Florya Atatürk Forest is an urban forest in

Florya Florya is a quarter () belonging to the Bakırköy district of the greater Istanbul, Turkey. It is located along Marmara Sea, and borders to the northeast the neighborhood of Yeşilköy, to the northwest that of Küçükçekmece. Its residents are ...

Bakırköy Bakırköy is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district in the European part of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 29 km2, and its population is 226,685 (2022). Bakırköy lies between the State road D.100 (Turkey), D.100 highway (l ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The forest covers an area of 67.52 ha. It is administratively under the

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (, İBB) is the government agency in charge of the municipal affairs of the Istanbul Province. It is one of the 30 metropolitan municipalities in Turkey. History The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality ...

, and is next to Florya railway station.

History

The first step for Florya Ataturk Forest was taken in 1936, when French architect and urban planner

Henri Prost Henri Prost (February 25, 1874 – July 16, 1959) was a French architect and urban planner born in Saint-Denis. He was noted in particularly for his work in Morocco and Turkey, where he created a number of comprehensive city plans for Casab ...

prepared a green-oriented urban plan extending from the

Yenikapı Yenikapı () is a port and a quarter in Istanbul, Turkey, in the metropolitan district of Fatih on the European side of the Bosphorus, and along the southern shore of the city's historically central peninsula. Yenikapı is notable for the ongoing ...

Yedikule Yedikule (''Seven Towers'') is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Fatih, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 15,789 (2022). It is named after the seven-towered Yedikule Fortress, which surrounds the neighborhood. Urbaniz ...

pedestrian road to Yeşilköy Airport and

by Atatürk's instruction. With a special decree signed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on 10/17/1937 and numbered 2/7485, the area was established. As stated in the decree, Ord. Prof. Mazhar Diker, along with İsmail Dağlı and İsmail Sütmen, were assigned to not only prepare the afforestation techniques, plans and reports to be applied in the urban forest, which was established mainly to protect the region from abiotic effects such as wind and storms and to meet the health-aesthetic and recreational needs of the society, and but also put these principles into practice. At a time when the definition of “

urban forest Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

” had not yet been well established, this area which was brought to life with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's design on the periphery of Istanbul at that time, not only fulfills the definition today, but also has an indisputable importance in the present and future of the green space system of this great metropolis. By the works initiated according to the decree the forest was extended step by step from 1938 to 1957, and in 1960 it reached up to 22.92 ha. Up to present the forest was afforested, and its area reached up to 67.52 ha. In 1991-1992 the forest was at risk because a zoo project was planned to be built in the forest but Faculty of Veterinary Science stated that the forest did not include necessary conditions for a zoo, and the project was cancelled.

Flora

The Florya Atatürk Forest includes a widespread variety of plants, some of whom are veteran trees including ''Pistacia'' and ''Cypress''. It is determined that soil structure in the forest comprises sand (39.1%), clay (33.7%) and silt (26.2%) in average. Also its soil is calcareous above average (28.4%), and has a high concentration of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

(28.4%) in average. Besides the forest includes variable trees, some of which are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

including ''

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

'', ''

Thuja ''Thuja'' ( ) is a genus of coniferous tree or shrub in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia. The genus is monophyletic and sister to ''Thujopsis''. M ...

'', ''

Pinus pinaster ''Pinus pinaster'', the maritime pine or cluster pine, is a pine native to the south Atlantic Europe region and parts of the western Mediterranean. It is a hard, fast growing pine bearing small seeds with large wings. Description ''Pinus pinast ...

'', ''

Pinus pinea The Italian stone pine, botanical name ''Pinus pinea'', also known as the Mediterranean stone pine is a tree from the pine family (''Pinaceae''). The tree is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe and the Levant. The ...

'' and ''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula and Lower Austria to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica ...

''. On the other hand, there are much more

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

trees that are ''

Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

'', ''

Celtis ''Celtis'' is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, in the hemp family Cannabaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution. Description ''Celtis'' species are generally medium-sized tree ...

'', ''

Platanus ''Platanus'' ( ) is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. The type ...

'', ''

Pistacia ''Pistacia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It contains 10 to 20 species that are native to Africa and Eurasia from the Canary Islands, all of Africa, and southern Europe, warm and semidesert areas across Asia ...

'', and ''

Ailanthus altissima ''Ailanthus altissima'' ( ), commonly known as tree of heaven or ailanthus tree, is a deciduous tree in the quassia family. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus ''Ailanthus'', it is found ...

''. The forest can produce oxygen of 202.6 ton/year, and has a dust holding capacity of 2338.49 ton/year. Florya Atatürk Forest is a green space that is near to the city center. On holidays residents from the adjacent districts like resting in the urban forest.

Fauna

Fauna of the forest is specially rich in birds including

red-footed falcon The red-footed falcon (''Falco vespertinus''), formerly the western red-footed falcon, is a bird of prey. It belongs to the family Falconidae, the falcons. This bird is found in eastern Europe and Asia although its numbers are dwindling rapidly ...

tree pipit The tree pipit (''Anthus trivialis'') is a small passerine bird that breeds throughout most of Europe and the Palearctic as far east as the East Siberian Mountains. It is a long-distance migrant, migrating in winter to Africa and southern Asia. ...

little owl The little owl (''Athene noctua''), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at t ...

great spotted woodpecker The great spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocopos major'') is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found acros ...

, and

long-eared owl The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...

. Also some bat species that are

common noctule The common noctule (''Nyctalus noctula'') is a species of Insectivore, insectivorous bat common throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Description The common noctule's short fur is dark brown after moulting in June (males) or July/August (f ...

, Nathusius's pipistrelle, Kuhl's pipistrelle, etc., live in the forest.

Gallery

File:Pine trees in the Florya Atatürk Forest, 2023-07-19.jpg, Pine trees in the Florya Atatürk Forest File:Evergreen and deciduous trees in the Florya Atatürk Forest, 2023-07-19.jpg, Evergreen and deciduous trees in the Florya Atatürk Forest File:Florya.png, The map of Florya Atatürk Forest

References

External links

*https://www.x.com/ibbyesilist/status/1825538366315872365/photo/3 *https://www.trakus.org/kods_bird/uye/?fsx=@ *https://anitagac.istanbul/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Florya Ataturk Forest Urban forests