The habitats of Kemerburgaz are under five major pressures. The numbers on the section correspond to the headings below, and each heading shows which species and which micro-habitats are affected.
← Back to the habitatsThe five headings below correspond to the numbers on the section above. Each one says where the pressure is felt, what it leads to, and which species in the notebook it touches; the source of every figure is given with its link.
Building the airport erased a large part of the Northern Forests. The official environmental impact report speaks of 2.5 million trees, while the Northern Forests Defence put the number felled at 13 million.
The motorway and its slip roads are breaking the forest into pieces. For slow-moving and night-travelling animals the road is both a trap and a wall they cannot cross.
Northern white-breasted hedgehog
European badger
Spur-thighed tortoiseRoe deerGolden jackalNew housing is taking the place of meadows and gardens. As open ground shrinks, lighting at night confuses owls and night-flying insects.
The Belgrade Forest dams drop to their shallowest at the end of summer, and in dry years the shore mud and reed beds are left exposed. Istanbul reservoir levels: [current İSKİ figure].
According to the IPCC, the area of forest burned in the Mediterranean could rise by 40–54% at 1.5 °C of warming, 62–87% at 2 °C and 96–187% at 3 °C.
Look down on the same frame in two different years. Slide the divider and the places where fields became housing and the forest edge became road come into view.
The drawings are schematic. For publication: historic aerial photographs from the İBB City Map (1946 to the present; permission to be obtained) and a Copernicus Sentinel-2 image (“Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data [year]”).
Most of these pressures come down to large decisions; even so, a few everyday habits make a direct difference to the creatures in your garden and on your road.
