The plant species and their impacts in pasture areas: A case study from Düzce central district

Pasture areas, which are among the most important natural resources in maintaining biological diversity, are constantly changing due to natural and anthropogenic factors, especially climate change. Although the measures that can be taken against the natural changes are very limited, it is possible to manage the anthropogenic changes. Preventing the loss, which is among the anthropogenic negative factors in pasture areas, and also changing the pasture plant composition of plants with high invasion potential can be considered among the highest risks. Against these risks, it is necessary to protect the relevant areas and keep the plant diversity under surveillance. For this, one of the first priorities is to determine the plant composition in pasture areas at regional and sub-regional level. In this study, it was aimed to obtain data that will provide a source for pasture improvement and management for pasture areas in Düzce. For this purpose, the determination of plant species in the pasture areas located within the borders of the central district of Düzce province, the potential effects of the identified species were examined and also the negative situations encountered in the use of pasture were determined. When the obtained data are evaluated; in the pasture areas within the borders of Düzce province central district, the existence of 133 taxa belonging to 31 families has been determined. Considering the families belonging to these taxa, Asteraceae ranks first with 25 taxa, followed by the families Poaceae (15) and Fabaceae (11), respectively. When the life forms of taxa are examined; while 56 taxa perennial took the first place, 45 taxa for one year, seven for two years and 25 taxa with multiple life forms were determined. The impacts of 133 taxa were investigated in terms of toxicity and injury + wool quality, and 72 taxa were found to have the relevant impact states. According to these impact conditions, 29 taxa have toxic impacts, although they have feed value, 25 taxa have toxic impacts, 10 taxa have injury + wool quality and 8 taxa have injury + toxic impacts. Thus, these data provide the first contribution to science in terms of pastures studies both regional and Turkey's. Keywords: Asteraceae, Impact, Pasture, Poaceae, Sustainable.