Wildlife of Turkey

{{hatnote|This article is an overview of the biodiversity of Turkey including animals, plants, and human influence on the ecosystems. For more details of animals see Fauna of Turkey and for more details of plants and fungi see Flora of Turkey.}}

The wildlife of Turkey is abundant and diverse. Turkey is a large country with many geographic and climatic regions and a great diversity of plants and animals, each suited to its own particular habitat. About 1,500 species of vertebrates and 19,000 species of invertebrates have been recorded in the country. Some of the world's staple crops were first cultivated in this area and many of their wild relatives are still found here. The country acts as a crossroads for many birds during migration, connecting Europe, Asia, and the Near East.

Biomes and ecoregions

Flora

Fauna

Threats

Threats to biodiversity include desertification due to climate change in Turkey,{{Citation|last1=Kazancı|first1=Nizamettin|title=Threats and Conservation of Landscapes in Turkey|date=2019|work=Landscapes and Landforms of Turkey|pages=603–632|editor-last=Kuzucuoğlu|editor-first=Catherine|series=World Geomorphological Landscapes|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-03515-0_36|isbn=9783030035150|last2=Kuzucuoğlu|first2=Catherine|s2cid=134498356 |editor2-last=Çiner|editor2-first=Attila|editor3-last=Kazancı|editor3-first=Nizamettin}} which is forecast to move the ecoregions northwards,{{Cite journal|last1=Ergüner|first1=Yasemin|last2=Kumar|first2=Jitendra|last3=Hoffman|first3=Forrest M.|last4=Dalfes|first4=H. Nüzhet|last5=Hargrove|first5=William W.|date=2019-01-01|title=Mapping ecoregions under climate change: a case study from the biological 'crossroads' of three continents, Turkey|journal=Landscape Ecology|language=en|volume=34|issue=1|pages=35–50|doi=10.1007/s10980-018-0743-8|issn=1572-9761|doi-access=free}} and large scale infrastructure projects such as those near Istanbul.{{Cite journal|last=The Northern Forests Defense Activists|date=January 2019|title=THE ECOLOGY STRUGGLE IN THE MEGAPOLIS: DEFENDING THE NORTHERN FORESTS AND THE CITY|url=https://www.hyd.org.tr/attachments/article/511/saha2en.pdf|journal=Saha|volume=Special Issue 2|pages=39–44|issn=2149-7885}} Land degradation threatens biodiversity loss,{{Cite web|title=Efforts to protect biodiversity in Turkey still insufficient: NGO official - Turkey News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/efforts-to-protect-biodiversity-in-turkey-still-insufficient-ngo-official-143738|access-date=2021-01-26|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=27 May 2019 |language=en}} and water scarcity is also a problem.{{Cite web|last=SABAH|first=DAILY|date=2021-01-21|title=WWF Turkey starts campaign to combat water scarcity, save Meander|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/wwf-turkey-starts-campaign-to-combat-water-scarcity-save-meander|access-date=2021-01-26|website=Daily Sabah|language=en}} Küre and Kaçkar Mountains National Parks have been suggested for rewilding.{{Cite web|last=ERDÖNMEZ|first=Cihan|year=2020|title=Yeniden Yabanlaştırma: Ekosistem Yönetiminde Bir Yaklaşım|url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1163190|lang=tr}} Several marine fish and mammals have greatly declined, in part due to overfishing.{{Cite journal|last1=Ulman|first1=Aylin|last2=Zengin|first2=Mustafa|last3=Demirel|first3=Nazli|last4=Pauly|first4=Daniel|date=2020|title=The Lost Fish of Turkey: A Recent History of Disappeared Species and Commercial Fishery Extinctions for the Turkish Marmara and Black Seas|journal=Frontiers in Marine Science|language=English|volume=7|doi=10.3389/fmars.2020.00650|issn=2296-7745|doi-access=free}}

Policy

Turkey enforced the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats from 1999,{{Cite web|last=Zeldin|first=Wendy|date=June 2013|title=Regulations Concerning the Private Possession of Big Cats: Turkey {{!}} Law Library of Congress|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/bigcats/turkey.php|access-date=2021-04-09|website=www.loc.gov}} but according to one study laws and legal decisions still had some deficiencies in 2019, especially regarding migratory species and international coordination.{{Cite journal|last1=Elvan|first1=Osman Devrim|last2=Birben|first2=Üstüner|last3=Ünal|first3=Hasan Emre|date=2020-08-24|title=The effectiveness of the Bern Convention on wildlife legislation and judicial decisions in Turkey|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10784-020-09498-0|journal=International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics|volume=21|issue=2|pages=305–321|language=en|doi=10.1007/s10784-020-09498-0|s2cid=221258260|issn=1567-9764}} The government plans to increase protected areas from the 9% in 2019 to 17% by 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/2019/06/10/more-areas-to-be-preserved-in-bid-to-keep-biodiversity-intact|title=More areas to be preserved in bid to keep biodiversity intact|website=DailySabah|date=10 June 2019|access-date=2019-06-15}} Official restrictions on access to environmental information{{Cite book|url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/oecd-environmental-performance-reviews-turkey-2019_9789264309753-en|title=OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Turkey 2019|via=www.oecd-ilibrary.org|doi=10.1787/9789264309753-en|access-date=2019-06-13|year=2019|isbn=9789264309746|s2cid=242969625 }} hamper biodiversity monitoring.{{Cite web|last=Demi̇rbaş Çağlayan|first=Semi̇ha|year=2020|title=An Appraisal of Biodiversity Monitoring in Turkey Within the Framework of Essential Biodiversity Variables|url=https://open.metu.edu.tr/bitstream/handle/11511/69262/12625865.pdf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=|publisher=Middle East Technical University}} In 2020 it was suggested that more use of remote sensing and citizen science could help to make the first complete map of the nation's land cover.

References

Category:Biota of Turkey

Turkey