Akgöl’de (Sakarya) Fosil Polen Analizine Dayalı Paleovejetasyon Araştırmaları: İlk Bulgular
Fosil polen analizleri göl çökelleri, turbalıklar, akarsu ve deniz sedimanları, buzullar, linyitler ve taş kömürleri gibi çeşitli ortamlardan elde edilen polenlerin araştırılmasını kapsamaktadır. Kuvaterner dönemine ait palinolojik çalışmaların önemli veri kaynaklarından biri de göllerdir. Araştırma alanı olarak seçilen Akgöl, Sakarya ilinde, Ferizli ilçesinin Gölkent mahallesinde bulunmaktadır. Gölün yüzölçümü 3,5 km2 ve maksimum derinliği 8 m’dir. Bu çalışmanın amacı: gölün dip sedimanlarında fosil polen analizleri yaparak gölün çevresinde son 1000 yılda meydana gelen vejetasyon değişimlerini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Akgöl’den karot alımında İTÜ EMCOL Araştırma Uygulama Merkezi’nin 4x4 m. platformlu piston karotiyeri kullanılmıştır. İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa, Orman Fakültesi Orman Botaniği Anabilim Dalında bulunan Palinoloji Laboratuvarı’na getirilen karot üzerinde her 5 cm’de bir 2 cm3 lük sediman örnekleri alınmıştır. Bu örneklerde “klasik yönteme” göre fosil polen analizi yapılmıştır. Hazırlanan polen preparatlarında her bir bitki taksonu için polen yüzdesi değerleri hesaplanmış, odunsu ve otsu taksonlara ait yüzde grafikleri TILIA adlı programda çizilmiştir. Polen diyagramından elde edilen ilk bulgulara göre; Akgöl ve çevresinde son 1000 yılda yaprak döken orman vejetasyonu hâkimdir. Bu doğal orman varlığının içine son yıllarda Gymnospermae taksonlarından sahil çamları da dikim yoluyla getirilmiştir.
Paleovegetation Researches Based on Fossil Pollen Analysis in Akgöl (Sakarya): Preliminary Results
Fossil pollen analyzes include research of pollen grains from various environments such as lake sediments, peatland, river and marine sediments, glaciers, lignite and coal. Lakes are one of the important data sources for Quaternary palynological studies. Akgöl, which is selected as a research area, is located in Gölkent district of the Ferizli township in the provincial city of Sakarya. Its surface area is 3.5 km2 and its maximum depth is 8 meters. The aim of this study was to investigate vegetation changes around Akgöl in the last 1000 years using fossil pollen analysis in the bottom sediments of the lake. The Piston corer of ITU EMCOL Research Centre was used for recovering sediment cores from Akgöl. Sediment samples of 2 cm3 were collected every 5 centimeters on one of the cores at the Palynology Laboratory of IUC. Fossil pollen analysis was performed according to the “classical method”. The pollen percentage values were calculated for each plant taxa and relative abundance graphs were plotted in the TILIA program. According to preliminary results of the pollen diagram; deciduous forest vegetation has been predominant in the last 1000 years around Akgöl. Maritime pine was introduced into this natural forest by plantation in the recent years.
Many research methods are used to determine Quaternary environmental changes. Fossil pollen analysis is one of the most frequently used research methods applied in illuminating past environmental conditions in multidisciplinary studies. With pollen diagrams obtained by this method, the changes in plant assemblages related to climate change and human impact on vegetation structure were determined in detail.
Lakes are one of the important data sources of Quaternary palynological studies. Akgöl, which was selected as a research area, is located in Gölkent district of the Ferizli township in the Sakarya provincial city. The lake is 39 kilometers from Sakarya city center and 13 kilometers from Ferizli town center. Its surface area is 3.5 km2 and its maximum depth is 8 meters. The average height above sea level is 60 meters. Akgöl, which is located at the crossing point of the Marmara and West Black Sea regions, is under the influence of the West Black Sea climate. Summers are hot and winters are rainy (Yiğit, 2009). Fagus orientalis, Quercus petraea, Quercus cerris, Corylus avellana, Fraxinus angustifolia, Alnus glutinosa and Carpinus orientalis are in the vicinity of the lake. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the vegetation around the lake in the last 1000 years by fossil pollen analysis in the bottom sediments of the lake.
