Changes in some vegetation properties of the rangelands of the Palandöken Mountains, Erzurum, over two decades

Authors

ALİ KOÇ
MEHMET KERİM GÜLLAP
MUSTAFA SÜRMEN
HALİL İBRAHİM ERKOVAN

DOI

10.3906/tar-1909-37

Abstract

Plant community responses to environmental changes depend upon management strategies, climate, topography, and time. The objective herein was to determine canopy coverage and botanical changes in Turkish highland rangelands with different topographical characteristics between 1993 and 2013. Trends in the plant composition changed depending on the slope aspect (compass direction) and topography. The contribution of the grasses to the canopy decreased, while that of legumes and the other families increased. The results indicated that rangeland degradation occurred under uncontrolled grazing conditions. Suitable range management changes are recommended for the conservation of natural resources in the highland rangelands of Turkey.

Keywords

Botanical composition, grasses, legumes, long-term changes, rangeland

First Page

589

Last Page

598

Recommended Citation

KOÇ, ALİ; GÜLLAP, MEHMET KERİM; SÜRMEN, MUSTAFA; and ERKOVAN, HALİL İBRAHİM (2020) "Changes in some vegetation properties of the rangelands of the Palandöken Mountains, Erzurum, over two decades," Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry: Vol. 44: No. 6, Article 5. https://doi.org/10.3906/tar-1909-37
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/agriculture/vol44/iss6/5