This study embraces questionnaire studies conducted with 308 local users, for the purpose of determining recreational satisfaction of Altindere Valley National Park users in the national park area in 2015 summer term. With the questions in the questionnaire, personal characteristics of the National Park visitors, their recreational activities, visiting motives, area preferences, general and expected satisfactions, awareness of the area, factors affecting the user satisfaction status and relations between these factors and personal characteristics of users were examined using variety of statistical methods. As a result, it’s determined that factors which can be defined as “cultural and natural significance of the national park, visual quality”, “wish to benefit from the area in an active and passive way”, “adventure and self-discovery”, “opportunities for outdoor activities”, “socializing”, “accessibility and the usage of the area” lead to the satisfaction of the visitors, despite the fact that factors which can be defined as “planning-design problems”, “lack of equipment elements, management”, “exceeding the bearing capacity-crowd, noise pollution”, “environmental-visual pollution, lack of substructure-maintenance”, “lack of knowledge, management” lead to the dissatisfaction of the users. The status of meeting users’ general satisfaction and expectation is at medium level. Satisfaction factors for native users are also affected by the distance between user’s town and the national park and education; moreover, dissatisfaction factors are affected by age, gender and also the distance.

In this work, it was aimed to clarify the effects of different cultivation density on the morphological characteristics of prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. oxycedrus) seedlings. The study was carried out at the sowing beds in the Egirdir Forest Nursey. Five different cultivation densities were applied in the study. These are 1.5 cm, 3 cm, 6, cm, 9 cm distances and the control plots without any application. In the study, it was observed that the different cultivation density effected the morphological characteristics of prickly juniper seedlings in many ways such as root collar diameter, number of lateral roots, index of robustness, quality index, fresh and dry weights of seedling’s stem and root. With the decrease of cultivation density in the sowing beds, root collar diameter, fresh and dry weights of stem and the number of lateral roots increased. Except the control plots, all other plots with different cultivation densities showed high root collar diameter and number of lateral roots. In terms of the seedling weight, the best results were obtained from the 3 cm cultivation density plots whereas the worst was at control plots. In conclusion, for the propagation of prickly juniper seedlings in Egirdir Forest Nursery, 3 cm cultivation density can be proposed.

This study was carried out to examine the relationships between productivity of taurus cedar (Cedrus libani A. Rich.) and some environmental factors in afforestation areas located in Eskisehir, Afyonkarahisar and Ankara provinces. Sampling studies were performed on 55 sample plots that differ in aspect, altitude, slope degree, slope position and stand growth. A tree representing top stand height in each area was cut from each stand and soil samples were taken from the horizons. Some physical and chemical properties of the soil samples were analyzed. The climate data was obtained from the closest meteorological station to determine the relationships between productivity of Taurus cedar and climatic factors. Relations between top height values of trees in stands and edaphic, climatic and physiographic site factors were analyzed using correlation, stepwise regression analysis and regression tree methods. Latitude and slope position as physiographic factors; the average high temperature potential evapotranspiration, water surplus, the average temperature of the coldest month, the average temperature of the hottest month and the average temperature of four months in the summer as climatic factors; silt ratio as edaphic factors were statistically found as the most significant factors on the variation of height growth. The height growth of the species was modelled using stepwise regression analysis and regression tree method. As a result of these methods, the best prediction model was found to be the regression tree method with a ratio of 65.6%.

Affecting the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soil positively, eartworms called ecosystem engineers have significant impact on the function, mechanism, structure and formation of forest ecosystem. Studies have been carried out on earthworms for over 150 years; hovewer, there is a serious lack of information related to their ecological, taxonomic and basic characteristics. It is, therefore, required to conduct studies on the habitat of earthworms, determination of indicator species, and potential distribution modelling. So as to learn more about them, the first thing to do is to remove earthworms to the surface without giving any harm. In this paper, the most commonly used methods such as digging and hand sorting method, formaldehyde extraction method, mustard extraction method, allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) extraction method, potassium permanganate extraction method, electrical device extraction method, and using traps were explained. The study aims to provide more information on earthworms and to shed light on the future works that will be carried out on forest ecosystems.

