Kızılırmak Delta

The Kızılırmak is the longest river entirely within Turkey and has the second largest drainage basin.[2]

The delta covers an area of about 56 thousand hectares of which 16,110 are wetland.[8] Although the coast had been expanding[9] it is now retreating, mainly due to less sediment coming down the river due to dams built upstream.[10][11]

In the delta are many wetland ecosystems: bottomland hardwood forest, freshwater and brackish lakes, reed beds and sand dunes. There is also broadleaved woodland and farmland.[2]

Plants

Sea daffodil

There are over 500 species of plants.[2]

Birds

Dalmatian pelican

70% of bird species in Turkey have been recorded and the delta is important for birds which directly cross the Black Sea.[18] White stork breed here[19] and there are many other species such as: grey-headed swamphen and great white egret. There is a bird ringing station called Cernek Ringing Station.[20] At Ondokuz Mayıs University there is a bird research center,[21] which has ringed 165 thousand birds from 175 species in the delta.[22]

A 2020 study found both sewage and agricultural pollution in the channels.[25] Gendarmes are stationed to prevent illegal hunting.[26] Pumping of groundwater causes seawater intrusion,[27] and in 2021 academics called for such pumping to be stopped.[28] Climate change in Turkey has changed bird migrations.[18]

One of 14 Ramsar sites in Turkey covers 21700 hectares.[29] Some traditional practices help with the management: for example water buffalo and fishing boats help keep the connections between the lakes open.[30] In the late 2010s experts issued a management plan although they could not agree with residents what should be done;[11] as the existing management plan runs to the end of 2023 a revised plan is being discussed.[31]

The land is one of the most fertile plains for agriculture in Turkey. There are more buffalo than anywhere else in the country. The most important crop is rice,[2] but some say it uses too much water which is needed for nature or buffalos.[11]

Residents say that tourism benefits local employment.[32]

Ottoman map

Strabo described the delta as producing fruit,[33] deer,[33] gazelles and soft-wooled sheep,[34] and the town of Gadilon. During the Ottoman Empire and early years of the republic malaria was widespread near the marshes and the lower lands were occupied seasonally.[11] As in some other parts of the country much of the population was forcibly exchanged between Greece and Turkey in the early 20th century.[11] Malaria hindered attempts to resettle migrants from lands lost by the empire, and during the 20th century some of the land was drained to combat mosquitos and provide agricultural land for these people and those coming from the eastern Black Sea part of Turkey.[11] Rice production was expanded.[11]

Tobacco was a major crop on the higher lands[11] and there is a tobacco museum in Bafra.[35]

Festivals included a stork feast, spring release of water buffaloes, and sheep breeding.[30] Traditionally it is considered sinful to kill certain animals and plants always or at certain times of year.[30]

In the late 20th century the ecological value of the marshes was recognized and attempts to protect them began, although some local residents opposed restrictions on agriculture and building.[11] At the end of the 20th century they were made a Ramsar site, then nature tourism became popular,[11] and in 2016 they were inscribed in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey.[2]

• Natural Protected Areas of the Wetland and Bird Paradise in the Kizilirmak Delta in Samsun: 2019-2023 Management Plan Environment Ministry
• Scaramelli, Caterina (2021). How to Make a Wetland: Water and Moral Ecology in Turkey. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-1-5036-1385-0.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kızılırmak Delta Bird Reserve.

Media related to Kızılırmak Delta at Wikimedia Commons

• Wings over Wetlands Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool Archived 2011-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
• Nature Association
• Official video