Revealing the Protection Structure of National Parks through Ecological Sensitivity Analysis: Example of Altindere Valley National Park

DÜZGÜNEŞ E., Demirel O.

KASTAMONU UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF FORESTRY FACULTY, sa.1, ss.135-146, 2016 (ESCI) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2016
  • Dergi Adı: KASTAMONU UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF FORESTRY FACULTY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.135-146
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Altindere Valley National Park, Ecological Sensitivity Analysis, Protection, Analytic Hierarchy Process, Trabzon, ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS, MANAGEMENT, RESPECT
  • Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

National parks are exceptional areas where delicate ecosystems and rare species are preserved and which have very rich biological resource values, and they are intensively used by their visitors. Therefore, maximum loss is seen on biological assets. Hence defining and classifying such features of great ecological importance is a prerequisite for planning endeavors. In this sense, an Ecological Sensitivity Analysis is commonly done in order to evaluate the external pressure and threats extensively in a protected area and to take the necessary precautions accordingly. In the current study, which was conducted in the example of Altindere Valley National Park (Trabzon/Turkey), an ecological sensitivity analysis was done so that ecologically sensitive areas within the national park could be spotted. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed so as to evaluate the criteria determined in this scope and to weight each of these criteria. Using the acquired data, digital maps for each criterion were created using ArcGIS 10.0 in GIS environment. The ecological sensitivity map of the area was drawn as all data for each criterion were collected through ArcGIS "Spatial Analysis", and the ecological sensitivity of the area was classified from the lowest to highest on the scale. In the final evaluations, it was revealed that 53.78% of the national park has areas with "high ecological sensitivity values".