1 Clifornia Language Academy, 3440 Wilshire Bld STE 1000, Los Angeles, California, USA
2 Van Yuzuncu Yil University, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Department of Landscape Architecture, Van, Türkiye
Abstract
Biodiversity is inherently valuable, and it is dangerous to view it as an asset or an engine of economic growth. However, biodiversity provides multiple values and services. Biodiversity is rapidly decreasing worldwide and one of the most important reasons for this is the deterioration of ecosystem functioning (nutrient cycling, productivity, and wildlife, etc.) and habitats. Habitats that are degraded due to different reasons decrease their natural connectivity with each other. The resulting landscape patches are an important issue in landscape planning. Hakkari has also been affected by habitat fragmentation due to human interventions (migration, population growth, etc.) in recent years, and as a result, landscape ecology and landscape sustainability are damaged. The aim of this study is to; i) determine landscape corridors between landscape patches formed in three regions between Hakkari Cilo and Sat Mountains National Park and Nehil Marshes, ii) reveal the causes of wildlife deaths in the determined regions, and iii) present recommendations in line with the survey result analyses and maps obtained by Remote Sensing methods. The habitats of small and large mammals, reptiles and birds were determined with the survey study and literature review. As a result, considering the concepts in landscape ecology and landscape sustainability science, three buffer zones were determined between three major living areas (Cilo Mountain, Sat Mountain, and Nehil Marshes), and eight ecological corridors were needed, and suggestions were developed accordingly. This study can be shown as an addition to previous scientific studies.
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