Forest areas are often allocated for mining. This allocation reduces the production of forest good and services while increasing mining production. Sectoral allocation decisions, a classical question in welfare economics, seem to be the problem of determining the land allowance and reforestation costs in forestry applications in Turkey. The purpose of this study is to comparatively discuss the universal valuation methods with the accounting approach of compensation payments demanded for mining permits granted by the General Directorate of Forestry (GDF) in accordance with the Article 16 of the Forest Law. For this purpose, the value calculations adopted by the related regulation of the GDF have been carried out by using a real case study data. This computing approach was compared with the universal valuation approaches and it was shown that the regulation based approach includes partly a cost-based view and does not take into account market prices, social preferences and benefits transferred. Additionally, it was found that the basic components of the regulatory approach were set out based on administrative decisions rather than scientific findings.

In this research, industrial wood raw material procurement process of the firms operating in the Southeastern Anatolia Region was examined. For this purpose, the related firms operating in the provinces (Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adiyaman, Kilis and Mardin) were visited and face-to-face interviewing was conducted. Through the questionnaire, the current situation of the firms, the raw material procurement processes, the relations with the state forest enterprises in the supply of raw materials and the problems they have experienced are revealed. Thus, the General Directorate of Forestry and its state forestry enterprises have been provided with information to contribute to the development of new marketing strategies in line with customer demands and expectations.

In this study, the habitats where rapid urbanization was experienced in Baglica and Yapracik neighborhoods in Ankara province was observed and it was determined that developing areas were established in such areas as fertile agricultural lands, forest fragments, free fields, transition habitats, settlement habitats. The objective of this study is to observe the natural habitat groups in these areas, to determine the impact of urbanization on habitats, to take measures for the protection of natural areas as a result of observation, and to submit proposals. Baglica, on the periphery of the city and Yapracik, where important agricultural areas exist, are selected as research areas in Ankara.

Kazim Karabekir, a hero commander of independence war of Turkey, is known with a great contribution at eastern front of the battle and personality to protect orphan children. However, Karabekir’s interest in forestry education and ideas on the relations between forestry and independence war are not widely known. In this study, his visit to the Forest High School on November 15th, 1923 is presented and the documents and speeches deal with this event are investigated and discussed to understand forest history.

Pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea wilkinsoni Tams.) larvae cause defoliation by eating leaves mainly in Turkish red pine, but sometimes in cedar and Crimean pine forests in Mediterranean Region of Turkey. The growth rate of the trees are adversely affected by the defoliation, even it is temporary. On the other hand, defoliation may have an effect on tree growth not only in the current year but also over years due to the renewal of the leaves in every two years. Moreover, the reduction in growth rate may change considerably depending on whether the defoliation occurred only one year or more in following years. In this study, we aimed at determining the over-years effect of defoliation in Turkish red pine forests. The research was conducted in two different sites for five years in Antalya region. At the beginning, trees defoliated in more than 40% were marked and observed in the following five years for their defoliation, and total defoliation rate was calculated by adding up defoliation rate in all years. Total diameter (Dbh) and volume loss of all defoliated trees were measured for five years and comparing to control trees. As a result, significant relationship between added total defoliation rate and total Dbh and volume growth lose for five years were determined and linear regression equations were calculated. Additionally, the relationship between added total defoliation rate and the total number of nests of pine processionary moth for five years was investigated, however, this relationship was not significant in both sites.

Bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae and Platypodinae) are serious pest group to forest and fruit trees in many countries across the world. Because they spend the most of their life inside the trees and only adults leave the trees for certain time of periods, the trees are infested by more than one species very often and adult emergence prevails a long time, chemical control of the beetles is very difficult and more than one application is needed. On the other hand, because of well-known negatives in chemical control, alternative pest control approaches are needed. From this perspective, entomopathogenic fungi may be highly suitable biological control agents for pests living inside of trees, such as bark and ambrosia beetles. The entomopathogenic fungi not only cause mortality of the beetles but also they may decrease the beetle population significantly through horizontal and vertical transportation in the galleries. Besides entomo-pathogenic fungi have repellent effects on bark and ambrosia beetles. On the other hand, mass production and preparation of entomopathogenic fungi is easier than some other biological agents. Currently, there are many commercial preparations registered for many insect pests in the market. Furthermore, entomopathogen fungi on bark and ambrosia beetles are observed very often in natural field conditions. In this review, the potential value of entomopathogenic fungi in the biological control of bark and ambrosia beetles has been discussed.

