Author(s): Muhammet TOPUZ Murat KARABULUT
Wetlands are one of the World’s most important ecosystems and have started to be protected by various legal regulations in accordance with the changes in the approaches towards these areas in last quarter of 20. century. Sarikum lake which is located at the northernmost of Turkey is one of these areas has been accepted as the Nature Conservation Area by the Turkish Ministry of Forestry in 1987. In this study, temporal changes in Sarikum Lake and surrounding areas were examined by using landsat (1977, 1987, 1999, 2007, 2015) satellite data and various remote sensing techniques. In addition, the relationship between annual total precipitation and lake surface was investigated using regression analysis. Finally, ecological problems in the lake and its vicinity have been tried to be determined by interviewing people visiting the area and living around the lake. The results showed significant changes occured in the lake and in its immediate vicinity, annual total precipitation values were found to have an effect on the changes on the lake surface area. According to the image analysis, in 1977 the lake surface area reached to its most extensive borders, whereas according to Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), 1986 was the driest year within the period of investigation. It has also been found that the lake is under the pressure of close encounters of the surrounding settlements and daily visitiors, and sand planting is under threat because of incorrect tree selection in afforestation
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