A Research on the Soil Characteristics and Woody Plant Species of Urban Boulevards in Bursa, Turkey

Proper planning and design of transportation networks in the cities is an important subject, and the avenues, boulevards and refuges in the cities give the cities an aesthetic and functional feature as open green spaces. In addition to their aesthetic qualities, planting in urban areas also plays an important role in preventing pollution and improving air quality in the cities. In this context, the existing woody plant taxa were identified on the boulevards located in Nilufer district of Bursa in Turkey. The soil characteristics and soil heavy metal accumulations of these woody plant taxa were also determined. In the studied boulevards, there were 34 genera, 31 species, 10 subspecies and varieties belonging to 23 families. Among the total woody species gathered, 72.73% of the woody species were tree species and the rest were shrubs. The soils found on the boulevards were usually sandy and clay loam, and inadequate in terms of organic matter contents. On the other hand, the heavy metal deposits in the territories of the boulevards situated in the industrial zones were higher than those in other housing areas but below the permissible values.