Monica G. Turner – författare

This work provides in-depth analysis of the origins of landscape ecology and its close alignment with the understanding of scale, the causes of landscape pattern, and the interactions of spatial pattern with a variety of ecological processes.

Landscape ecology continues to grow as an exciting, dynamic ecological d- cipline. With its broadscale emphasis and multidisciplinary approach, la- scape ecology lends itself both to basic research and to applications in land management, land-use planning, wildlife management, ecosystem mana- ment, and conservation biology. Landscape ecology makes a unique cont- bution to the scientific community in its attention to ecological dynamics across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales, and as a result it has - come increasingly important for students in the natural sciences to gain a - sic understanding of the subject. Colleges and universities across the United States are incorporating courses in landscape ecology into their curricula. However, nearly every book on landscape ecology is a book to be read, la- ing a hands-on approach. This text is intended to fill that void by providing a comprehensive collection of landscape ecology laboratory exercises. These teaching exercises stress the fundamental concepts of landscape ec- ogy, rather than highly specialized, technical methods. While students will gain experience using a variety of tools commonly used in landscape ecology, we stress the conceptual understanding necessary to use these techniques app- priately. This book attempts to convey the myriad approaches used by la- scape ecologists (as well as a multitude of approaches to teaching) and include group discussion, thought problems, fieldwork, data analysis, spatial data c- lection, exposure to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), simulation m- eling, analysis of landscape metrics, spatial statistics, and written exercises.

Landscape ecology is not a distinct discipline or simply a branch of ecology, but rather is the synthetic intersection of many related disciplines that focus on the spatial-temporal pattern of the landscape. Risser et al. , 1984 The emergence of landscape ecology as a discipline has catalyzed a shift in paradigms among ecologists, . . . resource managers and land-use planners. Having now seen the faces of spatial pattern and scale . . . we can never go back to the old ways of viewing things. Wiens, 1999 his book presents the perspective of three ecologists on the concepts and Tapplications of landscape ecology, a discipline that has shown expansive growth during the past two decades. Although landscape ecology is a multidis- plinary subject involving components as diverse as economics and sociology, the earth sciences and geography, remote sensing and computer applications, we - cus here on what ecologists need to know about landscapes. Landscape ecology served as the integrating theme of our collaborative research for nearly 15 years, including a 7-year period during which we worked together at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We became acquainted in January 1986 at the first annual United States Landscape Ecology symposium held at the Univ- sity of Georgia and organized by Monica Turner and Frank Golley. Landscape ecology was, at that time, a new subject in the United States. The first U. S.

The study of ecosystems, fundamental to ecology, has been complemented by the growing field of landscape ecology. Ecosystem Function in Heterogeneous Landscapes addresses how interactions among ecosystems affect the functioning of individual ecosystems and the larger landscape. This groundbreaking synthesis unites ecosystem ecology's knowledge of system function with landscape ecology's knowledge of spatial structure. Practical concerns about scaling up from individual ecosystems to larger landscapes require an understanding of how networks of interacting ecosystems function together. The book elucidates the challenges faced by ecosystem scientists working in spatially heterogeneous systems, relevant conceptual approaches used in other disciplines and in different ecosystem types, and the importance of spatial heterogeneity in conservation resource management. The distinguished authors discuss how how much heterogeneity needs to be taken into account for specific types of scientific and management issues.Their chapters cover the spectrum from proposing novel conceptual approaches to detailing the practical implications of heterogeneous landscapes for fire management, water management and conservation planning.

The study of ecosystems, fundamental to ecology, has been complemented by the growing field of landscape ecology. Ecosystem Function in Heterogeneous Landscapes addresses how interactions among ecosystems affect the functioning of individual ecosystems and the larger landscape. This groundbreaking synthesis unites ecosystem ecology's knowledge of system function with landscape ecology's knowledge of spatial structure. Practical concerns about scaling up from individual ecosystems to larger landscapes require an understanding of how networks of interacting ecosystems function together. The book elucidates the challenges faced by ecosystem scientists working in spatially heterogeneous systems, relevant conceptual approaches used in other disciplines and in different ecosystem types, and the importance of spatial heterogeneity in conservation resource management. The distinguished authors discuss how how much heterogeneity needs to be taken into account for specific types of scientific and management issues.Their chapters cover the spectrum from proposing novel conceptual approaches to detailing the practical implications of heterogeneous landscapes for fire management, water management and conservation planning.

