Cedrus Libani Research Articles

Cedrus libani (A. Rich) distribution in Lebanon: Past, present and future

Long-term vegetation studies are needed to better predict the impact of future climate change on vegetation structure and distribution. According to the IPCC scenario, the Mediterranean region is expected to undergo significant climatic variability over the course of this century. Cedrus libani (A. Rich), in particular, is currently distributed in limited areas in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which are expected to be affected by such climate change. In order to predict the impact of future global warming, we have used fossil pollen data and model simulations. Palaeobotanical data show that C. libani has been affected by both climate change and human activities. Populations of C. libani survived in refugial zones when climatic conditions were less favourable and its range extended during periods of more suitable climate conditions. Simulations of its future geographical distribution for the year 2100 using a dynamic vegetation model show that only three areas from Mount Lebanon may allow its survival. These results extrapolated for cedar forests for the entire Eastern Mediterranean region show that forests in Syria are also threatened by future global warming. In southern Turkey, cedar forests seem to be less threatened. These results are expected to help in the long-term conservation of cedar forests in the Near East.

Estimation of Stand Canopy Cover by Different Methods on Crown Projections: Sample of Lebanon Cedar Stands of the Yavsan Mountain, Kahramanmaras, Turkey

Estimation of Stand Canopy Cover by Different Methods on Crown Projections: Sample of Lebanon Cedar Stands of the Yavsan Mountain, Kahramanmaras, Turkey

Cedar forest communities in Western Antalya (Taurus Mountains, Turkey)

The most extensive and magnificent forests of Cedrus libani A. Rich. in the world are on the Taurus Mountains in Turkey. They cover an area of about 400,000 hectares. C. libani forms either pure stands or mixed stands with other tree species, such as Abies cilicica, Pinus nigra, P. brutia, Quercus species (Q. cerris, Q. infectoria, Q. libani etc.), Juniperus excelsa and J. foetidissima. In this work, the floristic composition of the cedar forests in Western Antalya has been investigated and the ecological factors have been measured. The main forest types have been established and correlated with the ecological factors. In total, 201 relevés were analyzed by numerical methods and classified into five groups of C. libani forests and one group of Q. coccifera scrublands. It was observed that the topographical gradient mainly determines the differentiation patterns of cedar forests in Western Antalya.

The effects of sowing time and depth on germination and seedling percentage of the Taurus Cedar (Cedrus libani A. Rich.)

The aim of this study is to determine the appropriate sowing time and depth in spring for Taurus Cedar (Cedrus libani A. Rich) in Turkey. The effects of sowing time and depth were determined with regard to the germination rate of seedlings’ quality. The seeds were collected from Kapidag-Isparta, in Turkey, in 2003 and 2004. The seeds were sown at 6 different dates and 5 different depths under natural conditions without any pre-treatment in 2004 and 2005. The statistical approach was randomized block design with 3 replications and 100 seeds were sown for each replication. The 1000 seed weights and germination percentages of the seeds were determined under laboratory conditions before sowing in the nursery. According to analysis of variance and Duncan’s test, in locations with appropriate soil conditions, seeds should be sown at 5 mm depth as soon as possible until the second half of February. The germination of 65% can be obtained from seeds sown under these conditions. High quality, bare root and one-year-old seedlings can be grown from approximately 55% of the seeds. Moreover, spring sowing should not take place after March 15th and at depths of more than 20 mm.

Phenolic extractives of cones and berries from Turkish coniferous species

The composition of phenolic compounds was studied in the cones and berries of coniferous species which are growing in Turkey. Total amount of phenolics was determined as 0.68–3.69 mg g−1 in Abies species, 0.06–1.70 mg g−1 in Pinus species, 0.54 mg g−1 in Picea orientalis, 3.31–6.39 mg g−1 in Cupressus species and 0.20–0.60 mg g−1 in Juniperus species. Under the same experimental conditions no detectable amount of phenolic compound was found in the cones of Cedrus Libani and in some Juniperus berries. Flavanoids, especially catechin, were the predominant compounds in all of the cones and berries. Lignans were determined only in the cones of Abies species. 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid was found in all cones except P. brutia and Picea orientalis.

