Kızılırmak Delta

The delta of the Kızılırmak River in Turkey's Black Sea region is the third largest in the country. Formed where the river flows into the Black Sea the delta has the biggest wetland in the region, with many lagoons. The wetland is a key biodiversity area and one of several internationally important Ramsar sites in Turkey because of its rich bird and plant life. The delta's bird reserve is important for migration.

The town of Bafra has been built on the delta and the coastal city of Samsun is nearby. The land is very fertile, and more than half is farmed, with the two older plains and most of the newer plain dominated by agriculture.

The ecology of the delta faces some threats. Seawater is intruding as water is pumped from fields, making part of the delta saltier. The coastline is receding because sediment is caught in upstream dams; this is forecast to continue. There is a management plan through 2034, which will be published shortly, and whether sea level is rising due to climate change is unclear.

History

Over two thousand years ago Strabo described the plains at the mouth of the delta around the town of Gadilon as abundant in fruit, deer, gazelle, and soft-wooled sheep.

During the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Republic of Türkiye, malaria was widespread in the marshes, and the lower lands were occupied seasonally. Meanwhile, the higher lands above the delta supported tobacco and hazelnut farming. Tobacco cultivation remained important into the 20th century, and Bafra has opened a tobacco museum to preserve this heritage.

As in some other parts of the country, much of the population was forcibly exchanged between Greece and Turkey in the early 20th century. Malaria hindered attempts to resettle migrants from lands lost by the empire(killed Circassians), and water drainage efforts began in the 1960s to combat mosquitos and provide agricultural land for these people and those coming from Turkey's eastern Black Sea region. Roma also grew tobacco. Members of the Yörük ethnic group settled the delta in the early 20th century and raised camels there until the 1990s. Several Yörük villages exist in the delta, including one called in 19 Mayıs.

Water drainage efforts allowed rice production in the delta to expand and become the delta's dominant crop. Many peasants moved to the delta in the second half of the 20th century. The delta is also a source of cut reeds and medicinal leeches. State Hydraulic Works became responsible for managing wetlands in the mid-20th century.) Some of the delta's woodlands were felled in the 1950s and 1960s to make space for agriculture and search for oil. Dams built on the Kızılırmak, such as the Altınkaya Dam in 1988 and the Derbent Dam in 1990, prevented the lower delta from flooding and allowed for more agriculture on the former floodplains. But they also reduced annual sedimentation from 23 million tonnes to about 300 thousand tonnes thus allowing coastal erosion, especially on the eastern side.

In the late 20th century, the ecological value of the marshes was recognized, and attempts to protect them began, although some residents opposed restrictions on agriculture and building. In 1998, the marshes were designated a Ramsar site. Some illegally built holiday homes were demolished by the Samsun Council in 2015. In 2016, Turkey nominated the wetland as a World Heritage Site, but the IUCN said it did not meet the criteria. Since 2017, hunting has been banned in part of the delta. Between 2014 and 2019, the last 6km of the river before the river mouth were converted into an artificial canal, which caused habitat fragmentation and loss.

Traditionally, clean water and certain plants and animals were considered sacred, and there were restrictions on the times and manners in which certain organisms could be killed. Various festivals were held, including a stork festival, a festival for the spring release of water buffaloes, and a sheep breeding festival. These beliefs and practices, though prevalent among older residents, have largely not been passed to the younger generations.

Geography

The Kızılırmak is the longest river entirely within Turkey and has the country's second largest drainage basin. The delta covers an area of about 56,000 hectares, of which 11,600 are wetland ecosystems and related habitats. The delta is located north of the Black Sea coastal road in the 19 Mayıs, Bafra and Alaçam districts. Bafra (80% in the delta)which has about 150,000 peopleis the largest of the three municipalities located in the delta; the other two are 19 Mayıs(15%) and Alaçam(5%). In addition to these three towns, more than 30 villages are located in the delta. Most of the plain is used for agriculture. From 2010 to 2020, water surface and built-upon areas increased, and the amount of arable land decreased.