Among the most dif?cult problems in the life sciences is the challenge to understand the details of how ecosystems/watersheds/landscapes function. Yet,the welfare of all life,not just the human species,depends upon the s- cessful functioning of diverse and complicated ecosystems, each with va- ous dimensions and compositions. Central to this “working” is the dominance, and to a major extent control, of ecosystems by organisms, which means that these systems are constantly changing as the component organisms change and evolve. Such changes increase the challenge to understand the functioning of ecosystems and landscapes. Moreover,und- standing the interactions among the myriad components of these systems is mind-boggling as there are scores of biotic (probably many thousands of species when the microbial components are fully enumerated through genomics) and countless abiotic (ions, molecules, and compounds) entities, all simultaneously interacting and responding to diverse external factors to produce functional or dysfunctional environments for life. This book focuses on the problems of connectedness and ecosystem fu- tioning. It is dif?cult enough to understand how an ecosystem functions when it is considered in isolation, but all ecosystems are open and c- nected to everything else. Clearly, the inputs to any ecosystem are the o- puts from others and vice versa, and as such the ?uxes represent major, if not critical, points for managing or changing the overall functioning of an ecosystem or landscape. A major challenge is to ?nd appropriate conceptual frameworks to address these complicated problems.

Landscape ecology as a modern interdisciplinary science is making use increasingly of quantitative research techniques adopted from other fields. So far, no synthetic reference has been available to those wishing to acquaint themselves with new approaches to quantitative analysis of spatial heterogeneity at the landcape level. This book seeks to meet this need by providing a conceptual framework and illustrating potential applications for methods such as pattern analysis, spatial statistics, fractals, spatial modeling, broad-scale studies, and extrapolation across scales. Each technique is discussed in sufficient detail to be adaptable to a variety of research problems. Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology is an important resource for researchers and students of landscape and ecosystem ecology in understanding and analyzing the dynamics of complex spatial systems.

Landscape pattern is generated by a variety of processes, including disturbances. In turn, the heterogeneity of the landscape may enhance or retard the spread of disturbance. The complex relationship between landscape pattern and disturbance is the subject of this book. It is designed to present an illustrative analysis of the topic, presenting the perspectives of several different disciplines. The book includes conceptual considerations, empirical studies, and management examples. Important features include: hypotheses about the spread of disturbance and the effects of scale changes in landscape studies; the multidisciplinary approach; and the explicit focus on the landscape level. The intended audience comprises graduate students, academics, and professionals interested in landscape ecology. The reader will receive a state-of-the-art treatment of a current topic in landscape ecology.

Landscape pattern is generated by a variety of processes, including disturbances. In turn, the heterogeneity of the landscape may enhance or retard the spread of disturbance. The complex relationship between landscape pattern and disturbance is the subject of this book. It is designed to present an illustrative analysis of the topic, presenting the perspectives of several different disciplines. The book includes conceptual considerations, empirical studies, and management examples. Important features include: hypotheses about the spread of disturbance and the effects of scale changes in landscape studies; the multidisciplinary approach; and the explicit focus on the landscape level. The intended audience comprises graduate students, academics, and professionals interested in landscape ecology. The reader will receive a state-of-the-art treatment of a current topic in landscape ecology.

This work provides in-depth analysis of the origins of landscape ecology and its close alignment with the understanding of scale, the causes of landscape pattern, and the interactions of spatial pattern with a variety of ecological processes. The text covers the quantitative approaches that are applied widely in landscape studies, with emphasis on their appropriate use and interpretation.The field of landscape ecology has grown rapidly during this period, its concepts and methods have matured, and the published literature has increased exponentially. Landscape research has enhanced understanding of the causes and consequences of spatial heterogeneity and how these vary with scale, and they have influenced the management of natural and human-dominated landscapes. Landscape ecology is now considered mainstream, and the approaches are widely used in many branches of ecology and are applied not only in terrestrial settings but also in aquatic and marine systems. In response to these rapid developments, an updated edition of Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice provides a synthetic overview of landscape ecology, including its development, the methods and techniques that are employed, the major questions addressed, and the insights that have been gained.”

This title meets a great demand for training in spatial analysis tools accessible to a wide audience. Landscape ecology continues to grow as an exciting discipline with much to offer for solving pressing and emerging problems in environmental science. Much of the strength of landscape ecology lies in its ability to address challenges over large areas, over spatial and temporal scales at which decision-making often occurs. As the world tackles issues related to sustainability and global change, the need for this broad perspective has only increased. Furthermore, spatial data and spatial analysis (core methods in landscape ecology) are critical for analyzing land-cover changes world-wide. While spatial dynamics have long been fundamental to terrestrial conservation strategies, land management and reserve design, mapping and spatial themes are increasingly recognized as important for ecosystem management in aquatic, coastal and marine systems. This second edition is purposefully more applied and international in its examples, approaches, perspectives and contributors. It includes new advances in quantifying landscape structure and connectivity (such as graph theory), as well as labs that incorporate the latest scientific understanding of ecosystem services, resilience, social-ecological landscapes, and even seascapes. Of course, as before, the exercises emphasize easy-to-use, widely available software. http://sarahgergel.net/lel/learning-landscape-ecology/​