology, it is possible to use airborne LIDAR for data estimation of forestry parameters. In this study, the capabilities of using LIDAR based point cloud data for assessment of the forest fuel load potential was investigated. The research area was chosen in the Istanbul Bentler series of Bahceköy Forest Enterprise Directorate that composed of mixed deciduous forest structure.

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SUMMARYRiparian ecosystems as components of stream corridors provide a range of regulating ecosystem services including water production. Water quality, a component of water production is a major concern in urbanized watersheds. Water quality monitoring has been a very common method of investigating watershed impairment particularly in case of human impacts but it is now clear that hydrologic and ecological parameters may support and improve monitoring studies substantially. In three major watersheds of the Istanbul city (Alibeyköy, Sazlıdere, and Kağıthane) we initiated a large-scale study with the objective of evaluating integration, health, and functionality levels of riparian ecosystems. We combined a thorough field survey study with a GIS assessment to reach this objective. A total of 66 sub-watersheds have been selected in the main study watersheds and survey points have been determined at their outlets. All perennial streams in the study have been surveyed for 5 main categories; ecological water quality, water quality for use, riparian integrity, riparian functionality, and riparian habitat potential. We found that a substantial amount of the streams in or close to urban areas had lost their functionality. Furthermore, around 10 percent of all streams in the peri-urban areas had been channelled. Water quality has also been deteriorated in many streams. For example, average NO 3 -1 concentration at the urban streams was 76.63 mg L -1 while it was 2.67 mg L -1 at the forested part of the same watershed.Key words: urban planning, land use, sprawl, watersheds, stream corridors. RESUMENLos ecosistemas ribereños como componentes de los corredores fluviales proveen un rango de servicios ecosistémicos incluyendo la producción de agua. La calidad de agua, un componente de la producción de agua, es una preocupación relevante en las cuencas urbanizadas. El monitoreo de la calidad de agua ha sido un método comunmente aplicado para investigar el debilitamiento de las cuencas, particularmente a causa de los impactos humanos. Sin embargo, es claro que los parámetros hidrológicos y ecológicos pueden sustentar y mejorar sustancialmente los estudios de monitoreo. En tres grandes cuencas de la ciudad de Estambúl (Alibeyköy, Sazlıdere, and Kağıthane) se iniciaron estudios de gran escala con el objetivo de evaluar los niveles de integración, salud y funcionalidad de los ecosistemas ribereños. Se combinó un trabajo de campo exhaustivo con una evaluación usando SIG para alcanzar tal objetivo. Se seleccionaron 66 sub-cuencas en las principales cuencas de estudio y se determinaron puntos de muestreo en sus salidas. Todos los esteros permanentes fueron evaluados para cinco categorías principales; calidad ecológica del agua, calidad de agua para uso, integridad ribereña, funcionalidad ribereña y potencial de hábitat ribereño. Se encontró que una cantidad sustancial de los esteros en o cerca de áreas urbanas han perdido su funcionalidad. Además, cerca de un 10 % de todos los esteros en las áreas periurbanas han sido canalizados. La ...