Page 249 - 7. State Of Environment Report Of Türkiye

F.1.1. Türkiye Ecosystems

F.1.1.1. Agricultural Ecosystems
The main ecological regions of Türkiye in terms of agriculture are Mediterranean Coastal Region,
Aegean Coastal Region, Black Sea Coastal Region, Thrace and Marmara Region, Central Anato-
lia Region, Southeastern Anatolia Region, Eastern Anatolia Region, and Gateway Regions (Nort-
hwestern Gateway, Western Gateway, Northeastern Gateway, Eastern Gateway, Southeastern
Gateway). This zoning system, based on main climatic elements such as precipitation and tem-
perature, covers the diversity of agricultural products and the regional and phenological chara-
cteristics of agriculture. Coastal regions can be defined as agricultural production regions in the
Mediterranean climate zone in general. Central, Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Regions are
the regions where the harsh continental climate is predominant; agricultural product characte-
ristics also bear the effects of these ecological regions. Transitional regions are agricultural regi-
ons, each of which covers a few provinces in the transition from the centre of Central Anatolia
to other regions, and which are more or less different from each other in terms of both climatic
factors and general agricultural characteristics.
Due to high rainfall and better soil conditions, more productive pasture vegetation has been
formed in these areas. The grazing areas of arid and semi-arid regions with annual rainfall totals
between 200-700 mm are called steppe pastures. In terms of altitude and topography, steppe
pastures are divided into two as “mountain steppes” and “lowland steppes”. Since altitude and
rainfall are relatively higher in mountain steppes, more valuable wheatgrass and legume forage
crops grow.

F.1.1.2. Steppe Ecosystems

Steppe and grassland areas in Türkiye, which are defined as areas covered with herbaceous
plants, are currently around 21 million hectares. Steppe ecosystems are distributed especially in
the high mountain layers of Central Anatolia, Aegean and Mediterranean regions and in a large
part of Eastern Anatolia in Türkiye. The most characteristic feature of the steppe ecosystem is
the dominance of annual or perennial herbaceous plants. The floristic composition of steppe
vegetation is very rich and includes many endemic plants.
Steppe formation in Türkiye is generally divided into two as “Lowland Steppe” and “Mounta-
in Steppe” according to the topographical structure of the area where it spreads. The lowland
steppe occurs in flat or slightly sloping areas between 800-1,200 metres and provides habitat
for species such as salt halophytes, family chenopodiaceae, rush family members, sedge family
members, and species such as vetch, wild sage, thyme and sage.

Mountain steppe is generally common between 1,300-2,500 metres. It harbours species such
as milk vetch, spiky medic, quill, ryegrass and thyme. Unlike other regions, the predominance of
fennel species increases in Eastern Anatolian mountain step. Subalpine and alpine meadows
cover large areas in the high parts of the Eastern Black Sea Mountains and in the northern and
northeastern parts of Eastern Anatolia.

F.1.1.3. Forest Ecosystems
Forests consisting of coniferous trees are more common in Türkiye. Coniferous trees are found
at all altitudes from sea level to the upper limit of forests. In the Aegean and Mediterranean regi-
ons, moist, semi-moist coniferous and dry forests (oak, larch and red pine) are found in addition
to shrubs and maquis.

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