**3. The case study, Iğneada Longos forest national park**

The Igneada Longos Forests National Park, located on the Black Sea coast 15 km from the Turkish-Bulgarian border, is positioned between the northern latitudes 41' 44' 43' and 41' 58' 27' and the eastern longitudes 27' 44' 52' and 28' 3' 17'.The Igneada area includes different kinds of ecosystems (sand dunes, wetlands, longos (flooded alluvial) forests, deciduous forests, and many streams) and a wide range of biodiversity; these characteristics make it one of the most important areas in Turkey (Ozyavuz, et al., 2006) (Table. Igneada and the surrounding environment have unique characteristics; these types (Igneada Longos Forests) of wild forest in other parts of Turkey and in Europe have been damaged due to anthropogenic effects (Figure 4).

Fig. 4. General view of this area.

Typically, flooded alluvial forests have high biological diversity, high productivity, and high habitat dynamism (Hughes et al., 2003). The surface area of these forests is around 3000 ha. Igneada alluvial longos forests are part of the Istranca forests; they are indeed ''natural treasures'' that have been formed by several ecosystems over thousands of years (Özyavuz and Yazgan, 2010).


Table 4. Resource values of İğneda Longos forests National Park.

The Igneada Longos Forests National Park, located on the Black Sea coast 15 km from the

27' and the eastern longitudes 27' 44' 52' and 28' 3' 17'.The Igneada area includes different kinds of ecosystems (sand dunes, wetlands, longos (flooded alluvial) forests, deciduous forests, and many streams) and a wide range of biodiversity; these characteristics make it one of the most important areas in Turkey (Ozyavuz, et al., 2006) (Table. Igneada and the surrounding environment have unique characteristics; these types (Igneada Longos Forests) of wild forest in other parts of Turkey and in Europe have been damaged due to

Typically, flooded alluvial forests have high biological diversity, high productivity, and high habitat dynamism (Hughes et al., 2003). The surface area of these forests is around 3000 ha. Igneada alluvial longos forests are part of the Istranca forests; they are indeed ''natural treasures'' that have been formed by several ecosystems over thousands of years (Özyavuz

**Longos forest** 1400 Alluvial flooded forest, rarity, sensitivity, flora, fauna

**Sand dunes** 131 Geomorphological structure, flora (especially endemic plants)

**forests** - Naturalness, plant diversity, fauna

Table 4. Resource values of İğneda Longos forests National Park.

Geomorphological structure, flora, fauna,

44' 43' and 41' 58'

**3. The case study, Iğneada Longos forest national park** 

anthropogenic effects (Figure 4).

Fig. 4. General view of this area.

**Resource Value Area (ha.) Main Characteristic**

**Streams** - Naturalness, flora

Wetlands (lagoon lake 52) (other 28) Marshes (315)

and Yazgan, 2010).

**Wetlands and marshes** 

**Deciduous** 

Turkish-Bulgarian border, is positioned between the northern latitudes 41'

There are five lakes in the area. Lake Erikli Lagoon (43 ha) is adjacent to the northern part of I gneada subdistrict, which is not linked with the sea during the summer period. Lake Mert (266 ha) is located at the southern part of the subdistrict, where the stream reaches the Black Sea. Lake Saka, which is the smallest (5 ha), is at the southernmost part of the study area between the forest and sand. Lake Hamam (19 ha) and Lake Pedina (10 ha) are located in the inner part. The coastal dunes and the longos forests of Igneada constitute the most sensitive ecosystem in the study area. Most of the known endemic plants (*Silene sangaria, Crepis macropus, Centaurea kilaea*) in Igneada and its vicinity are found in the coastal dunes; other species found here, though not endemics, are of national and international concern (*Aurinia uechtritziana, Cakile maritima, Cionura erecta, Crambe maritima, Cyperus capitatus, Elymus elongatus subsp. elongatu, Eryngium maritimum, Euphorbia peplis, Eu. paralias, Jurinea kilae, Leymus racemosus, Otanthus maritimus, Pancratimum maritimum, Peucedanum obtusifolium, Stachys maritima*) (Figure 5-10) (Özyavuz and Yazgan, 2010).

Fig. 5. *Cianura erecta.*

Fig. 6. *Eryngium maritumum*.

Protected Areas 17

There are three longos forests in the area. The conserved natural longos forests in the study area are the Lake Mert longos (316 ha), Lake Erikli longos (456 ha), and Lake Saka longos (624 ha) forests (Figure 11-13) This type of ecosystem is unique and rare in Turkey and the world because these ecosystems are sensitive to environmental conditions. In general, deciduous mixed forest vegetation is found in the area outside of the longos forests, and in this area the forests have similar floristic composition to the longos forests. However, slopes are rather steep in the area where these forests are found, and therefore the water table is well below the surface. The different ecosystems in the area provide a diverse living environment for the fauna in the region. Nearly half (194) of the 454 bird species constituting the bird diversity of Turkey are seen in this area during the year (Özyavuz and

Fig. 9. *Otanthus maritimus.*

Fig. 10. *Pancratimum maritimum.* 

Yazgan, 2010).