Comparative diversity of Alticinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) between Çığlıkara and Dibek nature reserves in Antalya, Turkey

Alticinae species composition, richness and abundance were investigated and compared between Ciglikara and Dibek nature reserves in Antalya, at the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The study was conducted in six sites, three for each area (C1–C3 for Ciglikara, D1–D3 for Dibek). The sites have different vegetation structure and degrees of altitudes: Ciglikara sites (altitudes 1500–1800 m a.s.l.) are dominated by Cedrus libani; Dibek sites (650–1550 m a.s.l.) by juniper and cedar. Collections, using sweep-net and aspirator, were carried out at 15-day intervals from 2005 to 2006. A total of 4,245 individuals belonging to 60 species of Alticinae were captured. Dibek was distinctly more diverse than Ciglikara in both years. D1, D3, C3 were the most diverse sites in 2005 while the diversity index values were higher for D1, D2, and D3 in 2006. Cluster analyses using Jaccard and Bray-Curtis indices revealed a high degree of similarity between Alticinae communities at sites D1, C3, and D2 in both years. Comparing Alticinae diversity among sites, the highest species richness and diversity was verified at D1, a forest area including mixed populations of Cedrus, Juniperus and Acer (altitude 1553 m a.s.l.). Factors influencing differences in Alticinae diversity among sites and nature reserves were discussed.

Comparison and ranking of different modelling techniques for prediction of site index in Mediterranean mountain forests

Forestry science has a long tradition of studying the relationship between stand productivity and abiotic and biotic site characteristics, such as climate, topography, soil and vegetation. Many of the early site quality modelling studies related site index to environmental variables using basic statistical methods such as linear regression. Because most ecological variables show a typical non-linear course and a non-constant variance distribution, a large fraction of the variation remained unexplained by these linear models. More recently, the development of more advanced non-parametric and machine learning methods provided opportunities to overcome these limitations. Nevertheless, these methods also have drawbacks. Due to their increasing complexity they are not only more difficult to implement and interpret, but also more vulnerable to overfitting. Especially in a context of regionalisation, this may prove to be problematic. Although many non-parametric and machine learning methods are increasingly used in applications related to forest site quality assessment, their predictive performance has only been assessed for a limited number of methods and ecosystems. In this study, five different modelling techniques are compared and evaluated, i.e. multiple linear regression (MLR), classification and regression trees (CART), boosted regression trees (BRT), generalized additive models (GAM), and artificial neural networks (ANN). Each method is used to model site index of homogeneous stands of three important tree species of the Taurus Mountains (Turkey): Pinus brutia, Pinus nigra and Cedrus libani. Site index is related to soil, vegetation and topographical variables, which are available for 167 sample plots covering all important environmental gradients in the research area. The five techniques are compared in a multi-criteria decision analysis in which different model performance measures, ecological interpretability and user-friendliness are considered as criteria. When combining these criteria, in most cases GAM is found to outperform all other techniques for modelling site index for the three species. BRT is a good alternative in case the ecological interpretability of the technique is of higher importance. When user-friendliness is more important MLR and CART are the preferred alternatives. Despite its good predictive performance, ANN is penalized for its complex, non-transparent models and big training effort.

Nitrogen Mineralization in the Soils of the Conifer Forest Communities in the Eastern Mediterranean

The nitrogen mineralization rates in the soils of three coniferous forest communities (Pinus nigra subsp pallasiana, Abies cilicica subsp cilicica, Cedrus libani) in the middle Taurus Mountains (Turkey) were investigated. N mineralization was determined by the standard incubation method under laboratory conditions at 20oC and 60 %WHC. Mineral nitrogen (NH4 + -N ve NO3 - -N) was analyzed in the beginning, 21st and 63rd days of incubation by micro-distillation. Net mineral nitrogen accumulations were calculated for the 63-days (mg N min / 100 g dry-soil / 63-days). Needle-leaf forest communities were crossexamined based on their mineral nitrogen and soil parameters. The relationships between the mineral nitrogen production and soil factors were analyzed by a simple correlation test. Mineral nitrogen production in the soils of these communities is strongly related to the total nitrogen rate. The highest total nitrogen mineralization rates were determined in the soils of the Abies cilicica community. The nitrogen mineralization in the soils of three closely related needle-leaf forest communities in the Eastern Mediterranean phyto-geography region were found to be different.

