Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice: Pattern and Process - Hardcover

Turner, Monica G.; Gardner, Robert H.; O'Neill, Robert V.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0387951229 ISBN 13: 9780387951225

Publisher: Springer, 2001

Synopsis

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 The emergence of landscape ecology as a discipline has catalyzed a shift in paradigms among ecologists, . . . resource managers and land-use planners. Having now seen the faces of spatial pattern and scale . . . we can never go back to the old ways of viewing things. Wiens, 1999 his book presents the perspective of three ecologists on the concepts and Tapplications of landscape ecology, a discipline that has shown expansive growth during the past two decades. Although landscape ecology is a multidis- plinary subject involving components as diverse as economics and sociology, the earth sciences and geography, remote sensing and computer applications, we - cus here on what ecologists need to know about landscapes. Landscape ecology served as the integrating theme of our collaborative research for nearly 15 years, including a 7-year period during which we worked together at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We became acquainted in January 1986 at the first annual United States Landscape Ecology symposium held at the Univ- sity of Georgia and organized by Monica Turner and Frank Golley. Landscape ecology was, at that time, a new subject in the United States. The first U. S.

About this title

Review

From the reviews:

"Having a thorough textbook that explains the principles and techniques of landscape ecology is an important resource. ... This book takes a North American approach at an introductory level, filling a void in the landscape ecology literature. ... The discussion questions and recommended readings at the end of each chapter guide teaching and learning. ... The text is a real boon to professors and students. ... The book is a thorough treatment of the current activities of landscape ecology, and I recommend it highly." (Nancy E. McIntyre, Ecology, 83 (1), 2002)

"An ecologist’s viewpoint on the theories and uses of a burgeoning multidisciplinary subject is proffered. ... It is an informative, comprehensive, up-to-date and generally well-written account which will be of considerable use to its target readership of advanced undergraduate, postgraduate and professional ecologists." (Robert Jones, Geography, October, 2002)

"All chapters end with a series of stimulating questions for discussion and some well-selected recommendations for further reading. ... This is not an introductory text; it assumes, for example, a background knowledge of GIS, fractal geometry, and modelling principles. It will therefore prove useful for advanced undergraduate or postgraduate courses in this discipline." (Bulletin of the British Ecological Society, Vol. 33 (1), 2002)

Synopsis

This is a new text aimed expressly at the student taking a course in landscape ecology, written by very well-known practitioners and pioneers in this new field of ecological analysis. Landscape ecology has emerged during the past two decades as a new and exciting level of ecological study. Environmental problems such as global climate change, land use change, habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity have required ecologists to expand their traditional spatial and temporal scales and the widespread availability of remote imagery, geographic information systems, and desk top computing has permitted the development of spatially explicit analyses. In this new textbook, this new field of landscape ecology is given the first fully integrated treatment suitable for the student. Throughout, the theoretical developments, modeling approaches and results, and empirical data are merged together, so as not to introduce barriers to the synthesis of the various approaches that constitute an effective ecological synthesis.

The book also emphasizes selected topic areas in which landscape ecology has made the most contributions to our understanding of ecological processes, as well as identifying areas where its contributions have been limited. Each chapter features questions for discussion as well as recommended reading.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0387951229
• ISBN 13: 9780387951225
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 420