Özet:

Throughout history, people have had various impacts on the natural resources in the regions they have migrated to. The industrialization of the last century has caused increased migration from rural to urban areas, leading to urbanization and a consequent decrease in rural population density. The study examined the effects of population movements on land cover and land use changes (LULCC) between 1990 and 2018 in Turkey. The CORINE Land Cover products were used to identify changes in land cover and objectively evaluate land use status. The study conducted a Spearman correlation analysis to examine the association between population and LULCC. The results indicated that between 1990 and 2018, there was a significant rise in artificial surfaces, showing a 62.7% increase. In contrast, agricultural areas experienced a moderate growth of 0.7%, with a 1% increase in shrub and/or herbaceous plant area and a substantial increase of 24.8% in wetlands (W). There was a 1.4% reduction in forested areas (FA) and a 9.7% decline in open spaces with minimal or no vegetation (OS). During this period, 1.8% of agricultural area (AA) was transformed into artificial surfaces (AS), 4.8% changed to shrub and/or herbaceous plant associations (SH), whereas 0.4% of FA was transformed into AS, 4.1% into AA, and 0.5% into OS. A negative correlation was noted between population variables in rural regions and alterations in AS and FA. To safeguard FA, AA, and W, it is vital to pay enough consideration to the migration phenomenon. Therefore, periodic monitoring operations for land use at national and local levels should be conducted.

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