Country-scale phosphorus balancing as a base for resources conservation

In order to effectively conserve the non-renewable resource phosphorus (P), flows and stocks of P must be known at national, regional and global scales. P is a key non-renewable resource because its use as fertilizer cannot be substituted posing a constraint on the global food production in the long-term. This paper presents a methodology to establish country-wide P balances that emphasises resource use. We develop a material flow analysis (MFA) model that comprises all relevant flows and stocks of P in five subsystems, seven processes and 36 material flows. For quantification, statistical data from economic and agricultural sources as well as available information about P partitioning in natural and anthropogenic processes are used. Special attention is paid to data gaps and uncertainties. The model was tested in two case studies on P management in Turkey and Austria. MFA appears to be a tool well suited for establishing country-wide P balances, provided that national statistics are well-structured and accessible. If a common approach is used for modelling P-flows and stocks, regional and national balances can be compared and linked towards larger scale P balances for an improved management of the resource.     

Quantifying coastal inundation vulnerability of Turkey to sea-level rise

The vulnerability of low-lying coastal areas in Turkey to inundation was quantified based on the sea-level rise scenarios of 1, 2, and 3 m by 2205. Through digital elevation model (DEM) acquired by the shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM), the extent and distribution of the high to low-risk coastal plains were identified. The spatio-temporal analysis revealed the inundated coastal areas of 545, 1,286, and 2,125 km² at average rates of 5, 10, and 15 mm yr⁻¹ for 200 years, respectively. This is equivalent to minimum and maximum land losses by 2205 of 0.1–0.3% of the total area and of 1.3–5.2% of the coastal areas with elevations of less than 100 m in the country, respectively. This study provides an initial assessment of vulnerability to sea-level rise to help decision-makers, and other concerned stakeholders to develop appropriate public policies and land-use planning measures.     

Vegetation as an Indicator of Soil Properties and Water Quality in the Akarçay Stream (Turkey)

In this study, the relationship among water quality, soil properties, and plant coverage in the region of the Akarçay stream was examined. Correlation analyses were carried out between soil samples taken from each of four plant communities in the Akarçay basin and water in the Akarçay stream. The four plant communities in the study area are as follows: Limonium lilacinum (Boiss. et Bal.) Wag., Alhagi pseudalhagi (M. Bieb.) Desv. Peganum harmala L., and Hordeum marinum Huds. subsp. marinum. B, Cl, EC, K, Mg, Na, pH, and SO₄ data from both soil and water samples were subjected to statistical analysis, and significant correlations were obtained (p < 0.05). These correlations indicated that the chemical features of the soil had a major effect on water quality. The important parameters were B, Cl, EC, K, Mg, Na, pH, and SO₄ for Limonium lilacinum communities; Ca, K, and pV for Peganum harmala; and B, Cl, Mg, pH, and pV for Alhagi pseudalhagi. There were also statistically significant relationships (p < 0.05) among the parameters examined. These findings strongly suggested that these plant communities can be used as indicators for soil chemistry and water quality.     

Monitoring Water Quality and Quantity of National Watersheds in Turkey

National data from the hydrological network for 38 rivers out of 25 watersheds were used to detect spatial and temporal trends in water quality and quantity characteristics between 1995 and 2002. Assessment of water quality and quantity included flow rate, water temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, sodium adsorption rate, Na, K, Ca+Mg, CO₃, HCO₃, Cl, SO₄, and boron. Among the major ions assessed on a watershed basis, Turkish river waters are relatively high in Ca+Mg, Na and HCO₃, and low in K and CO₃. The watersheds in Turkey experienced a general trend of 16% decrease in flow rates between 1995 and 2002 at a mean annual rate of about 4 m³ s^?1, with a considerable spatial variation. Similarly, there appeared to be an increasing trend in river water temperature, at a mean annual rate of about 0.2°C. A substantial proportion of watersheds experienced an increase in pH, in particular, after 1997, with a maximum increase from 8.1 to 8.4 observed in Euphrates (P?R ² values in accounting for variations of pH and water temperature only. The findings of the study can provide a useful assessment of controls over water quality and quantity and assist in devising integrated and sustainable management practices for watersheds at the regional scale in Turkey.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression among survivors of the 1999 earthquake in Turkey

