Kızılırmak Delta
Kızılırmak Deltası
The delta from a bridge over the river
Map showing the location of Kızılırmak Delta
Map showing the location of Kızılırmak Delta
LocationSamsun Province, Black Sea Region, Turkey
Nearest townBafra
Coordinates41°36′N 36°05′E / 41.600°N 36.083°E / 41.600; 36.083
Area560 km2 (220 sq mi)
Websitesamsun.ktb.gov.tr/TR-216809/kus-cenneti.html
www.samsun.bel.tr/tesis/kus-cenneti
www.19mayis.bel.tr/foto/kizilirmak-deltasi-kus-cenneti.html
Official nameKizilirmak Delta
Designated15 April 1998
Reference no.942[1]

The Kızılırmak Delta is the delta of the Kızılırmak River, 40 km east of the city of Samsun,[2] and is the biggest wetland in Turkey's Black Sea Region.[3] It is one of several internationally important[4] Ramsar sites in Turkey because of its rich bird and plant life, and there is a bird reserve.[5] It is important for bird migration. It is a key biodiversity area.

The land is very fertile and more than half is used for farming,[2] with all of the first and second delta plains and most of the third delta plain dominated by agriculture.[6]

The ecology of the delta has some threats. As sediment is caught in upstream dams the coastline is receding, and this is forecast to continue, and sea level may rise because of climate change in Turkey. As water is pumped off fields seawater is intruding, making part of the delta saltier.

Geography

The Kızılırmak is the longest river entirely within Turkey and has the second largest drainage basin.[2] The delta covers an area of about 56 thousand hectares,[2] of which 16,110 are wetland.[7] At one time the coast was advancing,[8] but later it retreated, mainly due to less sediment coming down the river due to dams built upstream,[9][10] such as Altınkaya and Derbent.[11]

The Black Sea coastal road runs across the south of the delta, which is in Ondokuzmayis, Bafra and Alacam districts. Bafra, with about 150,000 people, is the only town but there are more than 30 villages.[2]

Hydrology

Lakes and channels

Balık Lake

There are over 20 lakes,[2] which average 1.5m deep but double that in spring,[7] when their area can exceed 9,000 hectares.[2] Tatlı and Gıcı Lakes are freshwater and the rest are brackish.[12] Some of the lake water is eutrophic due to agricultural pollution.[11] There are 30 drainage channels, which drain agricultural land.[12]: 18 

Geology and geomorphology

A canyon cut into the previous delta platform during the Last Glacial Period has filled,[13] and the delta is now a quaternary plain.[2]

Soil

Bumps

Most soil is hydromorphic,[2] most soil is alluvium,[14] the soil is Cambisol or Kastanozem,[15] and there are dunes on the coast. [12]: 14 

Climate

The climate is temperate,[16] with hot dry summers, warm wet winters, and foggy and rainy springs.[12]: 15  Rainfall averages 719 mm a year.[7] The wind usually blows from the west and this has shaped the delta so that most of the marshland is in its the east.[17]

Ecosystems and habitats

In the delta are many wetland ecosystems: bottomland hardwood forest, freshwater and brackish lakes, reed beds and sand dunes. There is also broadleaved woodland and farmland.[2] The delta is an Important Bird Area, Important Plant Area and Key Biodiversity Area.[5] European Nature Information System habitats are Constant Coastal Dunes with Grass, Coastal Dune Bushes, Permanent Mesotrophic Lakes and Ponds, Wide Reed Beds, Juncus Marshes, Humid or Wet Eutrophic and Mesotrophic Meadows, Flooded Forests, Thermophilic Deciduous Forests, and Mixed Market Gardens and Agricultural Sites.[12]: 32 

Dunes

The dunes further from the coast have more kinds of plants. And dunal hills, which are far from the coast, have bushes such as prickly juniper.


Plants

Sea daffodil

There are over 500 species of plants.[2] There is seagrass.[12]: 23 

Animals

Mammals

There are feral horses (sometimes called jades or yılkı horses).[18]

Birds

Dalmatian pelican

70% of bird species in Turkey have been recorded and the delta is important for birds which directly cross the Black Sea.[19] White stork breed here[20] and there are many other species such as: grey-headed swamphen and great white egret. There is a bird ringing station called Cernek Ringing Station.[21] At Ondokuz Mayıs University there is a bird research center,[22] which has ringed 165 thousand birds from 175 species in the delta.[23]

Reptiles

Reptile species found in the delta are Greek tortoise, European pond turtle, Darevskia saxicola lizard, European green lizard, Balkan green lizard, slow worm, European cat snake, Caspian whipsnake, grass snake, dice snake, and horned viper.[24]