Fig. 7. *Jurinea kilae.*

Fig. 8. *Leymus racemosus.* 

Fig. 7. *Jurinea kilae.*

Fig. 8. *Leymus racemosus.* 

Fig. 9. *Otanthus maritimus.*

Fig. 10. *Pancratimum maritimum.* 

There are three longos forests in the area. The conserved natural longos forests in the study area are the Lake Mert longos (316 ha), Lake Erikli longos (456 ha), and Lake Saka longos (624 ha) forests (Figure 11-13) This type of ecosystem is unique and rare in Turkey and the world because these ecosystems are sensitive to environmental conditions. In general, deciduous mixed forest vegetation is found in the area outside of the longos forests, and in this area the forests have similar floristic composition to the longos forests. However, slopes are rather steep in the area where these forests are found, and therefore the water table is well below the surface. The different ecosystems in the area provide a diverse living environment for the fauna in the region. Nearly half (194) of the 454 bird species constituting the bird diversity of Turkey are seen in this area during the year (Özyavuz and Yazgan, 2010).

Protected Areas 19

Dudley, N. (Editor) (2008). Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management

Güçlü, K., Karahan, F. (2004). A review: the history of conservation programs and

IUCN (1994). Guidelines for Protected Area Management Categories, *IUCN Commission on* 

IUCN (2001). Guidelines for Financing Protected Areas in East Asia, World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK. IUCN (2003). Guidelines for Management Planning of Protected Areas, IUCN, Gland,

Ministry of Environment (2001). The National Strategy and Action Plan for Biodiversity in

Ministry of Environment (2002). National Report on Sustainable Development 2002,

Özyavuz, M. and Yazgan, M. 2010. Planning of Igneada Longos (Flooded) Forests as a

Biosphere Reserve, Journal of Coastal Research, (26)6:1104-1111.

pp., ISBN 978-2-8317-1086-0, Gland, Switzerland.

Conservation 13: 1373–1390, 2004.

Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Ministry of Republic of Turkey.

Turkey".

Categories*, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources,* 86

development of the national parks concept in Turkey, Biodiversity and

*National Parks and Protected Areas with the assistance of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre*, pp. 5-7, ISBN 2-8317-0201-1, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN (2000). Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Protected Areas, IUCN, Gland,

Fig. 13. Lake Saka.

**4. References** 

Fig. 11. Lake Mert.

Fig. 12. Lake Erikli.

Fig. 11. Lake Mert.

Fig. 12. Lake Erikli.

Fig. 13. Lake Saka.

#### **4. References**


**2** 

*Turkey* 

**Land Use/Cover Classification** 

Onur Şatr and Süha Berberoğlu *Cukurova University, Agriculture Faculty, Department of Landscape Architecture,* 

**Techniques Using Optical Remotely** 

 **Sensed Data in Landscape Planning** 

The observed biophysical cover of the earth's surface, termed land-cover is composed of patterns that occur due to a variety of natural and human-derived processes. On the other hand Land-use is human activity on the land, influenced by economic, cultural, political, historical, and land-tenure factors. Remotely-sensed data (i.e., satellite or aerial imagery) can often be used to define land-use through observations of the land-cover (Brown, et al., 2000; Karl & Maurer, 2010). Up-to-date land-use information is of critical importance to planners,

Optical remote sensing (RS) plays a vital role about defining LUC (land use/cover) and monitoring interactions between nature and human activities. Additionally, RS provides time, energy and cost saving. Today, optical RS data such as satellite sensor images and aerial photos are used widely to detect LUC dynamics. LUC mapping outcomes are used for global, regional, local mapping, change detection, landscape planning and driving

RS image classification is a complex process and requires consideration of many factors. The major steps of image classification may include i) determination of a suitable classification system, ii) image preprocessing iii) selection of training samples, iv) selection of suitable classification approaches and post-classification processing, and v) accuracy assessment. Additionally, the user's need, scale of the study area, economic condition, and analyst's skills are important factors influencing the selection of remotely sensed data, the design of the classification procedure, and the quality of the classification results (Lu and Weng 2007). LUC mapping has been used for various purposes in landscape planning and assessment such as, deriving landscape metrics (Southworth et al., 2010, Huang et al., 2007), landscape monitoring (Özyavuz et al., 2011, Berberoglu and Akin 2009), LUC change modeling (e.g., SLUETH (Clarke, 2008)), agricultural studies (agricultural policy environmental extender model (APEX) (Gassman et al., 2010); soil water assessment tool (SWAT) (Betrie et al. 2011)) and environmental processes (revised universal soil loss

**1. Introduction** 

landscape metrics.

scientists, resource managers, and decision makers.

equation (RUSLE) (Renard et al., 1997)).

