Determination of the Certain Vegetation Characteristics of Kizilova Forest Pasture Located in the South of Turkey

Abstract

Forest pastures are an important resource for Mediterranean countries, providing cheap forage and a reservoir of biodiversity. A case study was conducted of the Kizilova forest pasture (Sutculer) in the Isparta district of Southern Turkey in 2014-2016. The aim of the study is to determine the plant species, plant-covered area, botanical compositions, aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, pasture condition and grazing capacity in a pasture. Vegetation sampling was conducted in spring and autumn (2014)(2015)(2016). "Line intercept" and "quadrat" methods were used in order to determine the pasture flora of the case study area. The finding was that 106 plant taxa belonged to 23 families, out of which 26 taxa of Asteraceae were determined, while 13 and 11 taxa were determined in Lamiaceae and in Poaceae, respectively. The plant-covered area was found to be nearly 57.7%. The botanical composition of pastures' taxa is approximately 46.5% Poaceae, 31.2% Fabaceae and 22.3% of other families. The aboveground and belowground biomass productions were calculated as 414.2 kg/da and 745.2 kg/da, respectively. The results indicated that the grazing capacity for an area was on average 153.4 animal units and the average sufficient pasture area per animal unit was 1.3 ha. The case study area of pasture condition was determined as moderate.

Landscape Sensitivity Analysis as an Ecological Key: The Case of Duzce, Turkey

“…Habitat fragmentation decreases disintegration, increases mortality and decreases genetic diversity (Cushman et al, 2010;Kosydar, 2014). In addition, the vegetation cover destroyed by habitat fragmentation ceases its duty to protect soil and water resources, (Babalık et al, 2019) and changes the landscape pattern. Landscape pattern is a concrete reflection of the spatial heterogeneity of the landscape (Penghua et al, 2007).…”