In the past half million years, the North Anatolian Fault has pushed up the southern part of the delta, and changes in climate and sea level have created an alternating cycle of lagoons and lakes in the eastern portion. A canyon cut into the previous delta platform during the Last Glacial Period has filled, and the delta is now a quaternary plain. For the past 545,000 years, tectonic processes have pushed the delta plain upward at about 0.28mm per year; terraces originally at sea level have been raised to 120m above the present sea level. The present delta was not formed until the Holocene. As the delta continues to be uplifted, the region occasionally experiences minor earthquakes, though some larger quakes have occurred offshore. In the past, the coastline was advancing, but it has since begun retreating on average, mainly because dams built upstream (such as Altınkaya and Derbent) have reduced the amount of sediment coming down the river. The Yörükler coast accreted at less the half the rate the coast near Lake Liman eroded. Most of the delta's soil is hydromorphic alluvium, either Cambisol or Kastanozem, and there are dunes on the coast.

There are over 20 lakes, which average 1.5m in depth but are twice as deep in spring, when their surface areas can exceed 9,000 hectares. The Tatlı and Gıcı lakes are freshwater; the rest are brackish. Some of the lakes are eutrophic due to agricultural pollution. Thirty drainage canals drain agricultural land and ultimately convey water to the sea. Groundwater flows northeast, north, and northwest freely through the delta's alluvium aquifer. An excess of calciumcaused by natural weathering of rocks and overuse of certain fertilisers, such as agricultural limehas made water in the northeast part unsuitable for drinking.

The climate is temperate, with hot and dry summers, warm and wet winters, and foggy and rainy springs. Rainfall averages 719mm per year. The wind usually blows from the west, which has shaped the delta such that most of the marshland is in the eastern part of the delta.

Biology

The delta is an Important Bird Area, Important Plant Area and Key Biodiversity Area. It contains 21,700 hectares of wetlands, including most major wetland ecosystems. Its habitats are classified in the European Nature Information System as 37% constant coastal dunes with grass, 3% coastal dune bushes, 11% permanent mesotrophic lakes and ponds, 1% wide reed beds, 26% ''Juncus'' marshes, 3% humid or wet eutrophic and mesotrophic meadows, 5% flooded forests, 1% thermophilic deciduous forests, and 11% mixed market gardens and agricultural sites.

Plants

The delta is home to approximately 500 plant species. Seagrass is a particularly important species in the marine wetlands. Lagoons with a higher salt concentration have less volume of phytoplankton and fewer phytoplankton species than their less salty counterparts. When the lake water recedes in the summer, '' Paspalum paspalodes'' grass grows and is eaten by water buffalo.

Dunes further from the coast have a greater variety of plant species. Larger dunes tend to develop relatively far from the coast on the west side of the delta; these dunes are dominated by grasses and various bushes, including the coniferous prickly juniper. Herds of sheep have damaged plants in the dunes on the east side of the river between Lake Cernek and the coast. Extract of ''Cakile maritima'' may have therapeutic potential.

Animals

About 12,000 water buffalo inhabit the delta, many of which have been branded and are set free to roam in the summer. Marsh frogs climb on them to catch flies, and up to 20 frogs can be found on a single buffalo. There are otter in the river.

The delta is important for birds crossing the Black Sea, and three-quarters of bird species in Turkey have been recorded in the delta. About 950 pairs of white storks migrate to Africa and return to breed here, and their numbers are increasing. Almost all nest in trees, and some are now resident year-round. Other birds species in the region include the grey-headed swamphen and the great egret. Birds are ringed, on spring migration but mostly during the autumn migration (as they need longer to rest and refuel due to coming over Black Sea), at Cernek Ringing Station and Ondokuz Mayıs University's bird research center, which has ringed 165 thousand birds from 175 species. 23 years of ringing has shown that climate change is affecting migration timing. Because spring migrants arrive overland they generally do not need to feed up for long before continuing north over the Black Sea to their breeding grounds. In autumn they return from over the Black Sea with their young, so far more are ringed in autumn. The university's two bird watching towers are open to visitors.