Arboretum et dendroécologie : dépérissement du cèdre

The dendroecological analysis of cedars (Cedrus atlantica, Cedrus libani, Cedrus deodara) standing in the Domain of Barres and in the Arboretum of Amance made it possible to redraw the radial growth evolution of trees according to the climate and to understand the mechanisms of decay. The first visible signs of decay were noticed in 2007. The study highlights the major role of the exceptional drought in 2003, which seems to be the triggering factor of the decay process. We also noticed that once weakened, trees had to face a strong biotic stress with an attack of fir's scolytes (Pityokteines spiniden), since numerous bites were listed on the studied trees.

Usability of the Taurus Cedar and Crimean Pine in green belt afforestations in semiarid regions in Turkey: A case study in Konya Province Loros Mountain -Akyokus

n this study, root collar diameter and height development of 9 year-old saplings of Taurus Cedar (Cedrus libani) and Crimean Pine (Pinus nigra subsp. nigra var. caramanica) in the green belt afforestation areas were researched in Akyokus (130 ha) and Loros Mountain (140 ha) in Konya province. For this reason, root collar diameters and heights were measured at 4 temporary sample plots, each 450 m² (30 m × 15 m) containing randomized 5 experimental areas with 10 replicates. The data obtained from measurement were compared with ANOVA test. The root collar diameters of Crimean pines in Loros Mountain and heights of Taurus cedars in Akyokus were significantly different and higher. On the other hand, volumes of Crimean pines in Loros Mountain and Taurus cedar in Akyokus were significantly different in favor of these species. Thus, it might be suitable to use Crimean pine in Loros Mountain and Taurus cedar in Akyokus for green-belt afforestation studies in the future. Key words: Crimean Pine, green belt afforestation, height, root collar diameter, Taurus cedar.

Estimating tree bole volume using artificial neural network models for four species in Turkey

Tree bole volumes of 89 Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.), 96 Brutian pine ( Pinus brutia Ten.), 107 Cilicica fir ( Abies cilicica Carr.) and 67 Cedar of Lebanon ( Cedrus libani A. Rich.) trees were estimated using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models. Neural networks offer a number of advantages including the ability to implicitly detect complex nonlinear relationships between input and output variables, which is very helpful in tree volume modeling. Two different neural network architectures were used and produced the Back propagation (BPANN) and the Cascade Correlation (CCANN) Artificial Neural Network models. In addition, tree bole volume estimates were compared to other established tree bole volume estimation techniques including the centroid method, taper equations, and existing standard volume tables. An overview of the features of ANNs and traditional methods is presented and the advantages and limitations of each one of them are discussed. For validation purposes, actual volumes were determined by aggregating the volumes of measured short sections (average 1 meter) of the tree bole using Smalian's formula. The results reported in this research suggest that the selected cascade correlation artificial neural network (CCANN) models are reliable for estimating the tree bole volume of the four examined tree species since they gave unbiased results and were superior to almost all methods in terms of error (%) expressed as the mean of the percentage errors.

SUBREGIONS AND SITE SECTION GROUPS ON BEYŞEHİR WATERSHED

West and sought parts of Beysehir Lake is called Dedegul mountains subregion. The other parts are called Sultan mountains subregion. Dedegul mountains subregion is affected by north and east wind coming from Beysehir Lake. Therefore, Dedegul mountains subregion is more humid climate than Sultan mountains supregion. The subregions come into being from site section groups which has different climate properties. Dedegul mountains subregions was discriminated to Gedikli Site Section Groups, Dumanli Site Section Groups and Gencek Site Section Groups. Sultan mountains subregions was discriminated to Doganbey Site Section Groups, Cariksaraylar Site Section Groups and Orenkoy Site Section Groups. The section groups were discriminated to altitude belts which has different climate properties. Subsections being present at the altitude bents were discriminated according to landform and main rocks characters. Crimean juniper (Juniperus exelsa), Crimean pine (Pinus nigra), Cupper oak (Quercus cerris), Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani), Cilician fir (Abies cilicica) has the most widespread distribution in Beysehir watershed. The climate is not important influencing the distribution of Crimean juniper which has widespread distribution on the soils come into being from limestone. Crimean pine is not prefer with low altitude, but it has widespread with the soils come into being from schistes. Cupper oak is prefer to the soils come into being from schistes and ophiolite. Lebanon cedar and Cilician fir have generally more widespread with the altitudes between 1400 m and 1900 m and sink–hole. Keywords: Beysehir watershed, Forest site classification, Crimean juniper, Cupper oak, Crimean pine, Taurus cedar.