The aim of this research was to determine the regeneration protocol for micropropagation of Origanum syriacum L. var. bevanii using tissue culture (in vitro) method. In the research, the various explants (leaf disc, stem node, apical and axillary buds) from the donor plants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with alone and combinations of different concentrations of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy Acetic Acid (2,4-D) or Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 mg/l) and 6-Benzil Amino purine (BAP) or Furfuryladenine (Kinetin) (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mg/l) plant growth regulators. After four-six weeks of culture period, the cultures were transferred to the sub-culture medium having the same content as the induction medium. Then the cultures were transferred to the regeneration media containing different concentrations of 2,4-D or NAA (0, 0.1, 0.25 mg/l) in combination with BAP or Kinetin (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mg/l). ½MS medium which does not contain growth regulators was used to root the shoots. As a result of the research, it was determined that the apical or axillary bud explants were the most suitable explant for multiple shoot formation and plantlet regeneration and that MS medium with 1.5 mg/l BAP alone was the most suitable medium. ½MS medium was succesful for rooting the shoots growing on the medium with BAP. However single shoots with roots were obtained in the induction medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l NAA. The highest shoot regeneration ratio (an average of 36.0 shoots per explants) and roooting ratio (81.2%) was obtained from the axillary bud explants cultured in the medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l BAP.

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.), belonging to Elaeagnaceae family, naturally spreads over Southern Europe and East Asia. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 6 m in height and 9 m in width. Its form is rounded, with dense branches. The species can store the nitrogen in its roots. Thus, it has the ability to live even in the most inefficient soil. It is valued for its ability to prevent erosion and to attract wildlife and has been used in some agroforestry practices. When it is mature, the species has edible fruit with brilliant red or yellow pigmentation, and can be consumed especially as dried fruit. In addition, the greatest benefit of the fruit is the amount of lycopene it has. 100 grams of the fruit contains 7 to 17 times more lycopene than the same amount of tomatoes. Besides being extremely useful, antioxidant-containing fruits can be used in horticulture while leaves and flowers can be used in landscaping. Therefore, it is necessary to reproduce autumn olive for its uses in Turkey. Within the scope of this study, propagation of the species is carried out by hardwood cutting which is one of the vegetative propagation techniques. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of different auxins (IBA 1000 ppm, IBA 5000 ppm, NAA 1000 ppm and NAA 5000 ppm) on propagation of autumn olive by hardwood cutting in greenhouse condition with air temperature at 20±2°C, rooting table temperature at 25±2°C and perlite rooting media. The first root formation date, rooting percentage, root length and the number of roots were determined. The results showed that the highest rooting percentage occurred as 70% in NAA 5000 ppm and IBA 5000 ppm treatment. This study will provide a basis for further researches to be conducted using vegetative propagation methods.

In recent years, in addition to mineral fertilizers, biofertilizers containing the pure or mixture of different bacteria species that allow the uptake of nutrients have been used. Although widely used in agriculture, using of biofertilizers in forest nurseries is a relatively new application. There are limited researches about the effects of biofertilizers on morphological characteristics of forest tree seedlings, especially in outdoor environmental conditions of the nurseries. The current study was carried out to determine the effects of biofertilizers on the seedling morphological characteristics when applied on the seedbed of the forest nursery in outdoor conditions. In this research, 1+0 old Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) seedlings were used in Bursa Forest Nursery. Among the numerous commercial biofertilizers, two biofertilizers containing different bacterial compositions were chosen and applied in four different doses (3 ml/l, 15ml/l, 30 ml/l and control) for each to determine the effects on some morphological seedling characteristics. The applied biofertilizers and doses on the seedlings of C. arizonica and A. saccharum significantly affected some morphological characteristics, such as the seedlings’ heights and root collar diameters. In A. saccharum seedlings, 3 ml/l doses of both Best-doll and Bio-doll fertilizers increased the length of the seedlings by 13% and 11% and provided 13% and 16% better growth in the root collar diameters respectively, compared to the control. The C. arizonica control group seedlings produced higher diameters and height growths compared to two other biofertilized seedlings. The studies of biofertilizers should be continued on using of different doses, different forest tree species, soil conditions and the combined applications with chemical fertilizers.

