DESIGNING A SUSTAINABLE RANGELAND INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR TURKEY

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the deficiencies of the rangeland information system currently used in Turkey and, as an alternative, design a sustainable rangeland information system. In the study, both the extent of changes that occurred over time in the rangelands and the factors that caused such changes were identified, and solutions were suggested to eliminate those factors. The rangelands located in the Akcaabat district of Trabzon province were selected as the study area. Land use maps were produced by using the object-based classification method. According to the results of change analyses made with this information system, it was found out that, from 1973 to 2012, a surface area of 159.8 hectares had been degraded, demonstrating that the current information system had not been successful enough in the management of rangelands. For that reason, a sustainable rangeland information system free from all deficiencies was designed.