Assessing and Monitoring Geoecological Status of West Turkish Landscapes for Sustainable Development: Processes, Activities and Problems

Abstract

A third large metropolis of Turkey, Izmir is an industrial city of high importance for the country. It is a key seaport harbour, strategic for the country and the Mediterranean region in general, highly important for the transportation network within the Aegean, Marmara and the Mediterranean Seas. Izmir is also known as an important country’s business and fair trade centre, where cross-cultural meetings, Expo exhibitions, international conferences, symposia and workshops being periodically organized. Therefore, the region has intensive anthropogenic activities: well developed transport network, intensive shipping and maritime construction, industrial factories and plants, urban densely populated districts, intensive agricultural cultivation. These factors taken together lead to strong anthropogenic pressure on the environment of Izmir. Nowadays, the most important problem in the Mediterranean basin, and in Aegean Sea area as its part, consists in land degradation. Thus, changes in climate conditions together with human impacts cause degradation of the semi-natural vegetation, which in turn, leads to the intensification of soil degradation, and finally causes erosion hazardous processes. The most important trigger factor for soil degradation is accelerated water erosion. Intensified by the destruction of the vegetation land cover and types, it increases desertification in the Mediterranean basin. Both soil and vegetation degradation are deeply interrelated. The main issues of environmental current situation within the terrestrial ecosystems concern deforestation of precious forests communities, desertification and soils erosion and land degradation in the surroundings. Among others are plant cover and land degradation on Karuburun Peninsula, an important part of Aegean Sea ecosystems. The ecological threats to marine ecosystems include chemical contamination of the Izmir bay by detecting traces of mercury that originate from Gediz River and inactive mining sites (again, in Karaburun Peninsula) and come to shelf waters of the Aegean Sea. At the same time, the region is being intensively visited by tourists, both international and Turkish ones. The touristic attractiveness of the Izmir region is explained by its natural environmental settings, favourable climate conditions, scenic landscapes and cultural richness. The development of the tourism covers both traditional coastal areas and geothermal hot water springs. Both rich natural resources and human treasures of Izmir (traces of old civilizations, historical, archaeological and ethnographical cultural heritage), traditionally and deservedly attract large number of tourists in western Turkey all year round. This definitely has positive influence on the local economics and tourism development. However, the non-controlled anthropogenic pressure also has potential negative consequences. As a result of multiple factors, this region is recently being under pressure from both natural factors (changes in climatic conditions), and from the anthropogenic activities (industrial harbours, factories, overuse of pastures, etc). The local landscapes and land cover types are affected and disturbed in various ways by intensive industrialization, uncontrolled urbanization, high anthropogenic pressure and non-sustainable mass tourism. The described above multifold factors impact the environment, lead to the irreversible consequences, and cause destruction or loss of the elements within the ecosystems.