Wall management

Franziska Zemmer

The today remains of the Anastasian wall have survived till the present day thanks to a hardly accessible cover of woods. As past threats have mostly been of human origin, now it it’s the vegetation itself that gnaws away on the wall, together with the elements. Envisioning a better conservation of the current structures, the following is suggested:

• To gently clear off the scrub of some sections
• Treat root stocks with herbicide to prevent them from re-growing
• Have trees at a distance of 2 m of the wall
• Maintain a grass cover on this strip: to keep the grass low let grazing animals such as sheep or cows in. Goats might be too aggressive and damage surrounding oak bushes.
• Where possible repair parts of the wall
• Have a trained/skilled craftsperson to perform maintenance
• Monitor the wall annually and carry out necessary maintenance
• Keep in mind that the wall has become a habitat for some specialized plants such as ferns and mosses, insects and other animals, therefore keep the intervention with herbicides at a minimum

IF YOU PLAN A VISITOR PARK

• Keep your impact on the environment as low as possible (this is the most cost effective way)
• Its worth thinking of having an open forest surrounding the wall, allowing scattered trees to grow taller and thicker to provide shade for visitors and to improve the aesthetics of the landscape
• Have sheep (goats) to keep the grass short.
• have all the necessary facilities to host visitors
• Only allow picnicking in restricted areas
• Promote hiking and biking rather than the use of cars to visit the site
• Design hiking and biking trails along present roads
• Create hiking trails where necessary
• Have a car park
• Have guards
• Make sure the management is in professional hands
• Housing for tourists has to be set up in the village (i.e.Gumuspınar) and never in unconstructed land

ALIEN INVADERS OF THE NATURAL FLORA

Invasive plant species wont cause big problems at the present state; the area has reasonable distance form urban areas and this type of wood might have some stability against invaders (which needs to be further investigated).