Yildiz Technical University Yildiz Campus Floristic Structure

Abstract

In the planning of urban open and green areas, vegetative landscaping, the landscape ecology and habitat conditions of the region should be known first. Flora studies are very important to reveal the well-developed species, especially for vegetation studies. The indicator types, flora, and biotopes of Besiktas District and Yildiz Grove were determined and presented in detail, but there is no floristic study within the scope of the research area, which is separated and a part of the grove. This research was aimed to determine the plants of Yildiz Campus's historical garden and to determine their flora characteristics and floristic structure. Since 2001, the growing environmental conditions have been revealed by the determinations in the vegetation process in the area. Plant Survey Plan, Survey Determination Sheets, and Registration Forms were prepared and the location, family, species and genus, the health status of the plants were determined and recorded. Within the scope of the Yildiz Campus Floristic Structure research, a total of 3010 individuals were identified, including 53 families and 142 species. According to the multiplicity of the individuals, the first 10 families with the most individuals are Rosaceae, Oleaceae, Cupressaceae, Pinaceae, Palrnae, Saxifragaceae, Aceraceae, Caprifoliaceae, Lauraceae, and Platanaceae, respectively. According to the multiplicity of the genus they contain, the families with the highest number of individuals are Rosaceae, Pinaceae, Cupressaceae, Oleaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Saxifragaceae, Aceraceae, Palmae, Platanaceae, and Lauraceae. Pinaceae family Abies spp. Cedrus spp. Picea spp., Pinus spp. has the highest number of individuals belonging to a total of 16 species is 187, constituting 6.21% of the total number of individuals in the area. Eighteen families of tall and medium perennial woods, 1227 individuals belonging to 47 species, 11 short woody families, and 218 individuals belonging to 21 species, shrubs 26 families, and 1212 individuals belonging to 46 species were identified. Tall, medium and short perennial woods with 1445 individuals constitute almost half of the plants in the area, which is 48% in total. Three hundred and fifty-three individuals belonging to 13 families, and 18 species were identified as ground-cover and slope plants. Individuals belonging to 4 families and 4 species of twining and climbing are uncountable on the building facades, garden walls, pergolas and trees. Among the total individuals, Natural Species with 856 individuals have a ratio of 28.5% and Exotic Species with 2154 individuals have the ratio of 71.5%. There are three major phytogeographic regions in Turkey; (Eurea-Siberian) which includes the northern shores of the Marmara Region and the entire Black Sea coast in the north and where plants adapted to the temperate climate are grown, the Mediterranean which includes our Aegean and southern coasts and penetrates as far as the Marmara region, with plants adapted to the Mediterranean climate and between these two regions, Irano-Turanian where plants that adapt to the continental climate grow. The biggest reason why Istanbul is rich in flora is that it is located at the intersection of these three regions. Although Istanbul is closer to the Black Sea, the Mediterranean climate vegetation is more common by the protection of the regions south of the Kocaeli Peninsula water section line from northern winds, sudden decrease in precipitation and summer drought. The fact that the majority of taxa in the Mediterranean Region in the research area show Mediterranean climate characteristics due to its phytogeographical location, but the European-Siberian regional element also has a large place is related to the fact that our study area is close to this floristic region in terms of plant geography. The findings of the research will contribute to the completion of the Flora of Istanbul inventory and guide the selection of the species that are compatible with the ecology of the region in the landscape studies.