For recovering sediment cores from Akgöl, a piston corer of İTÜ EMCOL Core Analysis Laboratory was used over a 4 x 4-meter platform. Core AG-22, selected for palynological studies, was brought to the Palynology Laboratory of the Forest Botany Department of Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University- Cerrahpaşa for fossil pollen analysis. The base of the 1.21-meter long core dates back to 1000 calibrated years BP according to AMS radiocarbon analysis. The core was sampled for fossil pollen analysis according to the classical method, and sediment samples of 2 cm3 every 5 centimeters were collected. Before starting the analysis, one Lycopodium spore tablet was added for each sediment sample. Counting and identification of pollen grains and Lycopodium spores in the pollen preparations were performed on a computer-assisted Leica DM750 light microscope using x40, x100 immersion objective and 10x ocular. Pollen atlases were used together with reference pollen preparations in the Palynology Laboratory for pollen identification. At least 50 Lycopodium spores and 250 pollen grains were counted in the preparation of each sample. The pollen diagram was drawn in the program TILIA.
The pollen grains of arboreal and herbaceous plants belonging to the genus/family of two Gymnospermae and 22 Angiospermae were identified in the Akgöl core. Pollen belonging to Pinus sp. and Cupressaceae family were found in Gymnospermae. Alnus (alder) sp., Betula (birch) sp., Carpinus (hornbeam) sp., Castanea (chestnut) sp., Corylus (nut) sp., Ericaceae, Fagus (beech) sp., Fraxinus (ash) sp., Juglans (walnut) sp., Quercus cerris type (deciduous oak), Salix (willow) sp., Tilia (linden) sp. and Ulmus (elm) sp. pollens were detected in Angiospermae arboreal plant genus and families (AP). Angiospermae herbaceous plant pollen grains belonging to Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Poaceae families and Artemisia sp., Ambrosia sp., Plantago sp. and Euphorbia sp. were also identified. According to the pollen percentage data of arboreal and herbaceous plants, the pollen diagram was divided into two zones (LPAZ-01 and LPAZ-02).
Arboreal plant species are dominant in both zones. Although the percentage of pollen of Pinus was quite low, it showed an increase to the present day in the LPAZ-01 zone of the pollen diagram. However, the percentage of pollen of Fagus, Ulmus and Carpinus, one of the important arboreal plant taxa, tended to decrease and the percentage of pollen of Quercus increased upwards. The pollen percentage of the herbaceous plant taxa such as Ambrosia sp. and Poaceae showed an increase to the present day.
At the top level of the pollen diagram of the Akgöl core, the reason for the increase in the pollen percentage of Pinus, in particular, was the increase in Pinus pinaster in and around the lake. The percentage of pollen of the herbaceous taxa belonging to Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Ambrosia sp. was high in the upper part of the pollen diagram. The high percentage of pollen of Ambrosia from herbaceous taxa was due to the fact that it is an invasive plant. There are three species of Ambrosia in our country: Ambrosia maritima, Ambrosia tenuifolia and Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Kupicha, 1975; Byfield and Baytop, 1998; Behçet, 2004). Ambrosia artemisiifolia was first recorded on the side of the road in Trabzon in 1997 (Byfield and Baytop, 1998), and other records of this species from the Black Sea region have also been identified (Önen et al., 2014; Serbes et al., 2008; Aksoy et al., 2010; Aslan et al., 2013). High seed yield, high germination percentage of seeds, long-term seed viability, contamination with agricultural seeds due to small seeds, strong root system, resistance to floods, high tolerance to temperature, soil moisture and light are the invasive characteristics of this species (Kazinczi et al., 2008a; 2008b; 2008c; Buttenschon and Bohren, 2010; Dickerson and Sweet, 1971; Basset and Crompton, 1975; Fumanal et al., 2007).
According to data obtained from the fossil pollen diagram; deciduous forest vegetation was predominant in the last 1000 years around Akgöl. Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) from Gymnospermae taxa was introduced by plantation into this natural forest in recent years.