Integrating cadastral information into forest management plans: the case of Ağva and Beykoz

The survival of Turkish forests is determined by some laws. The most important work to correctly apply these laws and save forest land is to know and assure its borders. In this study, it is aimed to spatially carry out the different determinations of qualifications made in land cadastre, forest cadastre and forest management plans for the same area in or near the forests. For this aim, the status of the area in cadastral maps and forest management plans is tried to determine for two different study areas having different characteristics in terms of social pressure. Villages of Beykoz and Ağva forest planning units are selected for study area because of their different characteristics in terms of population and social pressure. General workflow of the study consists of literature review, field studies and analysis of the data obtained from various base maps supplied and arranged. In the field studies, forest boundary points of 2-2/B parcels registered in the forest cadastral survey were found on ground in the study area by the help of information and documents obtained and the incompatibilities between the map and ground were corrected. Woody areas on renewed forest boundary lines were identified and designated as acting forest. Thus, some technical mistakes occurred because of the impossibility of previous years were tried to overcome and by this way to take forest cadastral maps into a situation comparable with maps formed after surveying was intended. Analysis and queries of the data obtained from field studies were carried out by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). At the end of the evaluations, it is seen that different qualifications in terms of spatial allocations were done for both of the study areas. Because the villages in Ağva planning units' has migrated out, in previous years areas determined as 2-2/B parcels were transformed into acting forest. These areas are very little in Beykoz but occupation and destruction of forests is much, either. To be able to remove discrepancies in spatial information, cadastral situation has to be considered while preparing forest management plans. Also if land cadastre and forest cadastre units carry out works in coordination from a single source in determining cadastral situation that will be the basis of forest management plans, the cadastral problems will greatly reduce.