The purpose of the study is to investigate the changes in stem growth rates and root wood anatomy of oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky). According to results from 8 years before and after the event year, growth variation in the affected trees is significantly high. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Turk J Agric For (2013) 37: 105-109 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Changes in stem growth rates and root wood anatomy of oriental beech after a landslide event in Hanyeri, Bartın, Turkey 1 2 2, Barbaros YAMAN , Nesibe KÖSE , Ünal AKKEMİK * Department of Forest Botany, Faculty of Forestry, Bartın University, Bartın, Turkey 2 Department of Forest Botany, Faculty of Forestry, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey 1 Received: Accepted: Published Online: Printed: Abstract: On 19 May 1998, a small-scale landslide occurred near Hanyeri, Bartın, in the western Black Sea region. The purpose of the study is to investigate the changes in stem growth rates and root wood anatomy of oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky). According to results from 8 years before and after the event year, growth variation in the affected trees is significantly high. In the control trees, growth increases after the event year, and the growth variation is ; this value is in the affected trees. However, the growth variation values for ±11 years are and in control and affected trees, respectively. Root wood anatomy also revealed a clear response in affected trees after the event year, and ring width on one side of the root showed an abrupt increase. Key words: Landslide, oriental beech, tree rings, wood anatomy 1. Introduction Landslides are one of the most important natural disasters affecting human life in many countries (EM-DAT 2011). Landslides are generally described as the movement of a mass of rock, sediment, soil, or artificial fill on an oversteepened slope under the effects of gravity (Highland and Bobrowsky 2008; Clague 2010). There are many factors triggering landslides, such as gravity, heavy rains, snowmelt, earthquakes, and man-made structures, as well as erosion by rivers, glaciers, or ocean