This study examined the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid depression some three years after the August 1999 earthquake in Turkey among a sample of 769 survivors relocated to a permanent housing site built for homeless survivors in the epicentre region. Time since trauma was 3.1 years for 81 per cent of the participants and 3.9 years for the remainder. Survivors were assessed using the Screening Instrument for Traumatic Stress in Earthquake Survivors, an easily administered self-rating scale with demonstrated validity. The estimated rates of PTSD and comorbid depression were 40 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively. Linear regression analyses showed that PTSD strongly related to fear during the earthquake, while depression related to loss of family members. These results suggest that catastrophic earthquakes have long-term psychological consequences and highlight the need for a cost-effective mental health care model for earthquake survivors.     

An earthquake disaster in Turkey: an overview of the experience of the Israeli Defence Forces Field Hospital in Adapazari

On 17 August 1999 at 3:04 a.m., an earthquake of 7.4 magnitude (Richter scale) struck the Marmara region in Turkey. The city of Adapazari suffered 2,680 fatalities with approximately 5,300 injured. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) field hospital arrived at Adapazari, on day four after the quake. The team consisted of 102 personnel. The field hospital acted as a secondary referral centre. A total of 1,205 patients were treated in the field hospital between day four and day 14 of the earthquake. The frequency distribution of the medical problems seen in the field hospital was 32 per cent internal medicine, 13 per cent general surgery including plastic, 21 per cent orthopaedic surgery, 23 per cent paediatric disease, 10 per cent obstetrics and gynaecology and 1 per cent major psychiatric disorders. A mean number of 35 patients per day were hospitalised in the field hospital for between 24 hours to one week. The rapid establishment of the field hospital enabled the local medical facilities to 'buy time' in order to organise and restore surgical and hospitalisation abilities in this disastrous situation.     

Assessing Major Ecosystem Types and the Challenge of Sustainability in Turkey

In recent years, Turkey has experienced rapid economic and population growth coupled with both an equally rapid increase in energy consumption and a vast disparity in welfare between socioeconomic groups and regions. In turn, these pressures have accelerated the destruction of productive, assimilative, and regenerative capacities of the ecosystems, which are essential for the well-being of the people and the economy. This paper describes the structure and function of major ecosystem types in Turkey and discusses the underlying causes of environmental degradation in the framework of economy, energy, environment, and ethics. From a national perspective, this paper suggests three sustainability-based policies necessary for Turkey's long-term interests that balance economic, environmental, and energy goals: (1) decoupling economic growth from energy consumption growth through the development of energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies; (2) linking economic efficiency and distributive justice of wealth and power through distributive and participatory public policies; and (3) integrating the economic and ecological systems through the internalization of externalities and ecosystem rehabilitation.     

Arsenic mineralization,source, distribution,and abundance in the Kutahya region of the western Anatolia,Turkey

