Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 11.1 A list of definitions of landscape ecology
Definition
Source
The German geographer Carl Troll coined the term “landscape ecology”
in 1939, and defined it in 1968 as “the study of the main complex
causal relationships between the life communities and their
environment in a given section of a landscape. These relationships are
expressed regionally in a definite distribution pattern (landscape
mosaic, landscape pattern) and in a natural regionalization at various
orders of magnitude” (Troll 1968; cited in Troll 1971)
• Troll [
19
]
• Troll [
20
]
• Troll [
21
]
“Landscape ecology is an aspect of geographical study which considers
the landscape as a holistic entity, made up of different elements, all
influencing each other. This means that land is studied as the 'total
character of a region', and not in terms of the separate aspects of its
component elements” (Zonneveld 1972)
• Zonneveld [
22
]
“Landscape ecology is a young branch of modern ecology that deals with
the interrelationship between man and his open and built-up
landscapes” based on general systems theory, biocybernetics, and
ecosystemology (Naveh and Liberman 1984). “Landscapes can be
recognized as tangible and heterogeneous but closely interwoven
natural and cultural entities of our total living space,” and landscape
ecology is “a holistic and transdisciplinary science of landscape study,
appraisal, history, planning and management, conservation, and
restoration” (Naveh and Liberman 1994)
• Naveh and
Lieberman [
5
]
• Naveh and
Lieberman [
23
]
“A landscape is a kilometers-wide area where a cluster of interacting
stands or ecosystems is repeated in similar form; landscape ecology,
thus, studies the structure, function and development of landscapes”
(Forman 1981). Landscape structure refers to “the spatial
relationships among the distinctive ecosystems;” landscape function
refers to “the flows of energy, materials, and species among the
component ecosystems;” and landscape change refers to “the
alteration in the structure and function of the ecological mosaic over
time” (Forman and Godron 1986).
• Forman [
11
]
• Forman [
12
]
“Landscape ecology focuses explicitly upon spatial pattern. Specifically,
landscape ecology considers the development and dynamics of spatial
heterogeneity, spatial and temporal interactions and exchanges across
heterogeneous landscapes, influences of spatial heterogeneity on
biotic and abiotic processes, and management of spatial
heterogeneity” (Risser et al. 1984). “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).
• Risser et al. [
24
]
“Landscape ecology emphasizes broad spatial scales and the ecological
effects of the spatial patterning of ecosystems” (Turner 1989).
• Turner [
25
]
“Landscape ecology is the study of the reciprocal effects of the spatial
pattern on ecological processes,” and “concerns spatial dynamics
(including fluxes of organisms, materials, and energy) and the ways in
which fluxes are controlled within heterogeneous matrices” (Pickett
and Cadenasso 1995).
• Pickett and
Cadenasso [
14
]
“Landscape ecology investigates landscape structure and ecological
function at a scale that encompasses the ordinary elements of human
landscape experience: yards, forests, fields, streams, and streets”
(Nassauer 1997).
• Nassauer [
26
]
(continued)
