An Ecological Approach to Urban Landscape - Plants with Ethnobotanical Use: Example of the Marmara Region, Turkey

Abstract

In this period where environmental problems increase day by day, the importance of making arrangements close to nature within the scope of sustainable garden design has increased. The use of natural plant species forms the basis of economic and ecological garden designs that require low maintenance and prevent excessive water consumption. Plants with ethnobotanical use which are included in natural plants of the region, takes attention as the plants that people benefit from in many ways. In this study, it is aimed to emphasize the importance of plants with ethnobotanical use and to identify the ones with high visual impact and to make suggestions about their use in urban landscape. For this reason in the study, Marmara Region which has dense urbanization and transportation networks, has been determined as the study area and thesis and article studies investigating plant species with ethnobotanical use in this region has been considered as the main material of this study. Accordingly, a total of 29 studies on the subject in this region has been obtained. When these studies are examined, it has been seen that there are 737 ethnobotanical plants with ethnobotanical use in 29 studies belonging to Marmara Region. Of these 737 species, 42 of them in 10 or more studies were accepted as the most frequently used species, and their visual characteristics and their use in urban landscape has been examined. As a result, it has been determined that some ethnobotanical plants with high design potential ca be used on slopes, highways, medians, roof-rock-courtyard gardens, etc. areas and suggestions were made about them.