Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Esenli (Giresun) Forest Planning Unit

Int. J. Sec. Metabolite, Vol. 4: 3 (2017) pp. 285-305 Special Issue 1: Research Article ISSN: 2148-6905 online Journal homepage: http://www.ijate.net/index.php/ijsm Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Esenli (Giresun) Forest Planning Unit Mustafa KARAKÖSE*1, Gözde Çolak KARAKÖSE2 1 Giresun University, Espiye Vocational School, Programme of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Giresun/TURKEY Giresun Regional Directorate, Espiye Forest Directorate, Giresun/TURKEY 2 Received: 04 May 2017 – Revised: 03 June 2017 – Accepted: 17 August 2017 Abstract: Turkey is an extraordinary country in terms of plant species diversity. Besides this diversity, Anatolian lands were hosted by many civilizations. The combination of these two factors has also contributed to a wealth of human-plant use. The plants have been used for different purposes in different civilizations such as food, medical, instrument construction, fuel, paint, feed, incense. The use of plants today, especially medical and aromatic plants, continues to increase. According to the Flora of Turkey, which plant is known to grow in which region. However, there is insufficient information on the status of plant populations. Plant sociology studies can give us satisfactory information about plant populations. In this study, Medicinal and aromatic plants of Esenli (Giresun) Forest Planning Unit, located between Alucra and Yağlıdere districts, were investigated based on plant sociology. During this study; 20 sample plots were taken. The vegetation study was carried out according to Braun-Blanquet's method. Totally, 226 naturally growing plant taxa were identified. Of these plants, 10 taxa (%4,4) belong to Pteridophyta division and 216 taxa belong to Spermatophyta division. 3 taxa (%1,3) belong to Gymnospermae subdivision, while the others 213 (%94,3) are Angiospermae subdivision. As a result of this study, 110 plant taxa which have medicinal and aromatic traits were determined in the area. These plants are 3 taxa Pteridophyta, 3 taxa from Gymnospermae and the rest from Angiospermae (104 taxa). Families, scientific names, Turkish names, usable parts and traditional uses were given in the presentation. Keywords: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Inventory, Plant Sociology, Giresun, Flora 1. INTRODUCTION Turkey is one of the most important and rich centres of the world in terms of plant resources due to its geographical location, topographic structure, water resources, microclimate zone diversity, geological structure and plant geography [1]. These factors make our country home to forest, steppe, wetland, sea and coastal, mountain ecosystems [2] and have a very rich biological diversity with a wide variety of habitats. As a matter of fact, this habitat diversity enabled our country to have 11.707 plant taxa and 3.649 endemic taxa [3]. In addition to this diversity, many civilizations hosted from the past to the present Anatolian lands. This hostage brought the civilizations' culture to Anatolia. The combination of these two factors has also contributed to a wealth of human-plant use. The plants have been used in different civilizations for different purposes (food, medical, ware, firewood, paint, feed, incense etc.) [4]. Today, the use of plants, especially medical and aromatic plants, continues to increase. *Corresponding Author E-mail: ISSN: 2148-6905 online /© 2017 DOI: 10.21448/ijsm.372229 285 Karaköse & Karaköse Many plant taxa, containing volatile oils, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, various vitamins [5], are accepted as medical and aromatic plants. In addition to the continuity of vital activities in the ecosystem, these plants are used in cosmetics, dye, textile, food, etc., [6]. Furthermore, the increasing use of natural products in place of synthetic products has increased the importance of medicinal and aromatic plants. The total number of plant species known on the earth is 374.000 [7]. Approximately 80.000 of these plant species are subject to medical purposes [8-10]. The presence of 2.000 plant species traded in Europe, is mentioned [9]. In Turkey, the number of plants used for medical purposes is around 1.024 [4] and about 200 of them have export potentials [11]. In another publication, 337 plant species have been reported to using for commercial purposes [12]. On the other hand, the increasing world population with urbanization and industrialization, have caused the increase of the pressure of human beings on nature. As a consequence of this pressure, it is accepted the fact that natural resources can be exhausted every part of the world [13]. Approximately, 500.000 tons of medicinal and aromatic herb are traded annually in the world [9]. As of 2014, this value has become around 63.500 tons in our country [14]. 90% of the medical and aromatic plants which is traded in Europe [13] are obtained from the nature, while in our country this rate is higher. A plan to be made in medical and aromatic plants mainly consists of 4 steps. These are: (1) determination of species and populations, (2) selection of sampling method, (3) decision of sample area, and (4) decision of counting method according to product [15]. According to the Flora of Turkey, it is known that which plant species are growing in which vegetation type. However, there is no sufficient information on the status of plant populations (except taxonomic revisions). Plant sociology studies can give us enough information about the populations of medicinal and aromatic plants. In this study, a sample inventory study related with medicinal and aromatic plants is given based on plant sociology. 1.1. General Introduction of Research Area Esenli Forest Planning Unit is located within the boundaries of Yağlıdere and Alucra (Giresun) provinces. The research area is geomorphologically mountainous and steep, and the average height from the sea level is 1600 m. The area lies within the G41d1, G41d2, G41d3, G41d4 and H41a1 ranges from 1 / 25.000 topographic maps and consists of a total area of 12.573.4 ha. The research area is covered by 4.940 ha of productive forest and 1.410,1 ha of degraded forest areas [16]. There are three settlements (Akpınar, Çakrak and Güllüce villages) within the scope of the planning unit (Figure 1). The climate assessments of the Esenli Forest Planning Unit were made according to observations between 1964 and 2015 at Şebinkarahisar meteorological station data. The annual average temperature in the region is 7.7 oC according to Şebinkarahisar Meteorology Station data, while the maximum temperature is measured in July and it is 38.1 oC. On average annual rainfall measurements, the average annual precipitation in Esenli is 689,1 mm. A majority part of this amount has been recorded in April-May-September. Looking at the graph drawn for Esenli (Figure 2), it is seen that the highest potential evapotranspiration [PET] values in the area are reached in June, July and August, with the highest rainfall in April. Within the planning unit, water shor (...truncated)