Coupling Landscape Patterns and Ecological Processes - Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture - page 8

Direct
measurement at
small scale

Driving

Input Output

Landscape
pattern

Ecological
processes

Coupling

Model
integration at
large scale

Feedback

Output Input

Scale

Fig. 1.2 Mechanisms and approach in coupling Landscape patterns and ecological processes-
Ecological processes

Coupling models also have been used widely in hydrological simulation. Xu
et al. ( 2009 ) coupled the hydro-ecological process based TESim and CLUE-based
land use model in which soil organic matter and total nitrogen simulated by TESim
were used as input for the CLUE model. These coupled models were used suc-
cessfully in the temperate crop-pasture transitional area in northern China (CCPB)
to analyze the interactions between land use and major ecosystem processes and
functions.
To summarize, the coupling research on landscape pattern and ecological
process mainly depend on in situ measurement and experimentation at small scales
and spatial modeling backed up by ArcGIS software at large scales (Fig. 1.2 ).
Assessing the mechanism between patterns and processes through measurement
and modeling, and conducting coupling research by constructing integrative
models have become the frontiers of landscape ecology research.

1.3 Categories of Models on Landscape Pattern
and Ecological Processes

Landscape patterns affect ecological processes, and vise versa, which underpins
the overall landscape dynamics. An ideal landscape dynamic model needs to
combine both landscape patterns and ecological processes, which poses a daunting
challenge to model development. According to the directions of the interactions
between landscape patterns and ecological processes, the models generally fall
into three categories: models that analyze the effects of landscape patterns on
ecological processes (Hattermann et al. 2006 ; Li et al. 2007 ), models that analyze