Eingliederung und Wirkung des Menschen im Naturraum der Osttürkei

Abstract

Adaptation of Man to his environment and the various effects of Man on his environment are considered within a system of human ecology. The data utilized are those of the Köy Enketleri, a comprehensive village survey conducted in Turkey since 1962.

Research on the interconnection of Man and his environment and on the associated physical, economic and civilizational developments is particularly rewarding in Eastern Turkey because the geographical and ecological conditions as well as the ethnic composition and functional adaptation of the population to environment vary widely. Also the conditions are still primitive or in the take-off phase, because government planning and aid started late, so that the original mode of interaction between Man and his environment and its modification in the present phase of development can still be studied.

The following aspects are discussed

• 1. Adaptation to environment in landutilization. (functional adaptation.)

• 2. Transformation of the environment by Man with its positive and negative effects as exemplified by the replacement of ‘natural vegetation’ by field associations, degradation of forest and steppe, soil erosion, terracing, irrigation and fertilization of soils.

• 3. Eco-pathology This includes pathological processes within the natural environment, diseases, malnutrition and generally poor condition of Man due to environmental factors and a faulty relationship between Man and his environment. This complex is exemplified by degradation of the vegetation, soil erosion, salinity due to irrigation, overgrazing particularly by goats and the continued prevailence of malaria, trachoma and leprosy in the underdeveloped regions where control measures started late. Anomalous or disadvantageous social structure or tendency to friction as well as civilizational retardation may also be due to environmental conditioning.

• 4. Exposition to civilizational stimuli in relation to environmental conditions and ecoadaptation. Here particularly the mountain regions, the entire southeastern sector of the country and the nomadic and seminomadic population are rarely reached by innovations. The aligned northern and southern plains of Erzurum-Kars and Elazig-Van on the other hand as well as the western borderzone of the underdeveloped ‘East’ show a remarkable civilizational acceleration. This becomes apparent in the distribution pattern of iron ploughs, farm machinery, motor vehicles, radios, sugar beet cultivation, consumption of artificial fertilizer, village schools, illiteracy, particularly the proportionally high illiteracy of women and transfer of children to secondary schools. As also in land utilization the present civilizational condition is of course determined not only by spatial and ecological factors but also by those inherent in the population.

The varied material that has become available in the Turkish Village Survey permits the delimitation of human ecological regions which might be considered as natural units of human geography and population development.