Page 118 - Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi İngilizce - Özel Sayı

Development of Desertification Maps and Vulnerability Model, Türkiye

and soil properties were spatially distributed using the Inverse Distance
Weighting (IDW) Method, one of the geostatistical methods. And ArcGIS
was used and the resulting map was presented with a statistical analysis in
the study (Özşahin et al., 2017). The study conducted by Türkeş et al. (2011)
in Cappadocia concluded that this region was vulnerable to desertification.
In this study, according to the Turkey Desertification Model and Vulnerability
Map, this region has high desertification vulnerability.
Uzuner and Dengiz (2020) performed a study on desertification risk
assessment based on environmentally-sensitive areas in Türkiye using the
MEDALUS index of environmentally-sensitive areas. AHP method was again
applied in this study using soil, climate, vegetation and management quality
indices. The model and map were calculated and produced on ArcGIS.
In Türkiye, many studies have been conducted on Land Degradation
Neutrality, which is also directly related to desertification. Accordingly,
the indicators of Sustainable Development Goal 15.3 Land Degradation
Neutrality (LDN) target established by the United Nations are land cover,
land productivity dynamics and soil organic carbon. The Soil Organic Carbon
(SOC) Map of Türkiye has been produced in cooperation with the General
Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion and TUBITAK-BILGEM.
According to the results of this study, the total stock of SOC in Türkiye has
been calculated as 3.516 billion tons (ÇEM 2018).
The Land Degradation Neutrality Decision Support System is a system
developed within the scope of the Land Degradation Neutrality Project in
cooperation with the General Directorate of Combating Desertification and
Erosion and FAO. This system first monitors the three indicators identified
to monitor the LDN, and then all sub-components that will serve the LDN
are built into the system. The Desertification Vulnerability Map, National SOC
Map and Dynamic Erosion Map of Türkiye produced by ÇEM have also been
introduced to the system.
By utilizing the outputs produced by the Land Degradation Neutrality
Decision Support System, the provincial statistics of Türkiye and the sustainable
land management approaches and practices have been presented. The
hierarchy of three basic responses in the LDN approach are, by their priority,as
follows: avoid (conservation), reduce (management) and finally reverse the past
degradation (restoration). Accordingly, it has been suggested that avoiding and
reducing measures should be widely used, while reversing actions should be
used less. As mentioned earlier, LDN is monitored through indicators of land
cover, land productivity dynamics and soil organic carbon. For the interpretation
of indicators, the rule “one excluded, all excluded” applies (Erpul et al., 2023).
In this context, when there is a change or deficiency in any of these three
indicators in an area, it is accepted that there is degradation in that area.

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Special Issue / 2024