Coupling Landscape Patterns and Ecological Processes - Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture - page 4

In situ observation and model simulation are the two major approaches to
ecological process analysis. At finer spatial scales, in situ observation and
experimentation are used widely in collecting data for ecological process research.
As the scale increases, models play a more important role. In some cases, in situ
measurement and modeling are complementary to each other; i.e., some large-
scale models are built from and tested by measurement data (Carlisle et al. 2011 ;
Herrick et al. 2010 ). Currently, models are used widely in the exploration of
biomass analysis (Bergen and Dobson 1999 ; Zhang et al. 2008 ), carbon seques-
tration (Billen et al. 2009 ; Caldwell et al. 2007 ), nutrient flow (Kohlmeier and
Ebenhöh 2007 ; Sogn and Abrahamsen 1997 ), climatic change effects (Jackson
et al. 2011 ), and fire and human disturbances (Keane and Karau 2010 ). In most
cases, the parameterization of process models is confined within small spatial
scales, which may compromise the spatial heterogeneity of landscape patterns and
hinder its application at broader landscape or regional scales (Xu et al. 2010 ).
As landscape patterns and ecological processes interact in many ways, ignoring
either of them will make it difficult to grasp the panoramic dynamics of the
landscape. In-depth probes of the relationship between landscape patterns and
ecological processes are indispensable for sustainable ecosystem management,
given the current situation in which humans are exerting influence on the planet at
an ever-increasing rate.
1.2 Theoretical Framework and Approach to Coupling
Landscape Patterns and Ecological Processes
1.2.1 Theoretical Framework
All ecological processes occur within a certain landscape space, and ecological
processes and landscape space are intermingled, demonstrating complex spatial
characteristics. In most cases, landscape has a macro-controlling effect on the eco-
logical process. The focus of ecological process research varies greatly across dif-
ferent scales. At scales smaller than ecosystem, for example, the organizational scale,
traditional ecological research composed the bulk of ecological process exploration,
such as matter cycle, energy flow, population dynamics and interspecific relationship
analysis, in which human activities are treated as external disturbances (Lü et al.
2007 ). Such traditional research at finer scales provides ''bricks'' for ecological
process research at broader scales. At landscape (1-10 4 km 2 ) or regional scales (10 4 -
10 6 km 2 ), human activities are deemed as endogenous component of a landscape,
i.e., human-related social, economic and cultural processes are integral components.
''Land unit'', an ecologically homogeneous tract of land in topography, soil, and
vegetation, provides an effective stepping-stone for multi-dimensional process
research across multiple scales, and serves as a means for landscape ecological
research characterized by topology and land cover composition (Zonneveld 1989 ).