Abstract: This study was carried in order to determine some natural plant species, which include high potential for use in rock and dry wall gardens, in the Palandoken mountains. 10 sampling areas with the altitudes of 2100 and 3176 m were selected to conduct the study in the period May 1997 to September 1998. In situ plant surveys, floristical plant analyses and species sampling plots were used in the study. During the study, 166 plant species belonging to 32 families were examined, of which 114 alpine plant species belonging to 30 families were found to be important in terms of use in rock and dry wall gardening.
Introduction
Natural plant species have a great importance for use in landscape planning and design (Korkut, 1993; Yilmaz et al., 2000). They have also a supplementary function in natural habitats as well as geological structure, soil, climate and hydrological structure. On the other hand, the natural plants are crucial materials for landscape architecture in terms of the conservation, developing, restoration and management of landscape (Bayraktar, 1980).
In recent years, increasing environmental awareness started to conserve the alpine plants in situ, in collection gardens, seed banks and botanic gardens (Schubert et al., 1990). The Royal Botanic Garden, the Brookyln Botanic Garden and the Denver Botanic Garden are among important gardens with their alpine plant collections (Ekim, 1991 and Percin, 1997). In botanic gardens, the species of alpine plants have been displayed in rock gardens (Good, 1996).
In general, the plants growing in the alpine areas are appropriate for use in rock gardens. The alpine plants are generally compact plants with a height under 15 cm. Most rock garden plants grow in the areas above the forest restriction (Kelly, 1971; Brickell, 1992; Means, 1994). Rock gardens are designed for rock plants or the alpine plants. Using the morphology of land as much as possible, dry wall gardens have been made up of fixed rocks, putting stones one above another or site by site and placing plants with different color and form among these stones (Harper, 1977; Bubel, 1984; Loewer, 1984; Guclu, 1988; Brickell, 1996). Foster (1968, 1978), Richardson (1970) and Brickell (1996) studied on determing the alpine and the other natural plants which can be used in rock gardens. Rock gardens are designed in the areas open to sunlight. The flora of Turkey has a striking biodiversity of alpine plants in mountainous areas with high altitudes. There have been few studies on the natural plants in the mountainous areas in Turkey, in spite of being equipped with rich natural plants, which can be used in rock and dry wall gardens (Guclu, 1988).
This study depends on the studies of flora and vegetation by some researches such as Cetik and Tatli (1975), Akman et al. (1983a, b), Tatli (1988, 1989a, b), Aksoy (1989), Tatli and Behcet (1989), Walker et al. (1994), Sadlo and Kolbek (1994), Bock et al. (1995) and Taye (1995).
The number of plants which can be used in garden design in Erzurum is limited because of extreme ecological conditions. For this reason, the natural plants, growing in the region are important. In this study, the alpine plants suitable for use in rock and dry wall gardens in Erzurum were determined.
Materials and Methods
The research material was selected among the alpine plants growing in 10 different locations, of which altitudes vary between 2100 and 3176 m, within the B8 square, suggested by Davis (1965-1985) for Turkey (Fig. 1).
The study consists of two stages of land survey and office assessment. In the land survey, the floristical plant analysis (Guclu, 1988; Korkut, 1993) and species sampling plots method (Braun-Blanquet, 1932) were used.
During the vegetation period of May 1997 to September 1998, the plants were observed once a fortnight.
| Table 1: | Observation scheme for species investigation |
| |
|
| Fig. 1: | Sampling areas for plant species investigation |
| Table 2: | Sampling Locations and Characteristics |
First blooming time, blooming duration, vertical and horizontal growing, plant forms, habitat properties and the other properties such as Endemicity, bloom color and life time of plants were recorded down in identification forms shown in Table 1 and later on the data were assessed.
The diagnosis of plant samples obtained from the searching area was prepared in the herbarium at the Department of Botany, Atatürk University, Erzurum. The soil samples obtained within 0-20 cm. depth were analysed in the Soil Analiysis Laboratory at the Rural Affair Directorate in Erzurum (Table 2). The altitude of the study locations were measured with the aid of an precision altimeter.
The life span and life forms of the plants were determined according to Andic (1985), Akman and Ketenoglu (1987). The endemic properties of the plants was also considered (Anonymous, 1989).
The habitat properties, first blooming date, blooming duration, vertical and horizontal growing, plants form, plants heights, color of bloom were considered for the use in rock and dry wall gardens (Foster, 1968; Guclu, 1988; Brickell, 1992).
