Page 214 - Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi İngilizce - Özel Sayı

Use of Climate-Resilient Plants in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands

Figure 14: 2022; Wild Pear (on the left) and Hawthorn (on the right) genetic
resource garden (From the author’s personal archive, 2022).
The establishment of genetic resource gardens and their contributions
to climate resilience cannot be overlooked. Through the establishment of
genetic resource gardens for these natural species, which are facing the threat
of extinction, it is aimed to afforest arid areas and combat desertification
and erosion as part of climate change adaptation efforts. Su kısıtı bulunan
ülkeler arasında yer alan ülkemizin gelecekte su sıkıntısı çeken ülkeler arasında
olabileceği göz önüne alınarak, şehirlerimize yapılacak park ve bahçelerin
ağaçlandırılmasında minimum su ihtiyacı gerektiren bu türlerin fidan üretim
devamlılığının sağlanması hedeflenmektedir.
In addition, thanks to their large and high-quality fruits, another goal is to
provide economic income to the local population living in rural areas through
afforestation efforts in arid and semi-arid regions.
These two species, which are climate-resistant plants, will contribute to the
Net Zero Emissions target by being used in the conservation of biodiversity
and the creation of new carbon sink areas within the scope of the Green
Transformation goals, which include protecting air, water, and soil. Additionally,
these species will serve as an important resource for the academic community
in terms of providing material (genetic material) for scientific research. To
provide a closer description of these two species:
• Wild Pear (Pyrus elaeagrifolia), belonging to the Rosaceae family, is a wild
pear species that has widespread growing areas in Anatolia. Wild pear,
with approximately 10 species varieties, is used as rootstock for fruit tree
species such as medlar and pear. The species, whose native homeland is
considered Anatolia, is found in Turkey, Ukraine, and Southeastern Europe
(Özbek, 1978). This species, which is used in food and medicine, has been
found to grow in dry and calcareous conditions that are unsuitable for
other Pyrus species and are resistant to winter cold (Lombard et al., 1987).

201
Special Issue / 2024