Using of geographic information systems at the landscape inventory process: Uludağ National Park case study

In this study, the concept of protected areas, referred as the green emeralds of the world, that we worry about their sustainability was evaluated in terms of resource inventory in a national park scale within the concept of landscape and human relations. Uludağ National Park, which was chosen as the study area and has been under national park status for 51 years, has a density of visitor which is over 500.000 every year as it also a winter tourism center and a natural site. For these reasons, the need for an ecological based planning rises increasingly. With this study, the landscape inventory of the Uludağ National Park, which is expected to be primarily effective on land use decisions; to provide correct, complete and functional analysis opportunities; and to constitute a basis for the targeted landscape planning studies in the future, was made by using GIS capabilities. Additionally, the importance of ecological borders for landscape inventory and planning works was highlighted through a sample watershed analysis carried within the national park and its surrounding area.