Forests cover almost a third of Turkey. They are almost all state-owned, and vary from temperate rainforest in the north-east to maquis in the south and west. Pine, fir, oak and beech are common.
After the glaciers retreated about 11 thousand years ago woods grew to cover most of the land which is now Turkey, but over thousands of years people cut down many trees. The country is slowly reforesting, which is good both for the its wildlife, and to absorb carbon to help limit climate change. In the mid-2020s the main income is from wood, and forests are also important for recreation. But they are threatened by drought, wildfire, mining, and pests and diseases.
In 2023, forests covered about 30% of the country. Legally a piece of woodland of less than three hectares is not forest.[1] However, the national greenhouse gas inventory is different as it is in line with the Food and Agriculture Organization: forests must be at least 1 ha and 5m high. There are forestsubcategories of coniferous, deciduous, mixed, and ‘other forested land’ which have a crown closure between 1 and 10 percent. Productive forests are defined as having a crown closure of over 10%. Trees grown for crops (such as Turkey’s hazelnuts) are not classified as forests. A 2024 study said that deforestation caused by other uses of forest land (such as mining) is not reflected in official statistics, and that these uses cause forest degradation by fragmentation.[2]
As glaciers retreated over ten thousand years ago more oak (both deciduous, such as Turkey oak, and evergreen oak[3]) grew in Central Anatolia. Ten thousand years ago, Anatolia was mostly forested,[4] but forest cover before the formation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 is not well documented.[5] Prehistory can be studied from tree rings, palynology (ancient particles such as pollen) and charcoal.
However, deforestation increased sharply by 4000 BC, where wood was used for fuel and construction, for example in Çatalhöyük. Human impact on forests on the land which is now Turkey is thought to be minimal until the Bronze Age at around 3500 BC, which included wood transport from remote areas. Much old growth forest was cut down in the last two thousand years, especially in the last five hundred. Sometimes armies in war burnt forests to expose their enemies, ships were built, and forests cleared for agriculture. As well as oak, there were juniper and Black pine (Pinus nigra). Turkish sweetgum (Liquidambar orientalis) was formerly widespread, but is now restricted to Southwest Anatolia.[6] From sources such as Theophrastus we know that Ancient Mediterranean civilisations used wood as a fuel in houses, bakeries, bathhouses and for metalwork. Cedar was used for temples such as at Ephesus and Artemis. Chestnut and fir were used for charcoal. The Ottoman navy used timber from the coasts of the Black, Marmara and Aegean Seas. But armies used more wood than navies.
After the formation of the republic in the 1920s forestry and wood production were increased.[7] The first large afforestation project in Turkey was in 1939.
There are old-growth forests (sometimes called ancient woodland) and over 500 taxa of trees and shrubs in the country. Old-growth-forests are defined differently to ancient woodland in the UK, as “A primary or natural/near natural forest area containing tree species, whose existence can be traced back from hundreds of years to neolithic ages.” Degraded ancient woodlands are sometimes very scattered. According to a 2018 study by Simay Kırca, Alper H. Çolak and Ian D. Rotherham both local support and national policy are needed to protect and rehabilitate them.
Forests cover 23 million[8] of Turkey's 78 million hectares (almost 30%), but 3 million hectares have less than 10% crown cover. and almost 10 million ha were degraded forest as of 2020.[9] Almost all forests are state owned and managed by the [10] of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry;[11] They plan to increase the amount of forests to increase the carbon sink.The Turkish constitution prohibits forests being transferred from state ownership; however, private afforestation permits allow the private sector to reforest state land.[12] Less than four thousand hectares a year are reforested by the private sector.[13] 4% of forests are coppice while the rest are high forests.[14] There are also six million hectares of maquis, mostly in the south and west.[15] High rainfall in the eastern Black Sea Region sustains temperate rainforest.[16] Drought in Turkey is a threat both directly and by encouraging bark beetles.[17]
The Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) predicts a 90% reduction in habitats suitable for Black pine.[18] Decreases in precipitation especially include snow. TÜSİAD says that the mega forest fires that took place in 2021 and the shrinkage and even drying of wetlands in Central Anatolia are the most obvious examples of aridification. The severity of drought and the size of the area it penetrates will increase with the effects of climate change; it is predicted that this will negatively affect forests. In a climate that becomes more arid, efforts to increase sink areas, such as afforestation and carbon sequestration, will become less efficient. TÜSİAD recommends that afforestation should be better planned; carbon offsets and credits should be available and carbon storage should be included in the Forest Law.
There is a strategic plan for adaptation to climate change.[19] Turkey is taking part in the Bonn Challenge.[20]
In 2023, five million steres of firewood 23 million m3 industrial wood, and 29 million m3 of standing trees were sold., wood production is the main income from forests. 25 million m3 of wood was harvested in 2022, including 9 million m3 of timber, 9 million m3 of fibre-chip wood, 5 million m3 of paper wood and 1 million m3 of industry wood.[21] 1.2 billion lira (USD) support was provided to eleven thousand families in 2023. Coppices have become high forests, and grassland in and around forest have become forests.
