International Journal of Environment and Geoinformatics

17-28

Authors: Faiza Khebour Allouche, Eric Delaître, Dalel Ouerchfeni Bousaida, Hanen Chaari

Oases of South Tunisia, plays an important role in environmental, social and economic aspects of this region. This research was conducted in ten regions located on the south which are affected by changes in conditions and composition of land cover change. For each study area, LANDSAT imagery, thematic maps and training data were acquired. These images were georeferenced and radiometrically corrected and landscapes product were generated using Decision Tree Classification. The landscapes typology were then evaluated using the extract oases. This study aimed to assess the potential of NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) to determine oasis cover using medium spatial resolution remote sensing imagery in the south of Tunisia. It explores the possibility of identifying and mapping oasis landscape types by using remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems and statistical analysis. The superposition of environment types map obtained with oasis extracted from NDVI map has shown six oasis landscapes in southern Tunisia: Gafsa-ElGuettar, El Hamma de Gabes, Douz-Kebili, Rjim Maatoug, Tozeur-Nafta and Tamerza Chebika oases. This research paper allowed to define a methodology for the construction of landscape types, in a computerized way, based on remote sensing and GIS and its result can be a draft work to make an Atlas of the landscapes of our site of study or, it can be used as a basic document to monitor the spatial extension of agricultural perimeters in order to ensure the sustainable development of these particular agro-systems.

36-50

Authors: Safa Bel Fekih Bousemma, Faiza Khebour Allouche, Ikram Saidane, Yosra Mechmech , Taoufik Bettaieb

This paper is about the concept of the greenways in Tunisia, defined as a structure allowing to connect the green spaces between them. Two steps have been applied to assess the use of greenway concept in Tunisia and especially in Sousse city. The first one shows Tunisian administrative documents recount and the second one explains the spatial distribution of Sousse city greenways using GIS software. The examination of the planning of the green spaces in Tunisia, either through the documents of town planning or through the specific programs, allowed us to reveal the place of this notion in the Tunisian political speech and to conclude that the notion of greenways and its foundations, is missing in the documents of town planning, in the Tunisian environmental policy (Green Plan of Grand Sousse) even if the use of the term "greenways" is not really explicit. Then, it is our belief that there is a great potential in Tunisia for the adoption of greenways as a planning alternative, and tools such as the GIS environment can contribute significantly to this effort.

68-75

Authors: Engin Meriç, M. Baki Yokeş, Zeki Ü. Yümün, Mustafa Eryılmaz, Fulya Yücesoy-Eryılmaz

The Sea of Marmara is under the influence of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The salinity difference between these two seas causes the formation of two-layer stratification in the Sea of Marmara, an upper layer formed by the fresh waters of the Black Sea and a denser layer formed below 25 m of depth, by the more saline waters of the Mediterranean. The salinity difference, together with the seasonally changing meteorological events are the major factors which shape the main current system. The Mediterranean waters enter the Dardanelles cross the Sea of Marmara and flows into the Black Sea via İstanbul Strait, which enables the dispersion of the alien foraminifer species already established on the Aegean coasts into the Sea of Marmara. Besides, the Sea of Marmara includes important harbors, suggesting that there is an extensive pressure of alien species introduced by ballast waters. In this study, 322 sediment samples, obtained from different localities in Dardanelles, İstanbul Strait and Sea of Marmara, were investigated for the alien foraminifer species. The results are combined with the previous records in the literature for creating an alien foraminifer checklist for the Sea of Marmara. 10 alien foraminifer species belonging to 9 genera were found in Dardanelles, 32 alien species from 28 genera in the Sea of Marmara, and only 2 alien species from 2 genera were found in İstanbul Strait. Majority of these alien species have Indo-Pacific or Atlantic origin, suggesting that shipping may be the most possible mode of introduction. But it is also observed that some of the Indo-Pacific originated species which were introduced Suez Canal and formed established populations along the Turkish coastline are also found in Dardanelles, indicating that major currents systems are also playing a role in the dispersion patterns of the alien foraminifers in the Sea of Marmara. Another important factor may be the thermal submarine springs found on the bottom of the Sea of Marmara, which may create suitable environmental conditions and enhance the establishment of thermophilic alien species.

84-93

Authors: Duygu Ülker, Orhan Ergüven and Cem Gazioğlu

As a result of climate change, it is clear in the coming years to provide an instability for conflict zones. Climate change has potential socio-economic consequences in addition to environmental impacts. Drought is one of the result of climate change especially in Mediterranean. It can also increase by unsustainable government policies and effects quality of life of people. Decreasing of water resources and rural land using force people to migrate from rural areas to urban areas as a consequence of low productivity from agriculture and animal husbandry, rising of food prices and decreasing of wealth level. Results of climate change have differences depends on features of countries as climate vulnerability, social policies, ethnicity. In this study we evaluate socio-economic impacts of 2006-2010 severe drought in Syria comparing with other climate impacted countries. There are a number of studies in which the Syrian war is overstated by the excess of the relationship as much as the work that expresses the emergence of climate changes as a result. We observed that in addition current problems in Syria, drought between 2007 and 2010 contributed to uprising in 2011 and consequently to immigration, conflict and terrorism. It is not wrong to evaluate that the impact of the spread of conflicts inherited from generations before the arid years of succession is at least as effective as the causes of other conflicts. The long-term effects of climate change, which has begun to emerge, indicate potential conflicts that can develop in water-scarce, multicultural geographies, particularly in the Middle East.