Sustainable Forestry in Turkey

Sustainable forestry is considered as one of the most important focal points for sustainable development, as it is part of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio in 1992 which followed the completion of “Our Common Future.” To this end, many studies have been carried out on implementing of sustainable forestry at the global level.

Geographically, Turkey can be seen as part of Pan-European and Near East sustainable forestry initiatives. Forest organizations have carried out many studies to implement the decisions made with these initiatives in line with their own needs in forest management. While conducting studies in the framework of the National Forestry Program prepared within this context, people have been confronted with various problems due to insufficient infrastructure and implementation difficulties. This article provides information on sustainable forestry leading to observations and suggestions relevant for Turkey.     

Occurrence and molecular characterization of Turkish isolates of Turnip mosaic virus

A total of 142 samples of plants showing symptoms of Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) were collected from fields planted to Brassicaceae and non‐Brassicaceae crops in the southwest Marmora region of Turkey, during the 2004?06 growing seasons. Using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) TuMV was detected in the main brassica‐crop fields of Turkey, with an overall incidence of 13·4%. TuMV was detected in samples from Brussels sprouts, cabbage, wild mustard, radish and wild radish, but not cauliflower or broccoli. The full‐length sequences of the genomic RNAs of two biologically distinct isolates, TUR1 and TUR9, were determined. Recombination analyses showed that TUR1 was an intralineage recombinant, whereas TUR9 was a non‐recombinant. Phylogenetic analyses of the Turkish isolates with those from the rest of the world showed that the TUR1 and TUR9 isolates belonged to world‐Brassica and Asian‐Brassica/Raphanus groups, respectively. This study showed that TuMV is widely distributed in the Asia Minor region of Turkey.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community of wheat under long-term mineral and organic amendments in semi-arid Mediterranean Turkey

A minimal amount of information is currently available concerning arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal associations with crops in semi-arid zones on Leptosols in Turkey. Therefore, using molecular ecological techniques, we studied the effects of different management practices (without fertilization, chemical fertilization, farmyard manure, and plant compost amendments) on AM fungal communities associated with wheat roots. Experiments were conducted in a field established in 1996 in southern Mediterranean Turkey where soil productivity is low owing to unfavorable climatic effects and soil characteristics. We determined 201 partial sequences of AM fungal nuclear ribosomal large subunit genes. The higher AM fungal richness was found in the control treatment without fertilization and plant compost treatments compared with the chemical fertilization and farmyard manure treatments. Clones related to Rhizophagus were found in all treatments and accounted for 37% of the total AM fungal clones, whereas those of Funneliformis were dominant under chemical fertilization. Redundancy analysis based on the frequency of operational taxonomic units revealed that AM fungal communities were divided into three groups, namely, the control treatment, the chemical fertilization treatment, and the organic treatments (farmyard manure and plant compost treatments). Although different organic amendments supported relatively similar AM fungal communities, plant compost induced higher AM fungal richness than farmyard manure fertilization.     

Response of maize for grain to potassium and magnesium fertilizers in soils with high lime contents

An antagonistic reaction between calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K) may lead to low absorption of K and Mg by plants from soils with high Ca contents even when levels of K and Mg should be adequate. Two separate field studies were carried out in 2009 and 2010 to determine the effects of potassium (0, 40, 80, 120 kg K₂O ha^?1; as potassium sulfate) and magnesium (0, 20, 40, 60 kg magnesium oxide (MgO)ha^?1; as magnesium sulfate) applied to a soil with high lime content either separately or in combinations, on the grain yield and yield components of maize for grain in semi-arid Central Anatolia in Turkey. One dose of the K, Mg-fertilizers was applied during sowing in both years. According to the results, increasing the dosage of K increased yield components more than increases in Mg dosages. Combinations of K and Mg tended to maximize the yield components. Moreover, the greatest plant heights, first ear lengths, grain weights per ear and protein ratios were obtained for the K₈₀Mg₄₀ dose.     

Assessment of spatial and seasonal changes in groundwater nitrate pollution of agricultural lands through ordinary and indicator kriging techniques

Geostatistical approaches (ordinary kriging (OK) and indicator kriging (IK)) were used in this study to investigate the spatial and temporal variations in groundwater nitrate concentrations in Çar?amba plain of Turkey. Groundwater samples were taken in April 2012, July 2012, September 2012 and March 2013 from 78 groundwater wells. The experimental semivariograms were often fitted well by a Gauss model for April 2012 and September 2012, whereas a spherical model was fitted to experimental semivariograms for July 2012 and March 2013. Spatial distribution maps revealed that groundwater nitrate concentrations were above the threshold value of 50 mg L^?1 specified for drinking water in 4.3% of the study area in April 2012, 40.8% in July 2012, 32.8% in September 2012 and 19.1% in March 2013. Probability maps created with IK showed that 3.1% and 3.2% of the total area had very strong probability (0.8–1.0) of exceeding the threshold nitrate concentration in July 2012 and September 2012, respectively. Current findings revealed that groundwater nitrate concentrations changed seasonally and increased much more in summer. It was concluded that OK and IK may yield significant outcomes for groundwater management, identification of risky sites for potential pollution and identification of the sites with excessive fertilizer uses.     

