Phoenix theophrasti Greuter türünün Türkiye’de tanımlanan yeni bir alttürü (Phoenix theophrasti Greuter subsp. golkoyana Boydak)

In the present study, a new subspecies (Phoenix theophrasti Greuter subsp. golkoyana Boydak) is described in Turkey. The unidentified Phoenix taxon native to Bodrum-Golkoy, Aegean Turkey and named as the "Golkoy Phoenix population" has been known to Golkoy's inhabitants for centuries. The Golkoy Phoenix population was considered to be representative of P. theophrasti. Boydak made the first of a number of trips to Golkoy and immediately noticed some distinct differences between the Golkoy Phoenix population, P. theophrasti Greuter, and Phoenix dactylifera L in the early summer of 1990. He continued his investigations on this taxon for many years to shed light on the subject. He made two new trips to the three native stands of P. theophrasti and the Golkoy Phoenix populations in 2015 and 2018. Measurements and observations were made on the morphological characteristics that showed distinct differences among the Golkoy Phoenix population, P. theophrasti, and P. dactylifera. These were related to the length of male stalks and female inflorescences and some fruit and seed characteristics. The results indicate that some distinctive morphological characteristics of the "Golkoy Phoenix population" merit its being described as a new subspecies. "Phoenix theophrasti Greuter subsp. golkoyana Boydak" differs from P. theophrasti Greuter with respect to its longer fruiting-female stalk length and longer male stalk length, its fruiting stalks hold fruits marginally higher, and its having seeds with slightly visible striate surface crust structures and deeper-wider grooves.Bu makale kapsamında Türkiye’de yeni bir alttür tanımlanmıştır (Phoenix theophrasti Greuter subsp. golkoyana Boydak). Ege Bölgesi, Bodrum-Gölköy’de doğal olarak bulunan ve “Gölköy Phoenix populasyonu” olarak adlandırılan tanımlanmamış bu takson, Gölköy halkı tarafından yüzlerce yıldan beri bilinmekteydi. Gölköy Phoenix populasyonu Phoenix theophrasti türünün bir temsilcisi olarak kabul ediliyordu. Bu makalenin yazarı, Gölköy’e yaptığı çok sayıdaki bilimsel gezinin, 1990 yılının erken yazında yaptığı ilkinde, Gölköy Phoenix populasyonu, P. theophrasti Greuter and P. dactylifera L. arasında önemli farklılıklar olduğunu gözlemledi. Yazar konuyu aydınlatmak için uzun yıllar bu takson ile ilgili çalışmalara devam etti. 2015 ve 2018 yıllarında, ülkemizde doğal olarak bulunan üç P. theophrsti populasyonu ile Gölköy Phoenix populayonuna iki bilimsel gezi daha yaptı. Gölköy Phoenix populasyonu, P. theophrasti, ve P. dactylifera arasında belirgin farklılıklar gösteren morfolojik özellikler üzerinde ölçmeler ve gözlemler yapıldı. Bunlar erkek çiçek sapları ve meyva saplarının uzunlukları ile bazı meyva ve tohum özelliklerini kapsamaktadır. Sonuçlar, “Gölköy Phoenix populayonu”nun bazı özgün ve farklı morfolojik özellikleri nedeniyle, onun yeni bir alttür olarak tanımlanmaya layık olduğunu ortaya koydu. “Phoenix theophrasti Greuter subsp. golkoyana Boydak”, P. theophrasti Greuter türünden daha uzun meyva sapları ve daha uzun erkek çiçek sapları, meyva saplarının marjinal olarak daha fazla meyva tutmaları, tohumlarının çok az belirli olan tohum kabuğu dokusu, daha derin ve daha geniş tohum oluğu ile ayrılmaktadır.Publisher's Versio

Afforestation of arid and semiarid ecosystems in Turkey

We sincerely thank the Turkish Ministry of Forest and Water Affairs for their support. We are grateful to both the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions, which improved the paper. We also thank Onur Askin for graphical designSustainable management of arid and semiarid forests requires careful planning and implementation. Afforestation by planting and seeding is a fundamental tool for the establishment of new forests on barren landscapes and restoration of degraded forests in arid and semiarid ecosystems. In afforestation efforts, the consideration of site preparation, selection of species, seed source, and planting methods pose a number of ecological and economic challenges. Possessing one of the world's richest floras, Turkey suffered from heavy degradation during the last millennia. Some studies suggested that forests and steppes once covered 60%-70% and 10%-15% of the Anatolian landscape, respectively. Growing population, overgrazing, clearance for agriculture, fires, excessive timber harvesting, and misuse of lands led to a 26% reduction in the forest area. The Turkish Forest Service completed 2.3 million ha of afforestation and 1.2 ha of erosion control works, mostly in semiarid landscapes. This article presents an assessment of afforestation activities in the semiarid and arid regions of Turkey and is a review of the efforts exerted during the period 1945 to 2014.Publisher's Versio

The effect of heating process on Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) seeds

