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An Overview on Vegetation
The most commonly encountered types of vegetation in Turkey
are shrubs, needle-leaf or deciduous forest trees, and steppe-type
vegetation. Less frequent formation also exist owing to
the extent of the ecological differentiation.
There is a great variety of forests ranging from cone-bearing,
needle-leaf evergreen forests to forests with deciduous
trees belonging to the mild climatic zone. There are also
gallery-type forests along rivers in Central and Eastern
Anatolia. There are single-species forests of both evergreens
and deciduous trees, and also mixed forest formations. The
most frequently occuring evergreen forests consist of Pinus
brutia, and P. nigra subsp. pallasiana, which are found
mostly in the Mediterranean coastal belt. Other needle-leaf
forest trees are Pinus sylvestris and Abies nordmanniana
(in northern Anatolia), A. cilicia (on the Taurus mountain
range), Cedrus libani (also on the Taurus), and Picea orientalis
(on the north-eastern mountain range), either in single-
or mixed-species formation.
The most commonly occuring deciduous forest trees are Fagus
orientalis (in northern and western Anatolia) and various
Quercus species which are widespread. These trees are more
often found in single-species forests, but may also be seen
in mixeed formations. Other common trees, mostly seen in
mixed forests, are Castanea, Acer, Fraxinus, Tilia, Sorbus,
Carpinus, Alnus, Platanus, Salix, and Populus.
Of great interest among forest trees is the liquidambar
tree (Liquidambar orientalis) which is a relic of the tertiary
period. This species is concentrated in the humid valleys
of southeastern Turkey where the water table is close to
the surface. The diffusion of this species is very limited;
the only other location in the world where the liquidamber
tree grows is a small nimber of Aegean islands, although
it is known that its incidence was very wide during the
tertiary period.
Phoenix teophrastii (date) has recently been discovered
growing in some bays in the Datca Peninsula, the southwestern
corner of Anatolia. Until its discovery in Turkey, this
tree was thought to exist only on the island of Crete.
Twenty-six percent of Turkey's surface area (20 million
hectares) is covered by forests. 9 million heacters of the
forest is in good condition, while 11 million hectares has
degenerated. Most of the forest land is natural forests;
this is in contrast to European countries where the extent
of the natural forest is very small (only 5%). Attempts
at afforestation have accelerated in recent years with a
target of 300 000 hectares of forest trees to be planted
per year.
Turkey's forest land is found on the mountains bordering
the Black Sea, Marmara, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean,
and is located in an altitude belt of 0 to 2000 meters.
Central and eastern parts of the country are much less heavily
forested. Small concentrations of needle-leaf forests (Pinus
nigra and P. sylvestris) are found in some protected locales
of Central Anatolia. In both regions, however, the most
common forest trees are species of the Quercus family.
Some forest trees occur in enclaves outside of the area
of their usual diffusion. A most striking example is the
case of Fagus orientalis which grows in forests on the famous
Amanos mountain range in eastern Mediterranean, and on some
mountains in the Adana area. Both these enclaves are outside
the area of its normal diffusion which are the mountains
of the Black Sea region, such as in Artvin and Coruh valley.
Some trees and bushes such as the Platanus orientalis and
the Punica granatum, grow in river valleys in the Black
Sea region where they find a suitable environment, and in
vallays in eastern Anatolia.
Maquis shrubs are most commonly seen in the littoral areas
of the Mediterranean, the Aegean, and the Marmara seas,
in the altitude range of 0 to 1000 meters. They are found
in the Black Sea region as well but in a discontinuous fashion
and in enclaves. Some maquis-type shrubs are found in the
interior regions along river beds, following the course
of rivers from the sea up to their sources.
Steppe-type vegetation is more common in the Central and
Eastern Anatolian regions. If steppe-type vegetation and
Alpine or high-mountainous vegetation, which show a physiognomic
resemblance, are grouped together, this type of formation
is also found in the mountains of southern and northern
Anatolia, in altitude ranges above 2000 meters. It is widespread
in the dry and cold climatic zone, although anthrogenic,
or man-made destruction is clearly visible.
In the low and flat areas where this type of vegetation
can be seen, the Artemesia (wormwood) and Thymus (thyme)
species are common. Also found are species belonging to
the Graminea genus and other typical steppe species which
do not occur in other regions. In higher altides and hill
slopes the Astragalus species (tragacanth shrub), Onobrychis
cornuta, and Acantholimon species become more common. Within
these categories, Genista, Thymus, Verbascum, Phlomis, Salvia,
Cousinia, Stachys, Siderits, and other genera are represented
through the presence of a large number of species. In places
which have not suffered from over-grazing, the Graminea
species (stipa, festuca, avena etc.) are especially visible
because of their relative height and extensive occurrence.
Within the steppe-type vegetation group, the composition
of plants varies between the eastern and western parts of
the country. The species composition of high mountainous
vegetation also varies between northern and southern mountain
ranges.
In addition to the most commonly occurring plant types
mentioned above, there are also communities of flora which
are found under special ecological conditions: these consist
mostly of hydrophilous plants and halophytes (plants growing
in salt marshes).Species of the Cyperaceae and Juncaceae
genera predominate among the hydrophilous plants of the
wetlands while species of the Chenopodiceae genus predominate
in salt marshes. The environs of the Salt Lake in Central
Anatolia are especially rich in endemic halophytes.
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