Coupling Landscape Patterns and Ecological Processes - Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture - page 15

1.5.3 Integrating Landscape Modeling with Long-Term
Ecological Research
Long-term ecological research (LTER) is designed to monitor ecological factors
and analyze their interactions and dynamics. LTER can reduce the uncertainties
caused by disturbances, thus playing a significant role in dynamic research on
ecological processes. One of the key objectives of landscape modelling is to
quantify the relationship between landscape patterns and ecological processes. As
models are derived from the real-world, validation techniques and sensitivity-
testing play decisive roles in perfecting the ecological models. The functional
relationship between landscape variables and parametric values of models needs to
be determined by in situ measurement that necessitates the use of LTER data.
1.5.4 Strengthening Research on the Effects of Ecological
Processes on Landscape Patterns
So far, research on the influences of landscape pattern on ecological processes is
relatively mature. However, research on the effects of ecological processes on
landscape patterns has not aroused sufficient attention. The reasons lie in the
multiple complex driving factors underlying landscape pattern dynamics, and the
inherent traits of chronicity and subtlety of landscape pattern variations. The
limited studies in this regard are confined to the response of vegetation spatial
patterns to climate change, fire, grazing and crop growth, propagule dissemination,
and species competition. The key problems that are urgently need to be solved in
the near future are: land use/land cover change caused by redistribution of surface
water and soil water due to runoff, effects of erosion on soil spatial patterns and
vegetation configurations, and the effect of nutrient cycling on the spatial patterns
of organism growth. Such ecological processes are subtle and long-lasting, and call
for long-term and unremitting study.
Acknowledgments This research was supported by the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership
Program for Creative Research Teams of ''Ecosystem Processes and Services'', National Basic
Research (973) Program (No. 2009CB421104), and National Natural Science Foundation of
China (40930528).
References
Aaviksoo K. Simulating vegetation dynamics and land use in a mire landscape using a Markov
model. Landscape Urban Plann. 1995;31(1/3):129-42.
Alcamo J, Leemans R, Kreileman E. Global change scenarios of the 21st century: Results from
the IMAGE 2.1 model. London: Pergamon & Elsevier Science; 1998. p. 296.