Preparing soil protection map using GIS: A case study from Türkiye

Abstract

Ecosystem services that exist spontaneously in forest ecosystems and benefit society are
planned with a certain approach. Forest ecosystem services need to be classified, measured,
mapped, planned, and managed. Due to its mountainous terrain, our country has a high
disaster risk potential in terms of floods, avalanches, stone and rock rolling, landslides, and soil
loss. Soil erosion is recognized as one of the most important environmental problems. Land use
changes occur as a result of applications made by people other than natural factors, which
increases the amount and risk of soil loss. In this study, the areas that will serve as soil
protection were determined and mapped according to certain parameters. The mapping
process incorporated various parameters such as slope, bedrock, crown closure, and tree root
system. According to the results, approximately 41% of the area consists of areas very
sensitive to erosion.