Environmental exposure to arsenic (As) in the Kutahya region of the western Anatolia, Turkey has been reported to cause various types of arsenic-associated skin disorders (Dogan, Dogan, Celebi, & Baris, 2005). A geological and mineralogical study was conducted to find the sources and distribution of the As. Geogenic (background) levels were measured in samples collected from various sources in the Gediz, Simav, Tavsanli, Emet, Yoncali, Yenicekoy, and Muratdagi areas of the Kutahya region. Based on this analysis, we determined that natural sources are a domineering factor affecting the distribution of As, which was found: (1) mainly in evaporitic minerals, including colemanite (269–3900 ppm) and gypsum (11–99,999 ppm), but also in alunite (7–10 ppm) and chert (54–219 ppm); (2) in secondary epithermal gypsum, which has a high concentration of As in the form of realgar and orpiment along fracture zones of Mesozoic and Cenozoic carbonate aquifers; (3) in rocks, including limestone/dolomite (3–699 ppm) and travertine (5–4736 ppm), which are relatively more enriched in As than volcanics (2–14 ppm), probably because of secondary enrichment through hydrological systems; (4) in coal (1.9–46.5 ppm) in the sedimentary successions of the Tertiary basins; (5) in thermal waters, where As is unevenly distributed at concentrations varying from 0.0–0.9 mg/l. The highest As concentrations in thermal water (Gediz and Simav) correlate to the higher pH (7–9.3) and T (60–83°C) conditions and to the type of water (Na–HCO₃–SO₄ with high concentration of Ca, Mg, K, SiO₂, and Cl in the water). Changes in pH can be related to some redox reactions, such as the cation exchange reactions driving the dissolution of carbonates and silicates. Fe-oxidation, high pH values (7–9.3), presence of other trace metals (Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, Al), increased salinity (Na, Cl), high B, Li, F, and SiO, high Fe, SO₄ (magnetite, specularite-hematite, gypsum), and graphite, and the presence of U, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, and B, especially in the Emet, Gediz, and Simav areas, are the typical indicators for the geothermally affected water with high As content. A sixth source of As in this region is the ground (0.0–10.7 mg/l) and the surface waters (0.0022–0.01 mg/l), which are controlled by water–rock interaction, fracture system, and mixing/dilution of thermal waters. The high As concentration in groundwater corresponds to the areas where pathological changes are greatest in the habitants. Arsenic in ground water also effects ecology. For example, only Juriperus oxycedrus and J. varioxycedrus types of vegetation are observed in locations with the highest concentration of As in the region. Branches and roots of these plants are enriched in As.     

Contested sustainabilities: assessing narratives of environmental change in southeastern Turkey

This article contends that there is a need to more fully assess convergences and divergences between local environmental narratives in studies of environmental change and evaluations of sustainability. While much work has established the importance of being attentive to local knowledges, the possibility of evaluating points of overlap and dissonance between diverse narratives of change offers a particularly fruitful path for future work. Drawing on survey data and interviews related to irrigation-related changes in southeastern Turkey, narratives of environmental change offered by different actors are analysed to highlight key points of overlap and tension. Specifically, there is general agreement that degradation is occurring, even as actors disagree on the causal explanations for these changes. More revealing, narratives also share a tendency to validate techno-scientific approaches and continued state intervention, thus revealing crucial insights related to future agro-ecological possibilities in this region. Apart from offering empirical insights from a context in the Middle East where social science evaluations of environmental change and sustainability remain relatively thin, the analysis also speaks to broader theoretical and methodological concerns at the intersection of debates related to local knowledges, narrative and discursive approaches to environment, and sustainability.     

Effects of Meteorological Parameters on Air Pollutant Concentrations in Elazig,Turkey

In the present study, air pollutant concentrations have been analyzed statistically with meteorological factors in the city of Elazig, which is located in the east Anatolia region of Turkey, for the months of September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and April during the years 2003 and 2004. SPSS code was used for statistical analyses. The relationship between monitored air pollutant concentrations, such as SO₂ and the total suspended particles (TSP) data, and meteorological factors such as wind speed, temperature, relative humidity and pressure was investigated. According to the results of linear and non-linear regression analysis, it was found that there is a moderate and weak level of relation between the air pollutant concentrations and the meteorological factors in Elazig. The correlation between the previous day's SO₂, TSP concentrations and actual concentrations of these pollutants on that day was investigated and the coefficient of determination R was found to be 0.80 and 0.76, respectively. The statistical models of SO₂ and TSP, including all of the meteorological parameters, gave an R of 0.50 and 0.40, respectively. Further, in order to develop this model, the previous day's SO₂ and TSP concentrations were added to the equations. The new model for SO₂ and TSP was improved considerably with R = 0.85 and 0.80, respectively.