ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Changing the Potential Distribution
of Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris L.)
under Climate Change in Turkey
Ahmet Mert1, Kürşad Özkan2,
Özdemir Şentürk3, Mehmet Güvenç Negiz4
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1Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey
2Department of Soil and Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry,
Süleyman Demirel Univ., 32260, Isparta, Turkey
3Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Gölhisar Vocational School, Burdur, Turkey
4Süleyman Demirel University, Sütçüler Prof. Dr. Hasan Gürbüz
Vocational School, Isparta, Turkey
Submission date: 2016-02-06
Final revision date: 2016-03-16
Acceptance date: 2016-03-16
Publication date: 2016-07-22
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2016;25(4):1633-1638
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ABSTRACT
Turkey oak (Q. cerris) is an important species for rehabilitating soils, promoting conservation,
and increasing biodiversity. It is also a fire-resistant plant. To predict the potential distribution of this
species under climate change is crucial for better understanding the future of ecosystems – in particular
Mediterranean ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to generate the potential distribution maps
of Turkey oak under current and changing climate in the Sütçüler district located in the translation zone
of the Mediterranean region. Classification and regression tree technique (CART) was applied to model
the distribution of the species (response data) using current climatic data, parent material, landform types,
and topographical position index (explanatory data). Geographic information system (GIS) was used
for visualizing current potential distribution of the species. Next, the obtained distribution model was
simulated to the digital data of climatic change scenario b2 of IPCC. In this way, changing the potential
distribution of Turkey oak along the district was predicted under climate change.