Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 11
Landscape Ecology
Jianguo (Jingle) Wu
Glossary
Landscape
A geographic area in which variables of interest are spatially
heterogeneous. The boundary of a landscape may be
delineated based on geographic, ecological, or administra-
tive units (e.g., a watershed, an urban area, or a county)
which are relevant to the research questions and objectives.
Landscape
connectivity
The degree of a landscape to facilitate or impede the
exchange of organisms, energy, material, and information
among landscape elements. This is sometimes referred to
as landscape functional connectivity, which is a function of
both landscape structural connectivity and the movement
characteristics of the species or process under consider-
ation. Landscape structural connectivity is simply
a measure of how spatially connected the elements in
a landscape are, without reference to any particular eco-
logical process.
Landscape ecology
The science of studying and improving the relationship
between spatial pattern and ecological processes in a land-
scape on multiple scales. Landscape ecology studies the
structure, function, and dynamics of landscapes of differ-
ent kinds, including natural, seminatural, agricultural, and
urban landscapes.
