Environmental Degradation Analysis Using Gis in Tekirdag Province, Turkey

Abstract

In this study, we analyzed environmental degradation using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques. Within the scope of this study, the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) index method was employed to determine the degrees of influence and the scoring of environmental classifications. These classifications are based on three different critical environmental factors, specifically Soil Quality Index (SQI), Climatic Quality Index (CQI), and Vegetation Quality Index (VQI). Thematic maps, soil analyses, and meteorological records were used as secondary data. The degradation of the study area was explored and mapped based the analysis of the factors influencing environmental sensitivity. The results indicated that in the Tekirdag province that has no classes of low and medium sensitivity areas, the largest area (62%) is subject to environmental degradation.