Amphibians

Of the nine species of amphibians found in the delta, two species are salamanders and seven species are frogs. The main species in the area are the southern banded newt (Triturus vittatus), southern crested newt (Triturus karaelinii), common toad (Bufo bufo), European green toad (Bufo viridis), European tree frog (Hyla arborea), eastern spadefoot toad (Pelobates syriacus), agile frog (Rana dalmatina), and Uludağ frog (Rana macrocnemis).[24]

Fish

Lake fishers catch carp, mullet, zander and crayfish.[10] Small numbers of sturgeon have been observed in the estuary and may still attempt to migrate upstream.[25] Invasive prussian carp are said to have disrupted some other fish.[12]: 69 

Threats

A 2020 study found both sewage and agricultural pollution in the channels.[26] Gendarmes are stationed to prevent illegal hunting.[27] Pumping of groundwater causes seawater intrusion,[28] and in 2021 academics called for such pumping to be stopped.[29] Climate change in Turkey has changed bird migrations.[19] From 1984–2022 coastal retreat averaged 7 meters a year, and as of 2023 this is expected to continue.[30]

Management

The 2017-2023 management plan says that sub-plans will be prepared to manage water, visitors, grazing and aquaculture.[12]: 82–88 Some land is owned by individuals, some is public and some disputed. Several government departments are responsible, which can cause confusion.[12]: 9, 71  There is a buffer zone around the strictly protected area.[12] A plan for some coastal protection of Liman Lagoon was published in 2016.[31]

Some traditional practices help with the management: for example water buffalo and fishing boats help keep the connections between the lakes open.[32] In the late 2010s experts issued a management plan although they could not agree with residents what should be done;[10] as the existing management plan ran to the end of 2023 a revised plan is being discussed.[33] Doğa hope to complete a resurvey of all Key Biodiversity Areas in Turkey by the end of 2024.[34]

Agriculture

The land is one of the most fertile plains for agriculture in Turkey. There are more buffalo than anywhere else in the country, and they are important for the ecosystem.[12] The most important crop is rice,[2] but some say it uses too much water which is needed for nature or buffalos.[10] Buffalo are set free to roam in the summer.[12]: 30  Vegetables are grown.[12] Some sheep have caused damage in the dunes.[12]

Tourism

Tourist bus

Residents say that tourism benefits local employment.[35]

History

In the past half million years the North Anatolian Fault has pushed up the southern part of the delta, and changes in climate and sea level have alternated lagoons and lakes.[36]

Ottoman map

Strabo described the delta as producing fruit,[37] deer,[37] gazelles and soft-wooled sheep,[38] and the town of Gadilon. During the Ottoman Empire and early years of the republic malaria was widespread near the marshes and the lower lands were occupied seasonally.[10] As in some other parts of the country much of the population was forcibly exchanged between Greece and Turkey in the early 20th century.[10] Malaria hindered attempts to resettle migrants from lands lost by the empire, and during the 20th century some of the land was drained to combat mosquitos and provide agricultural land for these people and those coming from the eastern Black Sea part of Turkey.[10] Rice production was expanded.[10]

Tobacco was a major crop on the higher lands[10] and there is a tobacco museum in Bafra.[39] Medicinal leeches were collected.[40] There was reed cutting.[12]

Festivals included a stork feast, spring release of water buffaloes, and sheep breeding.[32] Traditionally it is considered sinful to kill certain animals and plants always or at certain times of year.[32]

In the 1950s and 1960s woodland was felled, sometimes to make fields.[17] Drainage works were started in the 1960s.[12]

In the late 20th century the ecological value of the marshes was recognized and attempts to protect them began, although some local residents opposed restrictions on agriculture and building.[10] At the end of the 20th century they were made a Ramsar site, then nature tourism became popular.[10] In 2016 Turkey nominated it as a World Heritage Sites,[2] but the IUCN said it did not meet the criteria.[41] Some illegally built holiday homes were demolished by Samsun Council.[17] Since 2017 hunting has been banned in part of the delta.[12]

