Application of Biotope Area Factor (BAF) Method for ecologically sustainable urban landscapes: The case of the Bornova and Bayraklı disticts, İzmir

Abstract

In this study, the BAF methodology was modified and applied in three selected neighborhoods in the Bornova and Bayraklı districts. The aim is to find the ecologically effective area of the 3 selected neighborhoods and to determine how far this value is from the targeted BAF value (0.5). The BAF method basically calculates the amount of ecologically effective area by giving points for different types of land cover in a given area and then multiplying these scores by the size of that land cover. It then calculates the total amount of ecologically effective area by making this calculation in the whole area. The BAF is determined by dividing the total amount of ecologically effective area found here by the total amount of land. The findings of the present study showed that an average BAF index value was 0.33 for the entire study area. This is lower than the minimum BAF target defined as 0.5 for this study. Although the BAF value (0.35) in Evka 3 neighborhood is higher than the district average, it is still lower than the minimum BAF target of 0.5 defined for this study. In Manavkuyu and Mansuroglu, an average BAF value was calculated to be 0.20. Naldoken has the highest BAF index score with 0.45 among the neighborhoods.

Keywords

• Biotope area factor
• BAF
• land use–land cover
• İzmir.

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