Temporal assessment of natural wetlands via remotely sensed data: A case study from Turkey

Lakes and wetlands have a variety of uses in keeping the ecological balance and the well-being of a basin. Turkey has almost 303 water bodies among which Konya Closed Basin bears 29 of those where two of them have been registered as Ramsar sites. In this study, one of these sites, Meke Lake, and its nearby Akgol Wetland and Acigol Lake that are of international value are temporally assessed by means of satellite images regarding their water surfaces. Meke Lake has been declared as a Ramsar site in 2005, whereas Acigol is one of the volcanic lakes of the world with a depth of 300 m. Akgol has been registered as 1^st level Natural Site and Natural Protection Area. Four classified images belonging to years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2016 are further correlated with the ground truth measurements to assess the temporal variation of the sites. Producing such scientific data and conducting similar analyses are important for especially the local, regional and national authorities and planners in charge of the rehabilitation and restoration of natural sites that have lost a significant amount of land and water in the past years.