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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">ISPRS-Archives</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">ISPRS-Archives</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub">2194-9034</issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-9-2025-1113-2025</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Utilizing GIS for Sustainable Conservation and Management of Riverine Heritage Landscapes: ‘MeRiΔGIS’ for Menderes (Maeander) River Delta, Türkiye</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Okumuş</surname>
<given-names>Gökhan</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Bilgin Altınöz</surname>
<given-names>Ayşe Güliz</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Verschuure-Stuip</surname>
<given-names>Gerdy</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>METU (Middle East Technical University), Department of Architecture, Graduate Program in Conservation of Cultural Heritage, 06800 Ankara, Türkiye</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>TU Delft (Delft University of Technology), Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft, The Netherlands</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>02</day>
<month>10</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>XLVIII-M-9-2025</volume>
<fpage>1113</fpage>
<lpage>1120</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2025 Gökhan Okumuş et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-9-2025/1113/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-9-2025-1113-2025.html">This article is available from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-9-2025/1113/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-9-2025-1113-2025.html</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-9-2025/1113/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-9-2025-1113-2025.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-9-2025/1113/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-9-2025-1113-2025.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Rivers, as powerful natural agents, have historically been not only sources of life and sustenance but also the creators and connectors of culture. From ancient civilizations that shaped agricultural lands and built their cities along riverbanks to the modern landscapes that have developed around them, rivers have always been central to the identity, sustainability, and evolution of human societies. The Menderes (Maeander) River in southwestern Anatolia presents a unique case of how a river can shape both natural and cultural landscapes. This river basin, often called the &amp;ldquo;Valley of Civilizations&amp;rdquo;, has played a crucial role in settlement development and cultural shaping throughout Anatolia&amp;rsquo;s history. As the landscape evolved, its water-related relationships&amp;mdash;marked by the river&amp;rsquo;s fluctuating presence, scarcity, and abundance&amp;mdash;have given rise to new heritage forms, further complicating management of this multi-layered landscape.&lt;br /&gt;Addressing this complexity requires a heritage information management and decision support system capable of integrating multi-scale, multi-faceted data for sustainable management. In this regard, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have proven to be valuable tools, creating comprehensive, interdisciplinary platforms to understand, analyze, and manage diverse layers of complex landscapes. Thereupon, MeRi&amp;Delta;GIS, a GIS-based heritage information management and decision support system, is established to understand and assess the multi-dimensional characteristics of the Menderes River Delta for its conservation and sustainable management. MeRi&amp;Delta;GIS provides a comprehensive understanding of the ongoing transformations in the riverine landscape, emphasizing the interaction between natural and cultural components, as well as the key human and more-than-human agents shaping its evolution.&lt;br /&gt;Ultimately, the MeRi&amp;Delta;GIS serves as a tool to re-establish fragmented relationships between the river, its surrounding communities, and the landscape. This interdisciplinary, GIS-based approach offers a model for managing other riverine and water-linked landscapes, integrating heritage conservation with modern information management technologies to address the complexities of the natural-cultural nexus.</p>
</abstract>
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