Dr Cemil İRDEM, a lecturer in the Department of Geography at our faculty, is the principal investigator of the project entitled “Integrated Analysis of the Impact of Thermal Power Plant-Related Pollution in Western Anatolia: An Integrated Analysis of the Effect of Thermal Power Plant-Induced Pollution on the Annual Ring Development of Black Pines Using Soil, Needle and Pollen Data” has been awarded funding under the TÜBİTAK 3501 – Career Development Programme.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version The interdisciplinary project team, comprising researchers and scholarship students from three different universities, also includes Dr Sohaib K MABUJAYYAB, a lecturer in our Department of Geography, who is serving as a researcher. The project aims to assess, using interdisciplinary methods, the effects of thermal power stations that have been operating in Western Anatolia for many years on the black pine trees in their vicinity.
As part of the project, the annual ring growth of black pines will be examined to reveal changes in growth from the past to the present; the dendrochronological findings obtained will be evaluated alongside data derived from soil, needle and pollen analyses.
In this study, by comparing data obtained from areas located at different distances from thermal power stations, the spatial and temporal variation in power station-induced environmental impacts will be investigated, and the relationship between changes in the growth processes of black pine trees and environmental factors will be established. The aim is thus to contribute to the understanding of the long-term effects of industry-induced environmental pressures on tree growth and forest ecosystems.
It is expected that the results obtained within the scope of the project will contribute to the identification of environmental risk areas caused by pollution, the assessment of the long-term effects of industrial activities on ecosystems, and provide a scientific contribution to sustainable environmental management efforts.
We congratulate Dr Cemil İRDEM and all the researchers on the project team, and wish them continued success.