Toros Sediri (Cedrus libani A.Rich.)'nde Bazı Fidan-Toprak Özellikleri Arasındaki İlişkiler

In this study, relationships between seedling properties of 22 Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani A.Rich.) and soil properties were determined. As a result, there are not any interactions (0.05 ³p) between seedling properties included height, root-collar diameter, fresh weight, branch number, branch length, root number and root length, and soil properties included pH and organic matter. Finally, provenance variations for seedling properties are because of the genetic variations of provenances.

Managing climate change effects on relic forest ecosystems: A program for Lebanese Cedar

The effect of climate change on forests varies with the geographical zone and climatic conditions of countries and regions. While climatic records for the Western Mediterranean show slight trends towards warmer and drier conditions over the last century, parts of the Eastern Mediterranean have experienced cooler and wetter conditions. Mediterranean forests are likely to be impacted by these changes, which could reduce their mitigation potential. If climate change occurs faster than new ecosystem structure and function can be developed, then the historical relationships between animal, plant and climatic conditions may not be reestablished and biological diversity will be reduced. During the last three decades, an expansion of the geographic range of major forest insect pests, caused by increased winter temperatures, have been observed worldwide. In Lebanon, changes in climatic conditions are linked with an altitudinal shift in bioclimatic zones. Cedar forest reserves, typical of the Montane-Mediterranean zone, recognized worldwide for their biological, cultural, historical and social value have been facing major threats. An alarming indicator appeared in these forests in the late 1990s where a web-spinning sawfly affected 70% of one of the largest populations of Cedar (Cedrus libani A.) forests in Lebanon. The newly-discovered insect, Cephalcia tannourinensis Chevin, now threatens the survival of several important Cedar forests, namely the Tannourine Cedar Forest Nature Reserve, the Hadeth El Jebbeh Forest, and the Bsharry Forest. Recognizing the value of these relic ecosystems, national stakeholders have been proactive in attracting international funds to conserve them, monitor their flora and fauna diversity and to remediate and prevent climate change effects at both national and regional levels. Although the pest management program was satisfactory, work on the sawfly's biology revealed that it would increase again rapidly unless climate change effects could be mitigated. The definition of adequate mitigation and adaptation measures requires the development of monitoring programmes integrating biotic and abiotic parameters. This article highlights the importance of these Cedar forests and the strategy adopted for managing the pest outbreak through the implementation of an integrated management program. It presents a monitoring plan for Cedar forest ecosystems under the effects of climate change.

Vegetation changes during the late Pleistocene and Holocene in Lebanon: a pollen record from the Bekaa Valley

A sediment core retrieved from Quaternary deposits from the Aammiq wetland (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon) provided a pollen record carrying valuable information which allowed reconstruction of past vegetation dynamics in relation to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Core stratigraphy and microfossil data helped interpret the depositional settings of the sequence. Before c. 12.2 kyr cal. BP, an expansion of cedars ( Cedrus libani) and deciduous oaks ( Quercus cerris-type) is observed. The Younger Dryas is marked by the spread of a Chenopodiaceae steppe and a regression of cedars and deciduous oaks. During the early Holocene, an open oak forest expanded concomitantly with the development of a marsh in the Bekaa Valley. Between c. 6.0 and c. 3.4 kyr cal. BP, major disturbances in the sedimentation process are recorded, leading to some dissimilarities with other palaeobotanical records from the Eastern Mediterranean region. After c. 3.4 kyr cal. BP, the pollen data reveal that agriculture in the Bekaa Valley was mainly oriented towards livestock rearing since there is very little record of cultivated plants. In this regard, the results conflict somewhat with other studies carried out in the Eastern Mediterranean region, where intensive cultures have been observed since the early Holocene. Cultures might have been present in other regions in Lebanon but apparently not in this part of the Bekaa Valley.

