LULC changes in Türkiye’s mountains for the 2000–2022 period and its implications on national GHG emissions

Due to the ecological importance and vast extent of mountainous regions in Türkiye, this study assesses the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes in these areas on national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2000 to 2022. The monitoring of LULC changes was conducted using Collect Earth (CE), an open-source tool developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Collect Earth utilizes high-resolution imagery from Google Earth and Bing Maps, allowing for detailed plot-level evaluations from local to national levels. The coefficients and emission factors used to estimate GHG emissions and removals were sourced from the latest National GHG Inventory Report (NIR) to maintain consistency and comparability. The land monitoring system identified that 60.96 million hectares, representing more than three-fourths of the country, are classified as mountainous.

During the monitoring period, the settlement category experienced the most significant proportional growth (30.36%), primarily encroaching on cropland and grassland. Our findings showed that cropland (0.05%) and grassland (2.19%) areas decreased, while forestland (0.28%) and reservoir areas (6.03%) expanded since 2000. Despite a net increase in forest cover (afforestation-deforestation) of approximately 59.3 Kha, forest-related conversions alone raised GHG emissions by 25.1 Mt CO2eq. The overall effect of LULC changes on the GHG balance was a net emission of 47.1 Mt CO2eq.

Consequently, LULC changes in Türkiye’s mountainous regions served as a net emission source, contributing over 2 MtCO2eq annually over the 20-year period.

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