African Journal of Environmental and Waste Management

African Journal of Environmental and Waste Management ISSN 2375-1266 Vol. 10 (3), pp. 001-009, March, 2023. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Exploring the Impact of Native Plants on Ecological Integrity in Ku adasi (Turkey) Urban Area and its Surroundings

Bülent Deniz^1* and U uririn²

¹Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Agriculture, Adnan Menderes University, 09100, Aydin/Turkey.

²Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Adnan Menderes University, 09100, Aydin/Turkey.

Accepted 19 January, 2023

Abstract

Urban sprawl and fragmentation of natural habitats are outstanding threats on biodiversity and ecological integrity of natural areas. Ku adasi (Turkey) is a significant town in terms of nearby National Park of Dilek Peninsula-Great Menderes Delta which has a rich biodiversity and with surrounding areas in their natural conditions. Also Ku adasi is a popular tourism destination and it is one of the most rapidly growing urban areas in the district. Therefore it is important to minimize the disturbance to the surrounding ecological structure while this growth is occurring. The main goals of this study are: (a) To identify natural plant species that can be utilized as ornamental plants in Ku adasi Municipality area; (b) To evaluate existence of the natural plant species that are found in some randomly selected urban areas and (c) To make recommendations for Ku adasi to have a well-planned growth which will protect and contribute to the integrity of the surrounding ecology. Three different analyses were performed with randomly selected land cover types to determine vegetation structure: (a) Pervious surface cover, (b) Native woody plants and (c) Structural diversity. The data collected was used to create a habitat value index. The highest three values were found to be agricultural lands (43.2%), graded vacant land (40.2%) and parks (37.4%). On the other hand, the lowest values were found to be streets (20.3%) and ring roads (26.3%).

Key words: Native plants, ecologic integrity, planning strategies, urban ecology, Ku adasi.