Reptile species found in the delta include the Greek tortoise, European pond turtle, Darevskia saxicola lizard, European green lizard, Balkan green lizard, slow worm, European cat snake, Caspian whipsnake, grass snake, dice snake, and horned viper.

Of the nine species of amphibians found in the delta, two species are salamanders and seven species are frogs. These are the southern banded newt, southern crested newt, common toad, European green toad, European tree frog, eastern spadefoot toad, agile frog, and Uludağ frog.

Lake fishers catch carp, mullet, zander and Turkish crayfish. Small numbers of sturgeon have been observed in the estuary and may still attempt to migrate upstream. Fifteen species of freshwater snails inhabit the delta. Several non-native aquatic species, some of which have economic value, have been introduced into the delta's lakes and nearby sea. Of these introduced species, so-iuy mullet has a relatively small ecological impact but is valuable to fishers. Veined rapa whelk, an invasive shellfish, is dredged from the sea around Samsun and exported to the Far East. Invasive Prussian carp have disrupted the native fishes and are avoided by fishers. Other invasive aquatic species include the fishes ''Gambusia holbrooki'', ''Gambusia affinis'', '' Pseudorasbora parva'', and the comb jelly ''Mnemiopsis leidyi''. There is a wild animals first aid unit.

Management

Samsun has a branch of national park management under the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry and a local wetlands commission (Samsun Mahalli Sulak Alan Komisyonu). In the late 2010s, experts issued a management plan for the delta but could not agree with residents on what should be done. In 2012 the delta was a pilot site for more effective management of Ramsar sites in Turkey. The 2017–2023 management plan called for sub-plans to manage water, visitors, grazing and aquaculture. A buffer zone was created around the strictly protected area. Land within the region was classified by whether it is owned by individuals, owned by the government, or disputed. Several government departments were responsible, which might have caused confusion.

A plan for some coastal protection of Liman Lagoon was published in 2019. In October 2023, a strategic environmental assessment drought plan was released for the river basin. A management plan for 2025–2034 was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in December 2024. The plan summarizes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as:

Academics have called for possible sea level rise to be planned for.

Doğa, a conservationist organization in Turkey, is resurveying all Key Biodiversity Areas in Turkey. The EU is funding a "coastal city living lab", and ecosystem-based adaptations that might be considered include floodplain enlargement and restoration of dunes and seagrass meadows. A year-long project for young farmers to receive training in sustainable agriculture began in 2025. Some traditional practices help with environmental management, for example water buffalo and fishing boats help keep the connections between the lakes open.

Agriculture

The delta is one of the most fertile plains for agriculture in Turkey. Rice is the most important crop, but its water-intensive cultivation takes water away from water buffaloes, aquatic species, and other crops. Chemicals in rice runoff water have affected plants and animals, such as by nutrient pollution.

Vegetables and other grains are also grown. Buffalo breeding has aimed for more meat. To vary the gene pool some buffalo were artificially inseminated with sperm from Italy, and extra males were brought from Kandira in 2025. Some farmers lease land from the government and irrigation and fishing is managed by co-operatives and there are permits for reed cutting.

Tourism

About 100,000 people visit each year. Residents say that tourism benefits local employment. Rural tourism (which is included in the Samsun tourism master plan 2024 to 2028) activities include walking, enjoying the landscape, photography, picnicking, cycling and watching wildlife. A 2019 study said the over 50km of beach provide great potential for sea tourism as well as ecotourism. Botanical tourism has also been suggested. The 2019 study questioned visiting families and found that most associated the Kızılırmak Delta with wetlands, agriculture, being one of the largest deltas of Turkey, being Turkey's largest river, fertile lands, and fertile fields. Over 70% had not heard of the Ramsar site