Traditional Tar Production from Cedrus libani A. Rich on the Taurus Mountains in Southern Turkey

Traditional Tar Production fromCedrus libani A. Rich on the Taurus Mountains in Southern Turkey.Cedrus libani A. Rich is a magnificent and sacred tree species native to the eastern Mediterranean region. Today, traditional people in southern Turkey produce wood extract, called katran, from C. libani, and use it to protect wooden structures against insects and fungi, to fight parasites and bacteria, and to heal wounds and cure various diseases in humans and domestic animals, both internally and externally. Here we illustrate traditional methods of producing katran, its use by local people, and its chemical composition.

Effective Number of Clones in Seed Orchards of Cedrus libani A. Rich.

Numbers of clone and ramet/clone were studied and discussed based on effective number of clones and relative effective number of clones in seed orchards of Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani A. Rich.). While, seed orchards had similar number of clones (15, 30 and 33), there were large differences for number of graft/clone within and among orchards. Number of ramets per clone varied between 4 and 43 in an orchard and between 4 and 106 in all orchards considered. Effective number of clones ranged from 24.6-31.4 and relative effective number from 0.82 to 0.99. The results of the study showed that ramet number had moderate variation among clones. It was important that establishment and thinning of seed orchards and estimation of gene diversity in seed orchard crop.

Compatible stem volume and taper equations for Brutian pine, Cedar of Lebanon, and Cilicica fir in Turkey

Compatible segmented taper and volume functions were developed for Brutian pine, Cedar of Lebanon, and Cilicica fir in Turkey. The proposed models generally performed better for the whole tree, especially for Cilicica fir. Average diameter prediction error was less than 2.2 cm and average volume error was less than 0.009 m 3. The proposed models provide needed merchantable stem volume and diameter estimates to any point in the bole based on the 10 relative height classes examined for the three species. Model estimates compared well to existing volume tables currently employed for these three important commercial species.

Genetic variability and structure of the remnant natural populations of Cedrus libani (Pinaceae) of Lebanon

Cedrus libani of Lebanon is a valuable natural resource and the dominant species in its natural ecosystem. Intense and diverse anthropogenic pressures over historical times raised concerns about its genetic vigor and continued survival. Our investigation of the genetic diversity included samples from all remnant natural populations. Assessment of the genetic diversity using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers revealed the persistence of considerable variation distributed within populations with low population differentiation corroborated by Bayesian and analysis of molecular variance estimates (GST = 0.07, ΦST = 0.09). Individual assignment tests were carried out to investigate measures of gene flow. Inferences concluded that this natural heritage is not currently threatened by inbreeding or by random genetic drift. Correlation studies investigated possible effects of spatial distribution and environmental conditions on genetic structure. A climatic trend corresponding to a temperature–humidity gradient correlated significantly with the level of genetic diversity, while the edaphic variation did not.

The biosafety policy on genetically modified organisms in Turkey

Assessment of biodiversity and its sustainability Turkey has 75% of the total number of plant species found in Europe. It is this exceptional amount of biodiversity that places a huge responsibility on Turkey, to ensure that these species are adequately protected in order to prevent them from being endangered or becoming extinct. Of particular importance are species related to the crops on which much of world agriculture depends. Many of the formal descriptions of Turkey highlight several distinct biogeographic regions, each with its own endemic species and natural ecosystems, i.e. the Caucasian Mountain forests with its temperate deciduous forests, alpine meadows, the Central and Eastern Anatolian steppe grasslands and the Mediterranean region, which includes the world’s largest remaining forests of cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) and Lebanon cedar (Cedrus libani). Turkey is one of the leading countries for known plant endemism; about 33% of the plant species in the flora are endemic to Turkey. The richest family for endemism in Turkey is the Compositae having a total of 431 species, 40% of which are endemic. Of the 400 species ofLeguminosae, 41% are endemic, and of the 306Labiatae species, 57% are endemic. Also, there are ten genera that are entirely endemic to Turkey. Turkey is at the crossroads of two important Vavilovian gene centers – The Mediterranean and the Near East – each important for the origin of field crops as well as horticultural plants. There are five “microgene centers” in Turkey. The cultivated plants originating in Turkey include species in the genera Linum, Allium, Hordeum, Secale, Triticum, Avena, Cicer, Lens, Pisum, Vitis, Amygladus, Prunus, Beta, etc. Cherries, apricots,