Karst ecosystem of Dim River Basin (Alanya)

Karst fields have formed distinctive habitats that differ from other fields in terms of morphological structure, pedogenesis with hydrographic features, plant development, productivity and species diversity. Within the scope of this study, "Ecosystem Features of Dim River Basin" which have formed a karst field have been examined. The samples of country rock, soil and water which have been taken from the field have been analysed in the laboratory, the results have been supported by field observations and country rock-topography, country rock-hydrography, country rock-soil, country rock-plant and land use with climate have been associated with one another and the ecosystem of the field has been attempted to discover with an integrated approach. As a consequence of this analyzes, important deductions have been made about the karst ecosystem diversity. Results have revealed that the research field has generally a defective topography and typical samples of the karst ecosystem have developed on the grounds where soluble rocks are widespread. It has been deducted that precipitation waters easily penetrate into the underground from pores and cracks of rocks such as limestone, crystallized limestone, dolomitic limestone causes that the research field is rich in ground waters and this circumstance often leads to the development of karstic resources on the slopes. Because of this fractured structure of limestone and crystallized limestones, soils have been generally developed along the depths of the crack and the plants which grow through these cracks have generally developed deep root systems. Because of the fact that the marbles has a compact structure and the dolomite and dolomitic limestones are hard, more shallow soils have been formed on these and the plants have been developed as a lateral and fringe root system. Since the clay that is released as a result of the dissolution of limestone, crystallized limestone, dolomite, dolomitic limestone and marbles increases the cation exchange capacity of the soil, the nutritional values of these soils are higher than the soils which grow on schists and gneisses. This situation has had an impact on the productivity of the plants which grow on these rocks. Namely, a variety of herbaceous species have also found the chance to develop on the weak surfaces between the country rock fractures and the layers. Therefore, these fractions have formed important fields that are rich in plant species and diversity. Accordingly, it is deducted that the country rock is important for the plant root development, productivity and species diversity, whereas the altitude and climate factors are determinative in the distribution of the species. For example, the pine trees (Pinus brutia) which are the characteristic tree species of the Mediterranean climate ripple through the environment and emerge up to 1500 meters on the southward slopes, and also up to 1200 meters on the northward slopes; on the other hand, scrub species which have formed the forest basement layer of the the pine trees (Pinus brutia) have been grown as the dominant species in the areas where these have been destroyed. In the places where the altitude is higher, the black pines (Pinus nigra) which are the Mediterranean mountain zone forest species, Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani) and Taurus fir (Abies cilicica) have been grown. In the places where man-made destruction is dominant, these tree species have been replaced by junipers (Juniperus sp.) which are secondary species in the Mediterranean mountain zone. It has been deducted that the land structure has a significant impact on the distribution and shape of the settlements in the research field. For example, permanent settlements in the field are situated on the fields that consist of the impermeable rocks (especially on schists) or the rocks which are close to the impermeable rock with soluble carbonate rocks as they can be processed more easily, where temporary settlements are mostly located in the fields where soluble rocks are present. Since the slope inclination is high, the houses and their add-ons are built away from each other in most places. In the research field, the fields where the soluble carbonate rocks are have had a rough and defective topography. Therefore, the land is not suitable for agriculture in most places. Thus, the agricultural land in the basin is rather on impermeable lands around the settlements. However, the agricultural activities are carried out on soluble carbonaceous rocks in the field. As the topography is defective, there is no land to be cultivated and the flat surfaces are limited, the people have carried on their agricultural activities by terracing the slopes.