Bu çalışmada, Anamur ve Mersin yörelerinden seçilen 2 kesitteki 4’er yükselti kuşağından (0-400 m, 400-800 m, 800-1200 m ve ≥1200 m) toplanan kızılçam (Pinus brutia Ten.) tohumlarına ısıtma işlemi (1, 3, 5 ve 7 dakika) uygulanmış ve bu tohumların çimlenme özelliklerindeki değişim irdelenmiştir. Araştırmada, ısıtma işlemi uygulanan tohumların hangi sıcaklıkta çimlendirileceğini tespit etmek amacıyla 15, 20 ve 25oC ön çimlendirme testleri yapılmış ve sırasıyla %44,2, %68,1 ve %52,0 çimlenme yüzdeleri elde edilmiştir. Bu çimlendirmelerde en yüksek çimlenmeler her iki kesitte ve bütün yükselti kuşaklarında 20oC’de (%68,1) olmuş ve ısıtma işlemi uygulanan tohumlarda bu sıcaklıkta çimlendirilmiştir. Yapılan çimlendirme denemelerine göre, yükseltinin artmasıyla çimlenme performansları düşmüştür. Isıtılan tohumlarda çimlenme yüzdeleri, genel olarak alt yükselti kuşağından üst yükselti kuşağına doğru azalmıştır. 150oC’de ısıtılan tüm tohumlarda 1 dakika ısıtma süresinde (%62,9) kontrole (%66,4) yakın çimlenmeler hatta bazı yükselti kuşaklarında kontrolden daha fazla çimlenme elde edilmiştir. 3 dakika ısıtma süresindeki (%33,9) çimlenmelerde önemli oranda düşüşler olmuş ve 5 dakikalık ısıtma süresinde (%3,3) ise az miktarlarda çimlenme gözlenmiştir. 7 dakika ısıtma süresinde, bütün yükselti kuşaklarında tohumlar tamamen canlılığını kaybetmiş ve hiç çimlenme (%0,0) olmamıştır.In this study, Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) seeds were collected from four altitudinal belts (0-400 m, 400-800 m, 800-1200 m and ≥1200 m) on 2 transects in Anamur and Mersin regions. Heating process (1, 3, 5 and 7 minutes) was applied to seedlings and changes in germination characteristics were investigated. In order to determine germination temperatures of seeds, pre-germination tests were done at 15, 20, 25oC and germination percentages of these temperatures were 44.2%, 68.1% and 52.0% respectively. The highest germination rates were observed in both transects on every altitudinal belt at a temperature of 20ºC (68.1%). According to the germination tests, the germination performances were decreased with increasing altitude. Germination ratios of the heated seeds were decreased from lower to higher altitudinal belts. The germination rates of the seeds which were heated at 150oC for 1 minute (62.9%) were close to the control (66.4%). In addition, even higher germinations were obtained at some altitudinal belts. However, germinations at the heating for 3 minutes were considerably decreased (33.9%) and for 5 minutes few germinations occured. Vitality of seeds were lost and no germinations were seen (0.0%) at the heating for 7 minutes.Publisher's Versio

Plasticity in dendroclimatic response across the distribution range of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis)

We investigated the variability of the climate-growth relationship of Aleppo pine across its distribution range in the Mediterranean Basin. We constructed a network of tree-ring index chronologies from 63 sites across the region. Correlation function analysis identified the relationships of tree-ring index to climate factors for each site. We also estimated the dominant climatic gradients of the region using principal component analysis of monthly, seasonal, and annual mean temperature and total precipitation from 1,068 climatic gridpoints. Variation in ring width index was primarily related to precipitation and secondarily to temperature. However, we found that the dendroclimatic relationship depended on the position of the site along the climatic gradient. In the southern part of the distribution range, where temperature was generally higher and precipitation lower than the regional average, reduced growth was also associated with warm and dry conditions. In the northern part, where the average temperature was lower and the precipitation more abundant than the regional average, reduced growth was associated with cool conditions. Thus, our study highlights the substantial plasticity of Aleppo pine in response to different climatic conditions. These results do not resolve the source of response variability as being due to either genetic variation in provenance, to phenotypic plasticity, or a combination of factors. However, as current growth responses to inter-annual climate variability vary spatially across existing climate gradients, future climate-growth relationships will also likely be determined by differential adaptation and/or acclimation responses to spatial climatic variation. The contribution of local adaptation and/or phenotypic plasticity across populations to the persistence of species under global warming could be decisive for prediction of climate change impacts across populations. In this sense, a more complex forest dynamics modeling approach that includes the contribution of genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity can improve the reliability of the ecological inferences derived from the climate-growth relationships.This work was partially supported by Spanish Ministry of Education and Science co-funded by FEDER program (CGL2012-31668), the European Union and the National Ministry of Education and Religion of Greece (EPEAEK- Environment – Archimedes), the Slovenian Research Agency (program P4-0015), and the USDA Forest Service. The cooperation among international partners was supported by the COST Action FP1106, STREeSS

Effects of heat shock on seed germination of Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia)

Fire plays an important ecological role in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Many Mediterranean plant species exhibit enhanced germination capacity when exposed to heat. In the present study, the effect of high temperatures and exposure times on germination of Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia) was analyzed in order to reveal the response of seeds to fire and the implications on species regeneration. Seeds were heated to a range of temperatures (from 75 to 170 ºC) and exposure times (from 30 seconds to 30 minutes) similar to those obtained in surface soil layers during natural fires. In total, twenty treatments were performed. Seed germination percentages and germination values were calculated for each treatment. The results of ANOVA performed for germination values showed that temperature had a significant effect. Germination percentages increased in thermal treatments at 70 ºC for 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 min; at 105 ºC for 10, 15, 20, and 25 min, and at 130 ºC for 1 and 2 min. The increase in both temperature and exposure times generally decreased the germination percentage especially at 130 °C and over in comparison with the control. Maximum germination percentage was reached in the treatment at 130 ºC for 1 min while the minimum germination was reached at 130 ºC for 10 min.Publisher's Versio