Turkey (area of 814.578 km2) is a transcontinental Eurasian country located in the northern hemisphere on the peninsulas of Anatolia and Thrace, stretching from the southeast of Europe towards the Caucasus and the Middle East. The country is surrounded by the Black Sea in the north, the Aegean Sea in the west and the Mediterranean Sea in the south. As a country of transition between the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, Turkey demonstrates great differences in the topographical aspect. Thanks to its bio-geographical features, Turkey has become one of the most important areas in the world in therms of biological diversity. It means that the country sustains very assorted habitats and different species correlated to these habitats.
One of the main elements that compose the rich biodiversity in Turkey is the wetlands. The wetlands in Turkey are one of the most important ecological patrimonies. After Russia, Turkey is the richest country in Europe and in the Middle East in terms of the existing wetlands (Ministry of Environment and Forests - MoEF). The country has very different kinds of wetlands such as flood plains and rivers, estuaries and deltas, lakes, marshes, peat bogs, coastal wetlands and human-made wetlands. These areas sustain many types of species, especially those of birds, increasing the diversity of species in the country.
Among the wetlands, the delta environments are indispensable for reproducing and existing of many fauna and flora. Therefore, the conservation of natural balance at delta environments is crucial, being natural surroundings and wild living areas.
The Göksu Delta
The Göksu Delta is situated in the Mediterranean Sea region of the southeastern part of Turkey. The area is bounded by the Taurus Mountains on the northern side and by the Mediterranean Sea on the southern side. This portion of the delta area is a delta plain made up of sediments from Göksu River. The Göksu River regime flow is strongly dependent on the seasonal rains and temperature.
In the Göksu Delta area, climate is characterized by hot and dry periods in summer and by warm and wet periods in winter, which is typical for the coastal zones around the Mediterranean Sea.
The Göksu Delta is an internationally important wetland due to its location being in a bird migration route. The Environmental Protection Department of the Ministry of Environment has declared the Göksu Delta as a Special Environmental Protection Zone to protect the area against the pollution and exploitation, and to ensure that natural resources and cultural assets have a future. The Göksu Delta has also a special significance for being one of the few remaining areas in the world where sea turtles and blue crabs lay their eggs. Also, the Delta is one of the most important bird zones in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, with 332 species cataloged. Also, this area is one of the most important nestiling areas of the critically endangered Mediterranean turtle (Caretta caretta) and Nile turtle as well. As well, it is a habitat for the very few number of Mediterranean Monk seal in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
The Mediterranean coastline region is heavily populated with recent urban developments, wich are mostly occupied during summer season for vacation purposes. As the urbanization process continues, water pollution problems have become increasingly evident, and have led to serious ecological and environmental problems. In the Göksu Delta area, urban and agricultural expansions have caused an ever-growing need for fresh water. So, the surface water from Göksu River is utilized for irrigation and most of the irrigation returns flow in the drainage canals discharges back into the Göksu River and transport some pollutant together to this water system.
The fluvial material carried by the Göksu River was transported and deposited by the marine activities from both flanks of the mouth as the depositional marine units. Frontal-coast barriers or barrier islands were formed as a result of this process. There are two diverse barrier islands that belong to recent and former sea level at the delta. One of that was situated between Paradeniz and Akgöl lagoons, like a coastal cord. Paradeniz has higher salinity than Akgöl, since it is influenced directly by the exchange of sea water.
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Lagoons may be clustered together on particular stretches of coasts, where they are dependent on local physical processes, such as sediment transport systems. Such clusters have been considered particularly important for the conservation of lagoon structure and function. Some lagoon types found in this area, are rare elsewhere in Europe. They are a priority habitat type.
The water in coastal lagoons can vary in salinity from brackish (owing to dilution of seawater by freshwater) to hypersaline (i.e. more salty than seawater as a result of evaporation). The plant and animal communities of lagoons vary according to the physical characteristics and salinity regime of the lagoon, and consequently there are significant differences between sites. Although, compared to other marine habitats, there is usually only a limited range of species present, they are especially adapted to the varying salinity regimes of lagoons and some are restricted to lagoon habitats. The vegetation may include Fucus ceranoides, beds of eelgrass Zostera spp., tasselweed Ruppia spp., and pondweeds Potamogeton spp., or stoneworts such as foxtail stonewort Lamprothamnium papulosum. In more rocky lagoons, communities of fucoid wracks Fucus spp., sugar kelp Laminaria saccharina, and red and green algae are also found. The fauna is often characterised by mysid shrimps and other small crustaceans, worms that burrow into the sediment, molluscs, and some fish species. Species that are particularly found in lagoons and consequently have restricted distributions in the UK include starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, lagoon sandworm Armandia cirrhosa, lagoon sand-shrimp Gammarus insensibilis and foxtail stonewort L. papulosum.
Coastal lagoons are areas of shallow, coastal salt water, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sandbanks, shingle or, less frequently, rocks. Lagoons show a wide range of geographical and ecological variation; five main sub-types have been identified in the UK, on the basis of their physiography, as meeting the definition of the Annex I habitat type (Jackson and McLeod 2000).
These are separated completely from the sea or estuary by a barrier of rock or sediment. Seawater enters by limited groundwater seepage or by over-topping of the sea barrier. Salinity is variable but often low. Isolated lagoons are often transient features with a limited lifespan due to natural processes of infilling and coastal erosion.
These are normally separated from the sea by shingle banks. Seawater entersby percolating through the shingle or occasionally by over-topping the bank (e.g. in storms). The water level shows some variation with tidal changes, and salinity may vary. Since percolation lagoons are normally formed by natural processes of sediment transport, they are relatively transient features, which may be eroded and swept away over a period of years or decades or may become infilled by movement of the shingle bank.
Water in silled lagoons is retained at all states of the tide by a barrier of rock (the ‘sill’). There is usually little tidal rise-and-fall. Seawater input is regular (i.e. on most tides) and although salinity may be seasonally variable, it is usually high, except where the level of the sill is near to high tide level. These lagoons are restricted to the north and west of Scotland and may occur as sedimentary basins or in bedrock (where they are called ‘oban’). Muddy areas are dominated by filamentous green algae, amongst which may be colonies of rare charophytes, such as foxtail stonewort Lamprothamnium papulosum. There may be beds of tasselweed Ruppia spp. and, in the deeper most stable lagoons, eelgrass Zostera marina.
Sluiced lagoons are formed where the natural movement of water between the lagoon and the sea is modified by artificial structures, such as a culvert under a road or valved sluices. Communities present in sluiced lagoons vary according to the type of substrate and salinity, but may resemble those of silled lagoons.
Seawater enters lagoonal inlets on each tide and salinity is usually high, particularly at the seaward part of the inlet. Larger examples of this sub-type may have a number of different basins, separated by sills, and demonstrate a complete gradient from full salinity through brackish to freshwater. This salinity gradient significantly increases the habitat and species diversity of the sites in which it occurs. (3)
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