THE ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION OF WHEAT PLANTED AREAS IN THE TIGRIS BASIN AND THE CHANGE OVER YEARS (1991-2015)

Abstract

The Southeastern Anatolia Region has two basins, being the Tigris Basin and the Lower Euphrates Basin. According to the data for 2015, 9.5% of the wheat production in Turkey is performed in the provinces (Diyarbakir, Mardin, Siirt, Batman, Sirnak) in the Tigris Basin which is the subject of the study. Wheat production in the agricultural lands of the region stands out in terms of the indicators of droughts related to both geographical restrictions and global warming. Climatic changes resulting from the global warming are one of the most important factors affecting agricultural production. In this regard, the assessment of precipitation values originating from climatic changes enables us to have an opinion on wheat production in the Tigris Basin in the future. It is considered that the potential for wheat planting may increase due to the appropriate climatic conditions in the Tigris Basin and available productive lands. The mapping of the changes in precipitation and yield values of wheat planted areas by transforming them into digital data is possible thanks to current information technologies. In this study, it is aimed to identify the change of wheat planted areas in the provinces in the Tigris Basin for last 25 years, the condition of available lands and their efficiency in meeting the needs for wheat. In this context, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and statistical analyses were used. The climatic data of the Tigris Basin for many years (annual precipitation) and the yield of wheat planted areas and the values of cultivated areas between the years of 1991-2015 were used for the study. Accordingly, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) were entered into the database and interpreted by being associated with the statistical analyses.