Vegetation mosaic around the second center of tourism development in the Uludag Mountain, Bursa, Turkey

The vegetation mosaic around the Second Center of Tourism Development in Uludag (Bursa) was determined by aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) techniques. The vegetation characteristic of the area is composed of dwarf shrub formation (Vaccinium myrtillus?Juniperus communis?comm. and Juniperus communis?comm.). In addition, a database related to the vegetation mosaic of the area was prepared. Uludag Mountain contains one of the important winter sports center in Turkey. The tourism center of winter sports (the First Center of Tourism Development, abbreviated as FCTD) is located within the boundaries of Uludag National Park. A vegetation map of this area, including hotels and ski lift was prepared in an earlier study. The Tourism Ministry of the Turkish Republic declared the area at the eastern part of the FCTD to be the Second Center of Tourism Development (SCTD) in 1986. The mountain has a rich biological diversity and is home to many endemics. It has been reported that there is a total of 104 endemic plant species growing in this area.