Cliffs on both sides of Aksu stream, Giresun 02

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

now covers just over a quarter of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, but 4000 years ago most of the country was forested. The country is reforesting, which is important for the

wildlife of Turkey The wildlife of Turkey is abundant and very varied. Turkey is a large country with many geographic and climatic regions and a great diversity of plants and animals, each suited to its own particular habitat. About 1500 species of vertebrates have ...

History

Forest cover before the formation of the Republic in 1923 is not well known. The first big afforestation project was in 1939.

Climate and forests

Forest covers 23 million of Turkey's 78 million hectares, but 3 million hectares are unproductive (less than 10% crown cover). Almost all forest is state owned and managed by the General Directorate of Forestry of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

prohibits forests being transferred from state ownership; however, private afforestation permits allow the private sector to reforest state land. Less than four thousand hectares a year are reforested by the private sector. 5% of forest is

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

and the rest high forest. There are also six million hectares of

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

, mostly in the south and west. High rainfall in the eastern Black Sea Region sustains

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

Drought in Turkey Drought is common in Turkey, especially in the south and center of the country, with 2021 being the driest in 2 decades. Drought events are forecast to occur more frequently due to climate change. Most water loss is due to poor irrigation. In 202 ...

is a threat both directly and by encouraging

bark beetles A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family ( Curculionidae). Although t ...

Forest products industry

22 million cubic metres of wood was harvested in 2019. 20 million lira ( USD) support was provided to 765 families in 2019.

Distribution of forests

A quarter of the Black Sea Region is forested, and other regions with over 10% forest are Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and East Anatolian. The most common species are:

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

(2%),

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

(3%), fir (3%),

scotch pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

(7%),

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

(9%),

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...

(22%),

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

(24%) and

red pine ''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to North America. Description Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in height and in trun ...

(27% - 5.9 million ha).

Wildfires in Turkey In July and August 2021, a series of more than two hundred wildfires burnt 1,700 square kilometres of forest in Turkey's Mediterranean Region in the worst-ever wildfire season in the country's history. The wildfires started in Manavgat, Antalya ...

are increasing in some regions due to

climate change in Turkey Climate change in Turkey includes changes in the climate of Turkey, their effects and how the country is adapting to those changes. Turkey's annual and maximum temperatures are rising, and 2020 was the third hottest year on record. Turkey wil ...

Benefits of forests

Most forests are natural and semi-natural, on mountains and have a lot of biodiversity, hosting most species of the

flora of Turkey about 9300 species of vascular plant were known to grow in Turkey. By comparison, Europe as a whole contains only about 24% more species (about 11500), despite having thirteen times the area. The most important reasons for the high plant biodi ...

and

fauna of Turkey The fauna of Turkey is abundant and very varied. The wildlife of Turkey includes a great diversity of plants and animals, each suited to its own particular habitat, as it is a large country with many geographic and climatic regions About 1500 s ...

, including Anatolian leopards. Deciduous forests are along the Black Sea region. Species in various ecoregions in Turkey, namely Irano-Turanion, Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian, belong to about 800 woody taxa. The predominant species are

Turkish pine ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey. Turkish pine is also known by several other common names: Calabrian pine (from a naturalis ...

(''Pinus brutia),'' Black pine ''(Pinus nigra),''

European red pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

''(Pinus silvestris),'' Fir ''( Abies spp.),''

Caucasian Spruce ''Picea orientalis'', commonly known as the Oriental spruce or Caucasian spruce, is a species of spruce native to the Caucasus and adjacent northeast Turkey. Description It is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 30–45 m tall or ...

''(Picea orientalis),''

Cedar of Lebanon ''Cedrus libani'', the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of tree in the genus cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a large evergreen conifer that has great religi ...

''(Cedrus libani),''

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

''(Juniperus spp.),'' Stone pine (''Pinus pinea),''

Mediterranean cypress ''Cupressus sempervirens'', the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Persian cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southern Albania, s ...

''(Cupressus sempervirens),'' Aleppo pine ''(Pinus halepensis),''

Oriental beech ''Fagus orientalis'', commonly known as the Oriental beech, is a deciduous tree in the beech family Fagaceae. It is native to Eurasia, in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Description ''Fagus orientalis'' is a large tree, capable of reaching ...

''(Fagus orientalis),''

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

''(Quercus spp.),''

Alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

''(Alnus spp.), S'' weet Chestnut (''Castanea sativa),''

Hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam' ...

''(Carpinus betulus)''. Over 20% of forests are certified by the

Forest Stewardship Council The Forest Stewardship Council A. C. (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. It is an example of a market-ba ...

, and in 2019 more round wood was exported than imported. Forests are the country's main

carbon sink A carbon sink is anything, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period and thereby removes carbon dioxide () from the atmosphere. Globally, the two most important carbon si ...

, in western Turkey mostly as living

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

rather than

soil organic carbon Soil carbon is the solid carbon stored in global soils. This includes both soil organic matter and inorganic carbon as carbonate minerals. Soil carbon is a carbon sink in regard to the global carbon cycle, playing a role in biogeochemistry, clim ...

, and are estimated to have absorbed 84 million tonnes of the 500 million tonnes of

greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey Coal, cars and lorries vent more than a third of Turkey's five hundred million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions—mostly carbon dioxide—and are part of the cause of climate change in Turkey. The nation's coal-fired power stations ...

in 2019. the government did not have enough expertise to easily issue reforestation carbon certificates for the

Clean Development Mechanism The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a United Nations-run carbon offset scheme allowing countries to fund greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects in other countries and claim the saved emissions as part of their own efforts to meet internat ...

. The

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

says, "Increasing forest cover and improving forest health can help prevent soil erosion and landslides and reduce the impacts of floods."

References

{{Reflist

External links

General Directorate of Forestry

Global Forest Resources Assessment at Food and Agriculture Organization

Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 country report at Food and Agriculture Organization
Forests of Turkey