Non-timber forest products include resin, acorns, mushrooms, truffles, and honey. Boar hunting (sometimes in fields rather than forest) deer hunting and hunting some other species,[22] [23] is regulated by the ministry.[24]
A 2020 study suggested that incentives for private afforestation should be increased.[25]
Eight ecoregions are officially defined, all of which contain woodland: Euxine-Colchic deciduous forest; North Anatolian deciduous, coniferous and mixed forest; Mediterranean coastal zone deciduous and coniferous forest; Mediterranean Mountain zone; Aegean Inland deciduous and coniferous forest; Central Anatolian steppe; East Anatolian deciduous forest zone; and East Anatolian steppe.[26] However, the World Wide Fund for Nature list has 13 with woodland. Almost all forests are in a temperate climate.
A quarter of the Black Sea Region is forested, while other regions with over 10% forest include Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and East Anatolia.[27] Wildfires in Turkey are increasing in some regions due to climate change in Turkey.[28] Because of droughts in Turkey in 2008, 2020 and 2021, more forests burned in those years.[29]
Large area inventories can be done by satellite to hectare scaleand small areas by lidar.[30] The EVANIS database uses the national legal definition of forest and is very accurate for stands, but not as good for greenhouse gas due to land use, land-use change, and forestry.
National forests include: Amasya National Forest, Izmir National Forest, Kastamonu National Forest, Kayseri National Forest, Mersin National Forest, Kocaeli National Forest, Batman National Forest. Forest, Manisa National Forest and Siirt National Forest.
Most forests are natural and semi-natural, with some being on mountains and having a lot of biodiversity. hosting most species of the flora of Turkey and fauna of Turkey, including flagship species such as Anatolian leopards.[31] [32] Deciduous forests are along the Black Sea region. Species in various ecoregions in Turkey, namely Irano-Turanion, Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian, belong to about 800 woody taxa. As of 2020 the predominant species are Oak (Quercus spp. 29%), Turkish pine (Pinus brutia 23%), Black pine (Pinus nigra 18%), Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis 8%), European red pine (Pinus silvestris 6%), Juniper (Juniperus spp. 6%), Fir (Abies spp. 2%), Caucasian Spruce (Picea orientalis 2%), Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani 2%): other species include Stone pine (Pinus pinea), Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), Alder (Alnus spp.), Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa), and Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).[33]
Eight million hectares of forests are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The value of both exports and imports of wood products increased from 2020 to 2022, but the value of exports is more than twice that of imports.
Forests are the country's main carbon sink, especially in western Turkey where most are living biomass rather than soil organic carbon.[34] Forests are estimated to have absorbed 34 million tonnes of the 600 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey in 2021, which are less than previous years due to both forest fires and a lot of wood being harvested.[35] The World Bank says, "Increasing forest cover and improving forest health can help prevent soil erosion and landslides and reduce the impacts of floods."[36] In the mid-2020s the bank is supporting a project to make the forests more resilient against climate change in Turkey.[37]
Some forests, such as Belgrad Forest in Istanbul, are important for recreation and tourism in Turkey. There is an ecotourism plan to 2025.[38] There are forest schools[39] and preschooling.[40]
As of the early 2020s, there is no regulation encouraging more use of wood in buildings[41] (and no standard LCA[42]) instead of concrete and steel, which are carbon-intensive, as well as no plans to reduce firewood burning.[43] Firewood burning emits black carbon, which is bad for health.[44]
See also: Environmental issues in Turkey.
Some non-native insects, such as scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha),[45] are pests.[46] Wildfires in Turkey, such as in 2021, affect the economy, such as tourism.[47] Sometimes the public is banned from entering forests in summer, to try to prevent fires.[48] The 2021 mega fires are estimated to have emitted 10 million tonnes of CO2 from 135 million hectares burnt. The World Bank is helping to increase resilience to wildfires.[49] The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion said that from 2012 to 2022, too many licenses were being granted for non-forest uses, such as mining;[50] Coal is mined at Akbelen Forest. Satellites such as Landsat and Sentinel can be used to study fire damage.[51] As of 2021 the Istanbul northern forest is threatened by urban growth.[52]
Brown bears sometimes leave the forest and enter urban areas - there is a fine for shooting them.[53]
See also: Forest dynamics. Regeneration of ancient woodland (also called old-growth forest) may be possible, if local needs are properly considered.[54] As some reforestation attempts have suffered due to a lack of water, desalination has been suggested.[55]
As of 2022, how much of the Central Anatolian steppe was originally forested was not certain, but in some lower regions, it is thought that it has always been steppe and too dry for trees due to rain shadows of mountains. [56] A 2006 study suggested that 50 million ha (64%) of land was potential forest.[57] For steppe, it has been suggested that overgrazing should be stopped, but that full recovery to woodland should be prevented so as to have both steppe and woodland wildlife.[58]
Anatolian black pine is commonly used for reforestation.[59]
Some forests is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.[60] It takes twenty years to convert to forest.
Trees and forest are important in Turkish culture.[61] Turkish people include Tahtacı, who may have descended from Ağaçeri.
Turkic mythology may have included the tree of life Ulukayın, and forest spirits archura and äbädä.[62]