See also

Derbent Dam

Altınkaya Dam

References

  1. ↑ "Kizilirmak Delta". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Kızılırmak Delta Wetland and Bird Sanctuary". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  3. ↑ "38 Black Sea wetlands to visit" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-14.
  4. ↑ "Ramsar Sites of Turkey". Archived from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  5. 1 2 "Kızılırmak Delta". Doğa. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  6. ↑ Ozesmi, Uygar (2006). "Ecosystems in the Mind: Fuzzy Cognitive Maps of the Kizilirmak Delta Wetlands in Turkey". arXiv:q-bio/0603022.
  7. 1 2 3 Burak, Zinet; Gazi̇oğlu, Cem; Müftüoğlu, Ahmet. Geomorphological features of Kızılırmak Delta. Archived from the original on 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  8. ↑ "An Assessment of Beach Ridges on the Kızılırmak Delta Based on Scanning Electron Micro- scopy Analyses and Grain Size Parameters" (PDF) (in Turkish).
  9. ↑ Alpar, Bedri (2009-06-01). "Vulnerability of Turkish coasts to accelerated sea-level rise". Geomorphology. Coastal vulnerability related to sea-level rise. 107 (1): 58–63. Bibcode:2009Geomo.107...58A. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.05.021. ISSN 0169-555X.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Scaramelli, Caterina (August 2018). ""The Wetland is Disappearing": Conservation and Care on Turkey's Kizilirmak Delta". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 50 (3): 405–425. doi:10.1017/S0020743818000788. ISSN 0020-7438. S2CID 165584948. Archived from the original on 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  11. 1 2 "Ramsar Information Sheet" (PDF). Ramsar Convention. December 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-10-10. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Natural Protected Areas of the Wetland and Bird Paradise in the Kizilirmak Delta in Samsun: 2019-2023 Management Plan (PDF) (Report). Environment Ministry. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  13. ↑ Ertunç, Gülgün (2016-11-25). Paleoenvironmental interpretations for Kizilirmak Delta Plain using Sedimentological records, Multiproxy Analysis And Palynology (Thesis). Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences. hdl:11527/16883.
  14. ↑ "Kuraklık eylemi planı" [Drought action plan] (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  15. ↑ "Soil Geographical Database of Turkey at 1:1,000,000 scale" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  16. ↑ "Kızılırmak Delta Wetland and Bird Sanctuary". Archiqoo. Archived from the original on 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  17. 1 2 3 "Cornucopia Magazine Waterworld: Tales From the Birdman". www.cornucopia.net. Archived from the original on 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  18. ↑ "photography,kizilirmak,samsun,the". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  19. 1 2 "Küresel ısınma Kızılırmak Deltası'ndaki kuş varlığını da değiştirdi". Archived from the original on 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  20. ↑ Yavuz, Kiraz Erciyas; Yavuz, Nizamettin; Tavares, José; Barış, Y. Sancar (2012). "Nesting habits and breeding success of the White Stork, Ciconia ciconia, in the Kızılırmak delta, Turkey". Zoology in the Middle East. 57: 19–26. doi:10.1080/09397140.2012.10648959. S2CID 87042198.
  21. ↑ Özkoç, Ömral Ü; Oğuz, Deniz; Nacar, Can; Erciyas-Yavuz, Kiraz; Barış, Y. Sancar (2020-01-02). "Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus recorded at the Turkish Black Sea coast for the first time". Zoology in the Middle East. 66 (1): 91–93. doi:10.1080/09397140.2020.1711629. ISSN 0939-7140. S2CID 213663552.
  22. ↑ "Ornitoloji Araştırma Merkezi". ornitolojiarmer.omu.edu.tr. Archived from the original on 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  23. ↑ "OMÜ Ornitoloji Araştırmalar Merkezi'nden Kızılırmak Deltası'nda 165 Bin Kuş Halkalandı" [165 Thousand Birds Ringed in the Kızılırmak Delta from OMÜ Ornithology Research Center]. Son Dakika (in Turkish). 2023-05-10. Archived from the original on 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  24. 1 2 "Kızılırmak Deltası, Kuş Cenneti ve Mandacılık" [Kızılırmak Delta, Bird Sanctuary and Buffalo Farming]. Samsun Governorate. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  25. ↑ "Biological Data Derived from Sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii and Huso huso) by-catch along the Coasts of the Southern Black Sea (Turkey)" (PDF). Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 2013. doi:10.4194/1303-2712-v13_4_20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  26. ↑ Şener, Şehnaz; Şener, Erhan; Varol, Simge (2020-11-01). "Hydro-chemical and microbiological pollution assessment of irrigation water in Kızılırmak Delta (Turkey)". Environmental Pollution. 266 (Pt 1): 115214. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115214. ISSN 0269-7491. PMID 32688111. S2CID 220671466.