Results
In the study, 133 plant species belonging to 32 families originally from Irano-Turanian were assessed in terms of rock and dry wall gardening. Among them 114 alpine plant species belonging to 30 families were found to be important. The species, lifetime, life form, endemicity form, blooming period, bloom color and average plant height of the plants are given in Table 3.
| Table 3: | Some alpine plants in the Palandoken mountains important in terms of rock and dry wall gardening |
Discussion
The Palandoken mountains have a diversity of plant species which can be assessed in relation to not only their aesthetic properties but also their functional properties. The results obtained from the study were in compliance with those obtained by Guclu (1988) in Erzurum and Koç (1977) in Bursa. Intensive winter and other tourism activities create pressure on alpine flora in highlands (Meyer, 1993; Cole and Trull, 1992). Hence, studies on alpine and rock plants in Turkey, are of important for determination, conservation, culture and environmental education.
Therefore, the following list of plant species were also suggested by Richardson (1970), Harper (1977), Foster (1978), Loewer (1984), Guclu (1988), Brickell (1992) and Walker et al. (1994) on materials which can be used in rock and dry wall gardens: Acantholimon glumaceum, Aethionema pulchellum, Ajuga pyramidalis, A. reptans, Allium cyaneum, A. karataviense, Alyssum montanum, A. saxatile, Anchusa caespitosa, Androsace lanuginosa, A. pyrenaica, A. sarmentosa, A. sempervivoides, Anemone hupehensis, A. magellanica, A. narciflora, Arabis albida, Arenaria gypsophiloides, A. montana, A. purpurascens, Artemisia schmidtti nana, Aster alpinus, A. spectabilis, Calluna vulgaris, Caltha palustris, Campanula cochlearifolia, C. garganica, C. muralis, C. piperi, C. portenschlagiana, C. poscharskyana, C. raineri, C. tridentata, C. zoysii, Clematis alpina, Colchicum autumnale, C. autumnale album, C. nivale, C. speciosum, C. speciosum album, Cotoneaster horizontalis, Crocus chrysanthus, C. byzantinus, C. sativus, C. speciosus, Cyclamen europaeum, C. coum, C. neapolitanum, Dianthus alpinus, D. anatolicus, D. carthusianorum, D. deltoides, D. echinacea, D. floribundus, D. freynii, D. glacilis, D. gratianopolitan, Draba aizoon, D. bryoides, D. dedeana, D. mollissima, D. polytricha, D. stellata, Erica carnea, Erigeron karvinskianus, Erinus alpinus, Erodium chamaedyroides, E. guttatum, Euphorbia myrsinites, Festuca glauca, F. ovina, Fritillaria armena, Gentiana acaulis, G. andrewsi, G. crinita, G. farreri, G. puberula, G. porphyrio, G. saxosa, G. scabra, G. sino-ornata, G. veitchiorum, G. verna, Geranium dalmaticum, Gypsophila aretioides G. repens, G.verna, Hepetica acutiloba, H. americana, Helianthemum nummularium, Helicrysum coralloides, H. plicatum, Iris caucasica, I. cristata, I. verna, Juncus effusus, Juniperus squmata, Lamium maculatum, Mertensia virginica, Muscari comosum, Narcissus spp., Onosma albo-roseum, O. echioides, O. taurica, Papaver alpinum, P. burseri, P. miyabeanum, P. rhaeticum, Phlox divaricata, P. stolonifera, Polygonum affine, Potentilla nitida, P. robbinsiana, P. rupestris, P. tridentata, P. verna, Primula auricula, P. boothii, P. edgeworthii, P. farinosa, P. gracilipes, P. marginata, P. sochifolia, Ranunculus septentrionalis, Rumex acetosella, Salvia azurea grandiflora, S. pitcheri, Sanguinaria canadensis, Saponaria ocymoides, Saxifraga aizoon, S. callosa, S. cochlearis, S. cotyledon, S. longifolia, S. paniculata, S. virginiensis, Scilla bifolia, Sedum acre, S. atratum, S. cauticola, S. sieboldi, S. ternatum, Sempervivum spp, Senecio aureus, Silene acaulis, S. schafta, S. vulgaris, Sternbergia lutea, Teucrium chamaedrys, Thalictrum dioicum, Thymus caespititius, T. membranacens, T. serpyllum, Trillium erectum, Tulipa montana, Xeranthemum annuum, Vaccinium vitis-idea, V. oxycoccus, Valeriana pauciflora, Veronica pectinata, V. rupestris, V. spicata, Viola cazorlensis and V. cornuta
In conclusion, the area surveyed had a highly potential of native plant species for use in rock and dry wall gardens. In order to make use of these plant species for different environmental arrangements, the practical propogation methods of these plants should be determined and put to practice.