CLIMATE CHANGES IN PROSPECT FOR THE WEST BLACK SEA FORESTS

Abstract

The paper deals with the changes of annual temperatures and precipitations in West Black Sea Region of Turkey. The of climatic features of the region for the forest growth is analyzed by the distribution of different climatic types of years (CTYs) and classes according to the standardized precipitation index (SPI) for 1901 – 2009. Based on the obtained trends of temperature and precipitation curves for 43 years, the future climate changes are predicted. According to the survey it was found that in almost all studied sites the climate was dominated by the warm - dry climatic type. The established trend of increasing of average annual temperatures and reducing of annual precipitations will expose a high risk to the forest growth and economy in the region. Certain basic recommendations for forest management are given by the authors.