Turkish Rangelands and Shrub Culture

Abstract

Turkey is located between northern latitudes of 36°–42° and eastern longitudes of 26°–45° and covers 814.6 thousand km2. The average elevation is 1,100 m and average annual precipitation is 600 mm. From recent statistical data, the land use in Turkey is; field crops (30%), horticulture (5%), forests (20%), shrubs (10%), rangelands (25%), meadows (1%) and the others (9%). Animal husbandry produces 5% of the gross national product (approximately 122 billion US $) of Turkey. Twelve million animal units graze on Turkish rangelands. Most of these rangelands are located in the Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolian Regions. The average annual precipitation in these regions ranges between 200 and 600 mm. As is always in the world’s grazing lands, the rangelands of Turkey have problems.