Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 22.1
A diverse agricultural landscape near Nanjing, China.
Natural ecosystems interface with a variety of human land
use activities in an agricultural setting.
These three landscape components, in various combi-
nations and arrangements, form the mosaic pattern of the
typical agricultural landscape.
agricultural production; and (3) areas of moderate or
reduced human influence are dispersed within an area of
agricultural production. These three patterns, illustrated
in Figure 22.2, can be combined and arranged in many
different ways.
An important variable in the mosaic patterning of the
agricultural landscape is its degree of heterogeneity or
diversity. Landscapes are relatively homogenous when
areas of agricultural production predominate, unbroken by
patches or strips of the other two kinds of landscape com-
ponents. Heterogeneous landscapes, in contrast, have an
abundance of noncrop and natural patches.
L
ANDSCAPE
P
ATTERNS
Within the landscape mosaic, there are three common,
recognizable patterns in how the three components are
arranged in relation to each other: (1) a natural area and an
area managed for agricultural production are separated by
an area of moderate or reduced human influence; (2) natural
areas form strips, corridors, or patches within an area of
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