摘要: Justification of Outstanding Universal Value　　Countless number of waterfowl bird species nesting and wintering in its large habitats over the lake and the surrounding terrestrial parts including small

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

　　Countless number of waterfowl bird species nesting and wintering in its large habitats over the lake and the surrounding terrestrial parts including small islets, and swamps, particularly for flamingos endangered in Europe, Phoenicopterus ruber, breeding colonies reach the size of 5 to 6 000 nesting places.

　　The Lake Tuz protected area in Turkey is amongst the most saline lakes in the world following Dead Sea, while representing the richest and intact halophytic steppe vegetation in Europe, more diverse and valuable biodiversity representing one of the most outstanding halophytic steppe plant sociological characteristics pattern dispersed on an extremely large area on the earth. The area holds a main genetic source for animal and probably human nutrition for future as it inhabits many important crop wild relatives. In addition, the site is also one of the best habitat to explore crop genetic sources of crop relatives for genes used in developing salt resistance varieties in many domesticated plants., It is expected that dry and other similar harsh conditions will be more abundant in future due to climate chance to be faced by all humanity. Lake Tuz in Turkey serves as being one of the major wintering habitats on the migratory pathways of very important waterfowls for large populations by its large, calm surface areas.

　　The arid and salty extreme ecological conditions of Lake Tuz SEPA provide very rich plant biodiversity at community, and alliance levels from the viewpoint of halophytic plant sociology. Important birds and habitat sites are demarcated on the map. There are 279 plant species and 120 halophytic bacteria recorded in the Lake Tuz ecosystem.

　　Criterion (vii): The site provides habitat for many important halophytic plant and bacteria species as well as many wintering birds. It is amazing that there are some freshwater springs on the salty soil of steppe habitats on the terrestrial component of Lake Tuz protected area. In addition, a freshwater tiny wetland called Akgöl to excitingly representing a non-salty freshwater aquatic system being like an attractive oasis which is unbelievable on such very large salty steppes.

　　Criterion (viii): The Lake Tuz Special Environmental Protection Area (SEPA) has an extremely interesting land surface structural characteristic which is seen as a bright white color from space via satellites observatory tools. That’s why the Lake Tuz has been used as the reference for the color White from space for calibration of space shuttles remote sensing records for the entire World. This property of the Lake Tuz provides world smooth, easily perceivable, and reliable Remote Sensing pictures of high excellence and quality. This property of the Lake Tuz protected area is unique in the world.

　　Lake Tuz Special Environmental Protection Area (SEPA) in Turkey managed by General Directorate for Protection of Natural Assets (GDPNA) is a very large protected area 7414.40 km². Lake Turkana is the most saline lake in East Africa and the largest desert lake in the world, surrounded by an arid, seemingly extraterrestrial landscape that is often devoid of life. Similar situation is true for Lake Tuz SEPA as it covers very large dry lands over three different provinces Ankara, Konya, and Aksaray to such an extent that the total surface area of Lake Tuz protected area is over total surface areas of some European countries.

　　Criterion (x): The Lake Tuz SEPA in Turkey as it has diverse habitats ranging from terrestrial and aquatic, semi-natural habitats (farmlands and grasslands, high biodiversity grazing areas which has biodiversity richness level above 30 %, a very high degree compared to habitats found in European Union and Europe) and is inhabited by diverse fauna, with Otis tarda, bird species the indicator of steppe habitats. Lake Tuz inhabits huge flamingo colonies. Glareolaprantincola, Tadornatadorna, Tadornaferruginea, Anascrecca, Recurvirostraavocetta, Burhinusoedicnemus, and Larus sp. have their nests in the Lake Tuz protected area as well.

　　In the Lake Tuz there are over 279 plant species (8 sub-groups belonging to 3 separate plant alliance). Thirty-nine of these are endemic and , 4 are endangered. Additionally, there are 4 local endemic species which are not yet introduced to the scientific community. Moreover, there are important crop relatives or undomesticated plant species which can potentially be cultivated without much breeding efforts. There are 129 insect species of which 4 endemic, and 15 mammalian species.

　　The Lake Tuz salty steppe habitats are extremely peculiar with respect to landscape ecology pattern on which exclusive alignments of very frequently changed variable ecosystems, that is to say ecotones, are suddenly changed after each 20 meters. In addition, e.g. in a 10x10 m area (i.e. an extremely small grid), it has been observed that there are over 15, even 20 species. This property makes or the indication of the phytosociological biodiversity richness, an exclusive pattern seen in the world for steppe individual species distribution on a land.

　　Lake Tuz protected area also inhabits;

　　- Kochia prostrate,

　　- Leymus cappadocicus,

　　- Agropyron cristatum,

　　- Chyrosopogon gryllus

　　- Puccinella distans