Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
EKOLOJI, cilt.20, sa.78, ss.66-74, 2011 (SCI-Expanded)
A sound park planning and management approach should define the optimum level for recreation use to provide the desired biophysical and social conditions. Recreation carrying capacity is an important concept in park and protected area management for estimation of optimum recreation use. Although recreational use and carrying capacities are stated in the planning section of the National Park Regulations, it has been a neglected part of the Turkish National Park System in practice. This study focuses on the carrying capacity estimation for Termessos National Park in southern Turkey with consideration for its specific natural and cultural resources. The annual visitations, geographic, bio-physical, and managerial characteristics of the park were analyzed. On-site questionnaires were administrated to a sample of 500 respondents to collect data concerning the demographics and visit characteristics. The effective recreation carrying capacity of the park was found to be 97 visitors per day. The results demonstrated that actual average visitation of the park is lower than the recreation carrying capacity which is calculated with limiting factors. However, these are the mean numbers. In practice there is still a risk of saturation or carrying capacity overload particularly in the peak seasons. Since the visitation to the park and use level of trails depends upon the season, weather, and trail conditions. Therefore a management system should be developed with the integration of a new trail system.