Author(s): Emre ÖZŞAHİN
In the last century, rivers have been changed (e.g. bed arrangements) and exposed to various kinds of activities (e.g. dam construction) because of limitless needs of human beings. Factors influential on the natural system associated with this situation (fluvial processes being in the first place) have been diagnosed and treated through geomorphological and/or hydro-geomorphological studies in recent years. MQI (The Morphological Quality Index), which has been designed in compliance with the EU’s (European Union) Water Framework Directive and developed mainly for the rivers in Italy, has been shaped within the framework of this approach. In the present study, the above-mentioned method was applied to the rivers in Ganos (I??klar) Mount and its close vicinity. In accordance with the research method, various thematic maps and satellite images from different years were used. The method was applied to 18 samples that were randomly taken from different parts of the area. It was evaluated based on 28 indicators. Index identification was made via rating through scores assigned to these indicators. In addition, GIS (Geographic Information Systems), RS (Remote Sensing), and field works were utilized as supporting elements. In the end, the area was seen to have an average MQI value of 0.82. This finding indicates that the study area has a good MQI level. In other words, human beings do not have a very intense influence on hydrogeomorphological structure. The fact that MQI levels were found to be very good or high in the coastal area from Gaziköy to ?arköy shows that human activities are intense in this area. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of human activities in this area including but not limited to settlement, tourism, agriculture, and industry. Moreover, the results of the paired samples t test demonstrated a significant difference between the sample points in terms of slope, aspect, valley density, and LULC (land use and land cover) features. All in all, MQI method can be applied to different areas as it provides insight into the degree of human intervention in natural environment and its influence on land use and degradation.
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