Search

Past and present environmental changes cause significant changes in tree growth in many parts of the world, where both decreasing and increasing growth trends have been detected over the last decades. The Mediterranean basin is especially sensitive to climate change and subsequent tree growth declines. In this article, we present the first study on recent tree growth trends in Turkey. Pinus nigra is a drought-sensitive species and one of the most common and economically important native conifers to Turkey. Tree-ring cores were taken from 61 Pinus nigra plots spread over the entire Lakes District (Southwest Turkey), near the species’ southern range limit. The samples cover the 1839–2013 time period. We apply the Regional Curve Standardization technique and statistical modeling to the tree ring width data to investigate long-term growth trends. Both methods show remarkably similar results: a slowly increasing growth trend until the 1970s, followed by a decreasing trend. This recent negative trend is highly correlated with increased temperature and drought in summer, which suggests that it is likely caused by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of the discourse of ideological geopolitics during the Cold War meant that both Turkey and the EU belonged to the West by virtue of their ideological orientation. In the absence of this prevalent geopolitical discourse, both the EU and Turkey have spent the 1990s trying to locate themselves geographically. Drawing on the literature on critical approaches to political geography and international relations, this article seeks to answer the question of whether the EU's post-Cold War security discourse on the Mediterranean in general and on relations with Turkey in particular point to a return to the earlier discourse of civilisational geopolitics. The article also presents a reading of Turkish policy makers' attempts to resist EU's representation of Turkey in 'non-Europe' (as with the 'Middle East' or the 'Mediterranean') as boundary-producing practices which have served to underline the boundaries between the 'West' and the 'non-West'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Greenhouse cultivation has a special place in agricultural production. The most distinctive characteristic of the greenhouse cultivation compared to other agricultural production method is that it is carried out under a structure called greenhouse. The air conditioning systems in greenhouse provide a suitable environmental condition for agricultural production. This cultivation method has been widely utilized in many different regions of the world. Southern coast of Turkey is an important greenhouse-growing center in Mediterranean basin. In addition to the traditional greenhouse production, there has been an increase in the number of the modern greenhouse structures that allows climate control in Turkey in recent years. Heating is an important factor in providing favorable climate conditions for greenhouse production that affects directly both quality and cost of the production. Heating of greenhouses is required for an efficient and reliable production especially during winter time in Turkey. Currently, coal is preferred as a fuel in the greenhouse heating because it is more economical in comparison to the other fuels such as diesel, LPG, LNG and natural gas and can be easily supplied. In this study, the heating requirements and their costs for the provinces in the Mediterranean region have been identified by using the meteorological data. The calculations were made for a gothic roofed and coal heated, plastic model greenhouse located in an area with 1ha representing modern greenhouses of the region. According to the results of calculations, total annual heating requirement was between 3,592,848 and 10,459,688MJ/ha. The calculated total annual and hourly costs per ha were 65,891.5–151,220.6$/year and 23.8–34.2$/h, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study phytosociological structure of Mediterranean enclaves which occured along the stream valleys in inner parts of Black sea region was investigated. Pinus brutia var. brutia and Quercus coccifera are the most widespread communities in the study area. Pinus pinea, Arbutus andrachne, Arbutus unedo, Fontanesia philliraeoides subsp. philliraeoides and Olea europaea L. var sylvestris have a restricted distribution in inner parts of Black sea region as compared to P. brutia and Q. coccifera. The following associations were described in the study area. Siderito dichotomae -Quercetum cocciferae, Spiraeo crenatae-Oleetum sylvestns ass. nov, Cotino coggyreae- Arbutetum andrachnes, Buxo sempervirenti-Arbutetum unedonis ass. nov, Paliuro spinae-christi-Fontanesietum philliraeoidis, Querco infectoriae-Pinetum brutiae and Crucianello ponticae-Pinetum pinae. The highest species diversity was found in Crucienello ponticae- Pinetum pinae, while the lowest species diversity was found in Spiraeo crenatae-Oleetum sylvestris. Evenness values were much similar to each other among all of the associations. According to CA Paliurus spinae-christi-Fontanesietum philliraeoidis, Spiraeo crenatae- Oleetum sylvestris and Crucienello ponticae-Pinetum pinae occured in the negative zone. The other four associations occured in the positive zone.