Investigation of highway median plantings in terms of xerosional landscape strategies, rize-ardeşen district atatürk street example

This study aims to evaluate the plant taxa used in the median strips of Ardeşen district in Rize province in terms of xeriscape (water-efficient landscape) practices. Climate change, increasing water scarcity, and the growing need for sustainable landscape approaches have made xeriscaping increasingly important. In this context, the use of plant taxa with low water consumption, minimal maintenance requirements, and high environmental resilience in median strips provides both ecological and economic advantages. Within the scope of the study, the median strips in Ardeşen district were examined on site, the plant taxa used were identified, and each taxon was evaluated by considering both the fundamental principles of xeriscaping and the design principles of median strips. Subsequently, the criteria that emerged as prominent were analyzed in detail. Parameters such as plant selection, irrigation, maintenance, and pruning were taken into account during the analyses. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used in the evaluation process to compare xeriscape planning criteria and to determine their suitability levels. It was observed that the data related to soil preparation, establishment of turf areas, use of mulch, efficient irrigation, and maintenance–pruning criteria yielded similar results for all median strips. According to the findings, most of the existing median strip plants were determined to have high water requirements and were not fully compatible with xeriscape principles. The study concludes that even in a rainy region like Ardeşen, more drought-tolerant taxa should be preferred in median strips in line with climate change considerations and long-term sustainability goals.