Although Bissonette (Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Utah State U., U.S.) and Storch (Weihenstephan Center of Life Sciences, Technische U. Munchen, Germany) state that a cohesive theory of landscape ecology is not yet possible, they present 17 papers they see as providing elements of theoretical framework, specifically as related to problems of resource management practice. Separate sections address linkages between conceptual and quantitative issues, between people and the landscape, and between theory and management in the field. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
The rapidly increasing global population has dramatically increased the demands for natural resources and has caused significant changes in quantity and quality of natural resources. To achieve sustainable resource management, it is essential to obtain insightful guidance from emerging disciplines such as landscape ecology. This text addresses the links between landscape ecology and natural resource management. These links are discussed in the context of various landscape types, a diverse set of resources and a wide range of management issues. A large number of landscape ecology concepts, principles and methods are introduced. Critical reviews of past management practices and a number of case studies are presented. This text provides many guidelines for managing natural resources from a landscape perspective and offers useful suggestions for landscape ecologists to carry out research relevant to natural resource management. In addition, it will be an ideal supplemental text for graduate and advanced undergraduate ecology courses.
An ideal text for students taking a course in landscape ecology. The book has been written by very well-known practitioners and pioneers in the new field of ecological analysis. Landscape ecology has emerged during the past two decades as a new and exciting level of ecological study. Environmental problems such as global climate change, land use change, habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity have required ecologists to expand their traditional spatial and temporal scales and the widespread availability of remote imagery, geographic information systems, and desk top computing has permitted the development of spatially explicit analyses. In this new text book this new field of landscape ecology is given the first fully integrated treatment suitable for the student. Throughout, the theoretical developments, modeling approaches and results, and empirical data are merged together, so as not to introduce barriers to the synthesis of the various approaches that constitute an effective ecological synthesis. The book also emphasizes selected topic areas in which landscape ecology has made the most contributions to our understanding of ecological processes, as well as identifying areas where its contributions have been limited. Each chapter features questions for discussion as well as recommended reading.
This book provides a current synthesis of principles and applications in landscape ecology and conservation biology. Bringing together insights from leaders in landscape ecology and conservation biology, it explains how principles of landscape ecology can help us understand, manage and maintain biodiversity. Gutzwiller also identifies gaps in current knowledge and provides research approaches to fill those voids.
“Landscape Ecology in Forest Management and Conservation: Challenges and Solutions for Global Change” discusses how landscape ecology can contribute to addressing the challenges in contemporary forest management practice, with diverse contributions from active researchers worldwide. It provides not only a summary of conceptual understanding of landscape ecology as related to forest management but also a whole set of specific challenges, issues, and methods on how to deal with them. This book is a stimulating addition to the international literature on landscape ecology and land resource management at large. Dr. Chao Li is a Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service (CFS), Natural Resources Canada, and leads the Landscape Disturbances and Forest Valuation Modeling group. Dr. Raffaele Lafortezza is a Lecturer in forest landscape ecology at the University of Bari, Italy. Dr. Jiquan Chen is a Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences, the University of Toledo, USA.
Typically, landscape ecologists use empirical observations to conduct research and devise solutions for applied problems in conservation and management. In some instances, they rely on advice and input of experienced professionals in both developing and applying knowledge. Given the wealth of expert knowledge and the risks of its informal and implicit applications in landscape ecology, it is necessary to formally recognize and characterize expert knowledge and bring rigor to methods for its applications. In this context, the broad goal of this book is to introduce the concept of expert knowledge and examine its role in landscape ecological applications. We plan to do so in three steps: First we introduce the topic to landscape ecologists, explore salient characteristics of experts and expert knowledge, and describe methods used in capturing and formalizing that knowledge. Second, we present examples of research in landscape ecology from a variety of ecosystems and geographic locations that formally incorporate expert knowledge. These case studies address a range of topics that will interest landscape ecologists and other resource management and conservation professionals including the specific roles of expert knowledge in developing, testing, parameterizing, and applying models; estimating the uncertainty in expert knowledge; developing methods of formalizing and incorporating expert knowledge; and using expert knowledge as competing models and a source of alternate hypotheses. Third, we synthesize the state of knowledge on this topic and critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating expert knowledge in landscape ecological applications. The disciplinary subject areas we address are broad and cover much of the scope of contemporary landscape ecology, including broad-scale forest management and conservation, quantifying forest disturbances and succession, conservation of habitats for a range of avian and mammal species, vulnerability and conservation of marine ecosystems, and the spread and impacts of invasive plants. This text incorporates the collective experience and knowledge of over 35 researchers in landscape ecology representing a diverse range of disciplinary subject areas and geographic locations. Through this text, we will catalyze further thought and investigations on expert knowledge among the target readership of researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in landscape ecology.
This book encapsulates the extensive knowledge developed by CSIRO's National Rangelands Program on how rangeland landscapes function and the implications for management. It looks at the ecology of rangeland landscape processes and deals with what happens when things go wrong, when a landscape loses its ability to efficiently capture and store water and nutrients - a state the authors call dysfunctional.Ways of managing rangelands in response to understanding landscape function are also considered. The concluding Section looks to the future providing some scenarios for the way rangeland landscapes may be used in 2020.
Filled with numerous exercises this practical guide provides a real hands-on approach to learning the essential concepts and techniques of landscape ecology. The knowledge gained enables students to usefully address landscape- level ecological and management issues. A variety of approaches are presented, including: group discussion, thought problems, written exercises, and modelling. Each exercise is categorised as to whether it is for individual, small group, or whole class study.
Landscape ecology is a relatively new area of study, which aims to understand the pattern of interaction of biological and cultural communities within a landscape. This book brings together leading figures from the field to provide an up-to-date survey of recent advances, identify key research problems and suggest a future direction for development and expansion of knowledge. Providing in-depth reviews of the principles and methods for understanding landscape patterns and changes, the book illustrates concepts with examples of innovative applications from different parts of the world. Forming a current 'state-of-the-science' for the science of landscape ecology, this book forms an essential reference for graduate students, academics, professionals and practitioners in ecology, environmental science, natural resource management, and landscape planning and design.
