Factors of land use/cover change: A case study from Turkey

Land use/cover change impacts ecosystem services and functions such as forest health, biodiversity, and water production. Monitoring and assessing land use/cover changes provides an effective and accurate evaluation of human impact on the forest ecosystems. This study aims to determine spatial and temporal changes in land use/cover at a particular time period in a typical forest ecosystem of Turkey using geographical information systems (GIS). Specifically, the objective of this study is to analyze the main factors driving land use/cover change and the impacts of such changes in local and global perspective. Results showed that the total forested areas decreased from 5089 ha (41% of the study area) to 4426 ha (36% of the study area) during a 21 year period, which figures a net decrease of 663 ha (5%) forest areas and the average annual deforestation rate was 32 ha. Conifer forest (161 ha) completely transitioned to other cover types over 21-year period. Three major factors including distance from villages, distance from roads, and ground elevation were considered in evaluating forest disturbance. The results showed that these factors influence the reforestation/deforestation rates. Besides, forest disturbance was found to be closely related to distance from villages, distance from roads, and elevation.