Research of the Uludag mountain ecosystem in terms of resource economy

There are concerns about the transformation and unsustainable overuse of mountain-forest ecosystems into alternative uses such as touristic-recreational use, agricultural production. In this context, in this thesis, a comprehensive economic analysis of wood-based and non-wood resource uses in Bursa Uludag National Park ecosystem has been carried out. Considering the wood-based and non-wood ecosystem benefits, a theoretical management model for the mountain-forest ecosystem of Uludağ National Park has been developed and expressed through econometric model results. Wood-based production value and utility calculated and demonstrated by the Faustman mountain-forest rotation model, extended to include alternative forest land use options. Decisions to switch between alternative land uses due to changing values and costs over time have also been investigated. The model at the stand level has been extended across the National Park ecosystem to examine the impact of stand interactions on mountain-forest land use decisions. In this context, the Hartman approach, which includes non-wood forest products in the economic value analysis, was used. With the Hartman approach, mountain-forest ecosystem values based on agricultural production, grazing, beekeeping, biodiversity, water resources and carbon sequestration, which represent non-wood economic values, are included in the economic value analysis. In this context, the total value of 2 227 052 303,33 $/Year has been estimated as an approximation of the total economic value of Uludağ National Park, taking into account the values representing mountain-forest ecosystems. These results, which can provide important indicators for the public and decision makers in Bursa and Turkey, are expected to make significant contributions to the sustainability and optimâl use of environmental goods and services in the ecosystem of Uludağ National Park and to improve service quality.