  27. ↑ "Kızılırmak Deltası'nı, atlı jandarma timi koruyor" [Mounted gendarmerie team guards the Kızılırmak Delta.]. Hürriyet (in Turkish). 22 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019.
  28. ↑ Ersoy, Arzu Fırat; Turan, Nazlı Ayyıldız; Özgül, Hava Yıldız (2020-10-15). "Kızılırmak Delta Kıyı Alanındaki Tuzlanma Sürecinin Stuyfzand Hidrojeokimyasal Modelleme Sistemi ile Değerlendirilmesi" [Evaluation of Salinization Process in Kızılırmak Delta Coastal Area with Stuyfzand Hydrogeochemical Modeling System]. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi (in Turkish). 10 (4): 949–960. doi:10.17714/gumusfenbil.727322. ISSN 2146-538X. Archived from the original on 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  29. ↑ Ersoy, Arzu; Turan, Nazli; Arslan, Hakan; Kuleyin, Ayse (2021). "Assessment of seawater intrusion in Kızılırmak delta coastal area (North Turkey) using hydrochemical and isotopic data". Environmental Earth Sciences. 80 (11): 400. Bibcode:2021EES....80..400F. doi:10.1007/s12665-021-09700-9. ISSN 1866-6280. S2CID 235128048. Archived from the original on 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  30. ↑ "Kızılırmak Deltası Kıyı Çizgisinin EPR ve LRR Yöntemleriyle 1984–2022 Periyodunda Değişim Analizi ve 2030 Yılı Tahmini". Archived from the original on 2023-12-16. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  31. ↑ "SAMSUN İLİ, BAFRA İLÇESİ, KIZILIRMAK DELTASI 1. DERECE DOĞAL SİT ALANINDA, KIYI KORUMA YAPISI (AYRIK DALGAKIRAN) AMAÇLI 1/5000 ÖLÇEKLİ KORUMA AMAÇLI NAZIM İMAR PLANI 1/1000 ÖLÇEKLİ KORUMA AMAÇLI UYGULAMA İMAR PLANI ARAŞTIRMA VE AÇIKLAMA RAPORU" (PDF).
  32. 1 2 3 Gül, Seyfullah (2020). "Kızılırmak Deltasında Yazılmamış Kanunlar: Bir Sulak Alanın Korunmasında Geleneksel Ekolojik Bilginin Rolü" [Unwritten Laws in the Kızılırmak Delta: The Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Protection of a Wetland]. International Journal of Geography and Geography Education. 25 (42): 321–324. ISSN 2630-6336. Archived from the original on 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  33. ↑ "Kızılırmak Deltası Sulak Alan Revize Yönetim Planı Çalıştayı Gerçekleştirildi". ABC Haber (in Turkish). 2023-09-20. Archived from the original on 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  34. ↑ "Doğa Derneği | Nature is us!". 2023-09-13. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  35. ↑ "The Perspectives of Local Residents on the Rural Tourism: the case of Samsun Kizilirmak Delta". International Journal of Geography and Geography Education (IGGE).
  36. ↑ Berndt, Christopher (April 2019). "A MULTI-PROXY STUDY OF THE KIZILIRMAK RIVER TERRACES AND ITS DELTA, NORTHERN TURKEY: IMPLICATIONS FOR TECTONICS, SEDIMENTATION, SEA LEVEL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES". In overall, the study shows that the impact of the North Anatolian Fault deforms the northern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau until the Black Sea coast in the range of the central Pontide Mountains since at least 545 ka. Hence, the southern part of the Kızılırmak Delta becomes uplifted at an accelerated rate. In addition, the Kızılırmak Delta reacts rapidly on changes in Anatolian climate and Black Sea sea levels forming an alternation of lagoonal and deltaic lake environments in its eastern part since Mid-Holocene. While sea level changes predominantly modify the environments during the early Mid-Holocene, the climate changes have a much higher impact during Late Holocene. In turn, those environmental changes leading to salinity variations correlate to phenotypic changes in the morphology of the ostracod Cyprideis torosa (Jones).
  37. 1 2 Strabo, Geography, BOOK XII. Archived from the original on 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  38. ↑ LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book XII Chapter 3. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  39. ↑ "Bafra Tütün Müzesi" [Bafra Tobacco Museum]. Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Archived from the original on 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  40. ↑ "MONITORING STUDIES FOR THE HIRUDO MEDICINALIS POPULATIONS IN TURKEY (2003-2006)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  41. ↑ "IUCN World Heritage Evaluations 2019" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2024-01-02.

Further reading

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kızılırmak Delta Bird Reserve.

Media related to Kızılırmak Delta at Wikimedia Commons

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