Experimental arid land afforestation in Central Anatolia, Turkey.

The afforestation of arid lands faces many challenges, and perhaps the most important key for success is choosing one or more species that are adapted well for local environmental conditions. We explored species that would be suitable for the steppe region of Central Anatolia. Intensive site preparation included ripping the subsoil (to 80 cm) and plowing the upper soil before planting seedlings of Elaeagnus angustifolia, Robinia pseudoacacia, Fraxinus angustifolia, and Pinus nigra were used as tree species. We also tested the success of several shrub species: Amygdalus orientalis, Calligonum polygonoides, and Spartium junceum. After five growing seasons, E. angustifolia showed the highest survival, with 80% of planted seedlings remaining. For the shrubs, A. orientalis was the most successful species with a 95% survival rate. Broad-leaved trees grew a cumulative average of 34 cm in height in 5 years, whereas P. nigra seedings grew only 9 cm. The greatest height growth occurred in the shrubs, with A. orientalis gaining 40 cm in height in 5 years. Overall, E. angustifolia and A. orientalis appeared best suited for afforestation in these areas. R. pseodoacacia and F. angustifolia may also be used as alternative species.

Biodiversity and land degradation in the lower Euphrates subregion of Turkey.

Atotal of 107 plant taxa were determined in this study, 24 being new records for the area. Out of 813 plant taxa reported from the study area 100 species couldn't be verified. The number of endemics in the study area is around 46. The majorfamilies and genera are Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae and Astragalus, Euphorbia, Allium and Trigonella. The area shows a relatively rich and highly diverse fauna. For terrestrial vertebrate species peculiarly showing marginal distribution, this area forms their northernmost distributional limits. Avifauna along the Euphrates valley is quite rich with 207 species. Globally threatened species, Geronticus eremita (Waldrapp), has been observed locally in the area. Many macromammal species once common have gone extinct. Out of 18 lizard species, 3 lizards are known only from the study area. There are 20 species of snakes, one being exclusively endemic to the study area. Nearly 30 fish species are found in Euphrates system. Very scanty information is available for the invertebrate fauna except for some groups of Mollusca and Arthropoda. The biodiversity of the area is under threat from recent developments and abiotic interferences.

Studies on the chorology, ecology, morphology and conservation strategies of Orchis anatolica Boiss (Orchidaceae).

Orchis anatolica Boiss. is one of the Mediterranean species, which has wide distribution in Turkey. In this study, plant and soil samples of O. anatolica were taken from 26 natural populations in Turkey. There were one hundred ninety locality records in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, but we recorded two hundred sixteen localities thus adding twenty six new localities to the list. Twenty morphological parameters of O. anatolica were evaluated. The correlation coefficients between generative characters and vegetative characters were lower than the character groups of correlation coefficients between themselves. It is found from sea level upto 1700 m. Most common habitats of O. anatolica are macchie, forest lands and stony soils. The soils are loamy, clayey- loam and sandy-clayey- loam and rich in organic matter. The pH of the soils varies from 5.87 to 7.92. Although O. anatolica has wide distribution in Turkey, different types of land uses are posing a threat for it and restricting its distributional area. Lacking the legal regulations about conservation of the O. anatolica populations is one of the most striking requirement.

Morphological, anatomical and ecological studies on some Orchis (Orchidaceae) taxa of Mediterranean region, Turkey.

In this study, nine species mainly distributed in Mediterranean (+ Aegean region) region of Turkey were investigated in terms of 15 morphological, 16 anatomical and 5 ecological characteristics. Those species are Orchis anatolica Boiss., Orchis italica Poiret, Orchis laxiflora Lam., Orchis morio L. subsp. morio, Orchis provincialis Balbis ex DC., Orchis purpurea Hudson, Orchis sancta L., Orchis simia Lam., Orchis tridentata Scop. In conclusion, we found that O. laxiflora was characterized by the longest plant height and O. purpurea had the biggest tuber; whereas O. italica was identified by the highest number of leafs and O. purpurea had the longest leaf length and widest leaf width. Additionally, the other species which were characterized by different morphological and anatomical parameters are as follow: O. sancta with the longest bract length, O. italica and O. simia with the longest sepal lengths, O. laxiflora with the shortest and widest labellum, O. simia with the longest petal length, O. sancta with longest caudiculum length, O. anatolica with the longest spur length and O. provincialis with the longest ovary length. Particularly, O. laxiflora and O. purpurea species present essential divergence from the aspect of anatomical features of leaf surface in comparison with the other species. Morphological and anatomical traits of the species were attributed to the habitat selections of the species since that character differs along with each species.