Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
LAND USE POLICY, ss.181-200, 2009 (SSCI)
Spatiotemporal analysis of land use/land cover is crucial in formulating an appropriate set of actions in landscape management and in developing appropriate land use policies. On the other hand, understanding the interaction between landscape pattern and land use policy is important to reveal the detrimental consequences of land use change on soil and water quality, biodiversity, and climatic systems. This study focuses on the spatial and temporal pattern analysis of land use/land cover change in the Sariyer Forest Planning Unit surrounding the district of Sariyer in a megacity of Istanbul, Turkey. The spatio-temporal pattern of the study area was evaluated with Geographical Information System and FRAGSTATS to assess the change over 31 years. As a result of population increase and urbanization, the Sariyer district expanded very fast and many changes in land use/land covers between 1971 and 2002 were realized. As an overall change, there was a net decrease of 1243 ha in total forested areas compared to a net increase of 1331 ha in settlement areas. However, both forest areas with full crown closure and regenerated or young forest areas increased due mainly to reforestation of degraded forests and agricultural areas and the conversion of coppice forests to high forests. In terms of spatial configuration, analysis of the metrics revealed that landscape structure in Sariyer forest planning unit changed substantially over the 31-year study period, resulting in fragmentation of the landscape as indicated by the higher number of large patches and the smaller mean patch sizes. In conclusion, understanding of the factors affecting the land use/land cover is increasingly important for the design and planning of urban areas and the sustainable management of natural resources.