Revealing Temperature Inversion Through Environmental Education

Authors : Ibrahim ATALAY

Pages : 37-46

View : 53 | Download : 12

Publication Date : 2015-12-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function, how human beings can manage their environment, ecosystem and to determine some properties of the environment in order to live sustainably. One of the main aims of environmental education is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and awareness about the ecological properties of environment through the distribution of plants characterizing the ecological properties of a given area. It can be called outdoor education and environmental education. Some special plants mostly trees and shrubs clearly show some important aspects of the natural environment assessment. For example, temperature inversion occurring in depressions can reveal the distribution of trees that resist against the given temperature. If black pine (Pinus nigra) occurs in the bottom of depression and red pine (Pinus brutia) is widespread above black pine (Pinus nigra) in the upper part of the depression it can be stated that temperature inversion takes place in such depression. Because the resistance of Pinus nigra against cold is higher than Pinus brutia. In order to assess the existence of temperature inversion in Ovacik depression located in the Boz Mountains, Aegean Region is visited with a group of students. The bottom land of Ovacik depression, which is at an elevation of 800 m, is the main occurrence areas of Pinus nigra, while the upper part of the depression at an elevation of 1000-1200 m is the main spreading areas of pure Pinus brutia, Pinus brutia and Pinus nigra mixed forests. This situation clearly reflects the temperature inversion occurring in winter and early spring periods.
Keywords : temperature inversion, outdoor education, environmental assessment

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