This study aimed at defining the current situation of forestry organization, the management and organization problems in Turkey, to develop alternative organizational models and to determine the most appropriate. To collect data, four different questionnaires were applied face to face to the 565 subjects from four different interest groups (employees, experts, relevant institutions and NGO representatives), and meetings were held with the forestry units under the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs in nine regions in Turkey. The interviewees were determined according to the stratified-simple random sampling method. The basic material of this study is the data obtained from the survey and interviews. Data were evaluated with descriptive statistics, the differences of opinions regarding the management and organization of the forestry according to the regions, the units, the task, and the experience were inspected by the Kruskal-Wallis H-Test and the different groups were determined via the Duncan Test. Within the scope of the research, the current situation of forestry organization in Turkey was determined, and the management and organizational problems were presented. The alternative organization and management models for forestry in Turkey were developed and it was determined that the most preferred models by four different interest groups were “Model-3” and “Model-2”. In Model-3, the forestry organization is structured as six separate general directorates in the center, and only one strong forest district directorate on the basis of micro-basins with Regional Forestry Research-Development and Supervision units in homogeneous basins in the provinces. In Model-2, a centralized forestry organization is essential in organizing and managing from the head office, and in the regions, there are directorates and sub-district units on the basin basis as a single unit. Both models serve to manage the forest resources in a sense of integrity by resolving the conflict of authority-responsibility, to utilize resources effectively, to attain the organization a dynamic structure and to spread the staff from the top to the bottom. Proposals were developed by discussing the models and presented to the decision-makers and practitioners for consideration.

Wolves are distributed in all regions of Turkey, but there is a very limited number of studies about wolves. This study was conducted to determine habitat use and preferences of wolves in Düzce and Bolu provinces within Bolu Forest Regional Directorate where human disturbance and forest existence are intense. Some suggestions were made for the management of wolves. Presence of wolves was recorded by using randomly founded scats in the field, and wolf photographs in camera traps. Before analyzing the existing data, similar locations were removed to prevent autocorrelation. A total of 48 wolf occurrences were determined. In addition, 48 randomly chosen points corresponding to the existing habitat specifications were used to analyze habitat use and preference. Of 2.5 km buffer was drawn to both 48 points using the ArcGIS program, and the areas of forest stands were calculated. These were then reduced to five habitat classes, and the habitat preference rate (w) and usage of wolves were calculated by using the ratio of these two areas. In addition, these two data sets were analyzed with respect to slope, elevation, distance to the roads and settlements by statistical t-test. Besides, it was calculated whether there is a significant difference for p < 0.05. As a result, we found that wolves generally were over 1100m above sea level in coniferous forests with less human influence, and preferred northern aspects with more than 50 degrees in slope. We revealed that wolves avoid from heavy traffic at highways and cutting-based forestry activities in the forests. To analyze the habitats in detail, it can be useful to monitor wolves by using modern radio telemetry methods and to analyze the diet of wolves.

The nanotechnology that produced innovative changes in many industries has been getting attention in the forest products industry as well. Especially, the increase in multidisciplinary studies motivated researchers to work and study on new-generation nanocomposites and biocomposites that will be a strong alternative to traditional materials with the value-added properties. The cellulose, a crucial component of the trees, is made of small blocks. These blocks which are called nanocellulose contain fibrils and particles. Nanocelluloses are green polymers that have received considerable attention in materials science, engineering research, and research & product development fields in the industry. Nanocellulose is a bio-nano polymer that is widely used as reinforcing materials and added to polymer matrices to create innovative nanocomposites for use in many industries. Today, nano-cellulose materials have been used in automotive, packaging, pharmaceutical, insulation and construction industries. The enhancements in the nanocellulose manufacturing processes, the increase in the number of global producers, and the increased demand for green and eco-friendly materials have made the nanocellulose more attractive for the industry and the institutions. In this study, a concise, critical state-of-the-art review on nanocellulose materials, manufacturing technologies, global producers and their current and future applications were studied and reported.