NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY OF A MOUNTAIN FOREST ECOSYSTEM AS AFFECTED BY CLIMATE AND TOPOGRAPHY

ABSTRACT Response of terrestrial ecosystems to changing climate has become an issue of central importance for land managers and policymakers. Climate extremes and trends have a strong control on productivity of semi-arid mountain ecosystems. Located in a transition zone from continental type climate to relatively mild Black Sea type climate in Turkey, the Ilgaz Mountains with their rich biodiversity, provide a unique opportunity to evaluate vulnerability of a typical semi-arid mountain ecosystem to climate change. Therefore, we evaluated spatio-temporal variation of annual net primary producti...