Parasitism of egg-batches of the cedar processionary moth<Emphasis Type="Italic">Traumatocampa ispartaensis</Emphasis> in Turkey

Studies were carried out on the egg material ofTraumatocampa ispartaensis Doganlar & Avcı (Lep.: Notodontidae) collected onCedrus libani A. Rich. A total of 95 egg-batches were sampled over two annual generations ofTr. ispartaensis. The number of eggs in each egg-batch varied between 39 and 245 and the length of the batches varied between 7 and 36 mm. The mean number of eggs per batch was found to be 119 and 122 in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Based on field data the oviposition period continued from mid August to mid September. The mean hatching rate of the host was found to be 85.8% and 88.9%, whereas the impact of egg parasitoids accounted for 11.3% and 7.4%, respectively in the 2 years.Ooencyrtus pityocampae (Mercet) was observed as the most abundant egg parasitoid, followed byOoencyrtus sp. nearmasii (Mercet) andTrichogramma brassicae Bezdenko. Based on the emergence dynamics of the egg parasitoids in the laboratory, it seems thatO. pityocampae emerged mainly in June whereasO. sp. nearmasii andT. brassicae emerged mainly in May. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Feb. 3, 2003.     

Note: Tachinid parasitoids of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ancyrosoma leucogrammes</Emphasis> and notes on parasitization rates of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Clytiomya dupuisi</Emphasis>

The study deals with the tachinid parasitoids ofAncyrosoma leucogrammes (Gmelin) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae):Clytiomya dupuisi Kugler,Clytiomya sola (Rondani) andGymnosoma clavatum (Rohdendorf) (Diptera: Tachinidae). All species are recorded for the first time as parasitoids ofA. leucogrammes, andC. dupuisi was reared for the first time from a host. The parasitization rates ofC. dupuisi on adults ofA. leucogrammes varied from 7% to 9% between 1994 and 1999.C. sola andG. clavatum were reared in only small numbers. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 10, 2003.     

Parasitoids and predators of pseudococcidae (hemiptera: coccoidea) in Ankara, Turkey

Natural enemies of mealybugs were surveyed in Ankara, Turkey, during the years 2001 to 2003. Twenty-three predatory species belonging to the insect orders Coleoptera (Coccinellidae, 17), Diptera (Chamaemyiidae, 3) and Neuroptera (Chrysopidae, 2; Hemerobiidae, 1); and 22 parasitoid species belonging to Hymenoptera (Aphelinidae, 2; Encyrtidae, 14; Platy-gasteridae, 1; Pteromalidae, 3; Signiphoridae, 2) were determined. The following ten species are newly recorded for the Turkish fauna:Sidis biguttatus Motchulsky,Nephus sinuatomaculatus Sahlberg (Coccinellidae),Leucopomyia alticeps Czerny,Parochthiphila (Euestelia) decipia Tanasijtshuk (Chamaemyiidae),Leptomastidae matritensis Mercet,Prochiloneurus bolivari Mercet,Rhopus sp.nr.acaetes (Walker),Stematosteres sp.,Eunotus acutus Kurdjumov, andChartocerus kurdjumovi (Nikol’skaya) (Chalcidoidea). http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 19, 2006.     

A New Species of Ectoparasite,<Emphasis Type="Italic">Erythraeus ankaraicus</Emphasis> Saboori,Cobanoglu and Bayram,on<Emphasis Type="Italic">Asymmetrasca (=Empoasca) decedens</Emphasis> in Cotton

The infestation intensity of the ectoparasiteErythraeus ankaraicus Saboori, Cobanoglu and Bayram (Acari: Erythraeidae) onAsymmetrasca (=Empoasca) decedens (Paoli) (Homoptera: cicadellidae),Aphis gossypii Glov. (Homoptera: Aphididae) andThrips tabaci Lind. (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in cotton was investigated during the 2004 and 2005 growing seasons in Aydin Province, TurkeyE. ankaraicus was recorded for the first time onA. decedens leafhopper nymphs during the early growth stage of cotton. Parasitism ofE. ankaraicus on leafhopper nymphs during the first week of July 2004 was 68.9%, whereas in the middle of July 2005 — when mite populations peaked — it reached only 15.1%. Parasitism of the leafhopper was not observed from the middle of the season onward (August to October).