Şenol, Celal; Taş, Mehmet Akif

Anthropogenic processes are one of the main causes of environmental change in this century. As an indicator of man’s struggle for dominance over nature, the environment has been directly affected. These changes, which we encounter in every region of the place where we live, on a local and global scale, and which are due to man, cause the natural cycle of ecosystems to be disrupted. As in Türkiye in general, land use changes in the study area under the influence of direct and indirect factors in some regions are very rapid. No matter how much effort are made to control them, factors that have a direct impact on the environment, such as population growth, agriculture, industrial facilities, and the design of transport infrastructure, are the most important causes of change. In this direction, this study aims to identify the trends of land use changes around Lake Terkos and to reveal the deficiencies and fragilities of the relationship networks. It is also an indication of possible changes in the ecological status of the lake and its surroundings in relation to this situation. Terkos Lake’s prolonged use as a crucial drinking water source for Istanbul makes it a valuable study site to investigate its ecological state and management practices. Nevertheless, it has recently been under pressure due to transportation (airport, Northern Marmara Motorway, Istanbul Canal and other transport networks), urban sprawl, and industry. In this context, first of all, the dynamics of land use and the rapidly changing areas (hot zones) between 1980 and 2023 have been identified and the extent of the changes over time has been shown. Possible future land use changes were analysed in the light of this data. As a result of the study, the speed of transformation of green areas was revealed. In this direction, especially in the field of the aquatic ecosystem, vulnerable areas were identified, the degree of being affected by future change was revealed and the trend in the dimensions of use and change was analysed.

Osma, Etem; Varol, Tuğçe; Elveren, Müjgan; Şimşek, Samed

In this study, plant species (gypsum, limestone, and serpentine) growing in different habitats in Erzincan province were investigated. Gypsum [Verbascum alyssifolium Boiss., Tanacetum heterotomum (Bornm.) Grierson, Psephellus recepii Wagenitz & Kandemir, Gypsophila lepidioides Boiss.], limestone [Cyclotrichium niveum (Boiss.) Manden. & Scheng, Chrysophthalmum montanum (DC.) Boiss, Teucrium leucophyllum Montbret & Aucher ex Bentham, Phlomis oppositiflora Boiss. & Hausskn] serpentine [Fumana aciphylla Boiss., Convolvulus pseudoscammania C. Koch., Hypericum thymbrifolium Boiss & Noé, Salvia indica L., Gladiolus halophilus Boiss. & Heldr.] were examined. The total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and the amount of antioxidant activity (DPPH, FRAP) were analyzed in different organs of the plants, including leaves, branches, and roots. According to the obtained data, when plant parts and habitats were taken into consideration, it was observed that the plant with the highest flavonoid content (29.71±0.57 mg QE g-1 extract) was S. indica growing in the serpentine area with its leaf parts. In terms of total phenolic content, it was determined that the root part of S. indica growing in the serpentine area had high values (91.53±2.48 mg GAE g-1 extract value). When evaluated in terms of the Iron (III) Ion Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) method, it was observed that the highest value was the stem part of F. aciphylla growing in a serpentine area (100.35±1.60 mg TE g-1). In terms of DPPH radical capacity, the highest value belonged to the leaf part of Salvia indica (15.75±1.74 μg mL-1), which is also grown in the serpentine area. The results were evaluated utilizing the SPSS Statistical Program and differences were observed between habitats. A strong correlation was found between the phenolic and flavonoid contents of plants and their antioxidant activities. The findings showed that the phenolic, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities of plants grown in different ecological conditions vary significantly.

Osma, Etem; Elveren, Müjgan; Karagöz, Zehra; Sahin, Mustafa; Akaltun, Yunus

Light Emitting Diode (LED)s are used extensively in almost everywhere in our daily life and they have different color temperatures such as Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) which is represented by ˚K (Kelvin). In this study, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) were cultivated in laboratory environment under LED with different CCT values (2000, 3000, and 6000˚K). After cultivation, plant height and weight values, the quantity of chlorophyll and carotene, the amount of leakage of electrolyte and element absorption capacity from the soil, POX (Peroxidase) and SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) enzyme activities of cultivated plants were determined. Results were evaluated on Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Program (SPSS 22) and significant differences were obtained on plants which were grown at different color temperatures of light. It was concluded that measurements from plants which were grown under LED light with cold color temperatures (6000˚K) were more consistent than those of plants grown under other lights with different temperatures. It has been deduced that cold color temperatures are closer to the optimum light values required for a plant to grow faster.

Kayalar, Fethi; Aslan, Ali; Engin, Tubanur Aslan; Kurmanbekova, Gulbubu; Kayalar, Filiz; Karagöz, Yalçın; Engin, Adem

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of concept cartoons and biology teaching based on a constructivist learning approach on student achievement and permanence of knowledge. The study group consists of 49 students studying in two of the 10th digital classes of Kazım Karabekir Technical and Industrial Vocational High School in the Yunus Emre district of Erzurum. At the stage of data collection, biology achievement tests including three-stage pre-test, post-test and permanence test consisting of 25 questions related to the subject of “Ecosystem Ecology”, which is the third unit of the biology course, were prepared and used from the preparation books of the Student Selection Examination (ÖSS). In the study in which the pretest, posttest control group quasi-experimental design was used, the subjects were applied to the control group with the traditional straight expression method, and the teaching method was applied to the experimental group with the researched concept cartoons. The cartoons were given to the experimental group as a material, and the lesson was presented as slides, supported by cartoons, and actively processed in the form of questions and answers. As a result of the evaluation of the data, there was a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group (p <0.05) according to the posttest scores obtained from the achievement test in the experimental group, where the teaching was performed with concept cartoons, and there was a significant difference between the groups in terms of retention test scores made after 4 weeks (p <0.05) was observed. At the end of the study, it was understood that teaching with concept cartoons had a positive effect on providing students to learn biology knowledge compared to the traditional method.