Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- PART I Introductory perspectives
- PART II Theory, experiments, and models in landscape ecology
- 3 Theory in landscape ecology
- 4 Hierarchy theory and the landscape … level? or, Words do matter
- 5 Equilibrium versus non-equilibrium landscapes
- 6 Disturbances and landscapes: the little things count
- 7 Scale and an organism-centric focus for studying interspecific interactions in landscapes
- 8 The role of experiments in landscape ecology
- 9 Spatial modeling in landscape ecology
- 10 The promise of landscape modeling: successes, failures, and evolution
- PART III Landscape patterns
- PART IV Landscape dynamics on multiple scales
- PART V Applications of landscape ecology
- PART VI Cultural perspectives and landscape planning
- PART VII Retrospect and prospect
- Index
- Plate section
- References
3 - Theory in landscape ecology
from PART II - Theory, experiments, and models in landscape ecology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- PART I Introductory perspectives
- PART II Theory, experiments, and models in landscape ecology
- 3 Theory in landscape ecology
- 4 Hierarchy theory and the landscape … level? or, Words do matter
- 5 Equilibrium versus non-equilibrium landscapes
- 6 Disturbances and landscapes: the little things count
- 7 Scale and an organism-centric focus for studying interspecific interactions in landscapes
- 8 The role of experiments in landscape ecology
- 9 Spatial modeling in landscape ecology
- 10 The promise of landscape modeling: successes, failures, and evolution
- PART III Landscape patterns
- PART IV Landscape dynamics on multiple scales
- PART V Applications of landscape ecology
- PART VI Cultural perspectives and landscape planning
- PART VII Retrospect and prospect
- Index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
Over the past decade, landscape ecology has seen a period of remarkable progress. Remote imagery has provided new access to spatial data. Geographic information systems (GIS) have facilitated the handling, analysis, and display of spatial data. New theory has provided the means to quantify pattern (O'Neill et al., 1988a), test hypotheses against random expectations (Gardner et al., 1987), and come to grips with complexity (Milne, 1991) and scale (Turner et al., 1993). The stage seems set for breakthroughs in the new millennium. Nowhere in the field of ecology is there greater promise, nowhere are there more exciting challenges.
This paper has a simple outline. The following sections review four areas of theory that have been applied to spatial effects in ecology. Each theory is then examined to identify the key advances that will be needed to apply the theory to our understanding of landscape dynamics. The intent is to propose an explicit list of major challenges for landscape theory.
Hierarchy theory and landscape scale
The concept of spatial hierarchy has already proven its value. Hierarchy theory (Allen and Starr, 1982; O'Neill et al., 1986) states that ecosystem processes are organized into discrete scales of interaction. The scaled temporal dynamics, in turn, impose discrete spatial scales on the landscape. O'Neill et al. (1991) examined vegetation transects from four ecosystems and established that multiple scales of pattern actually existed in the field.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Issues and Perspectives in Landscape Ecology , pp. 23 - 28Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005
References
and (1982). Hierarchy: Perspectives for Ecological Complexity. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
, , , and (1990). Spread of invading organisms. Landscape Ecology, 4, 177–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1974). Fish species diversity in lakes. American Naturalist, 108, 473–478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1961). Central Place Studies: a Bibliography. Philadelphia, PA: Regional Studies Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
, , , and (1993). Causes and effects of land use change in central Rondonia, Brazil. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 59, 997–1005.Google Scholar
and (1994). Stochastic spatial models: a user's guide to ecological applications. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 343, 329–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1929). Alfred Weber's Theory of the Location of Industries. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
, , , and (1987). Neutral models for the analysis of broad-scale landscape pattern. Landscape Ecology, 1, 19–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , and (1989). Quantifying scale dependent effects with simple percolation models. Landscape Ecology, 3, 217–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, R. H. and O'Neill, R. V. (1991). Pattern, process and predictability: the use of neutral models for landscape analysis. In Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology, ed. and . New York, NY: Springer, pp. 289–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1983). Coexistence of competitors in patchy environments. Ecology, 64, 493–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (eds.) (1997). Metapopulation Biology: Ecology, Genetics and Evolution. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
and (1990). Location and Change: Perspectives on Economic Geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
(1992). Cross-scale morphology, geometry, and dynamics of ecosystems. Ecological Monographs, 62, 447–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1958). Experimental studies on predation: dispersion factors and predator– prey oscillations. Hilgardia, 27, 343–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1960). Methods of Regional Analysis: an Introduction to Regional Science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
and (1993). Human–environmental influences and interactions in shifting agriculture when farmers form expectations rationally. Environment and Planning A, 25, 121–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1994). Development policies, rural land use, and tropical deforestation. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 24, 753–771.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1995). Development policies, urban unemployment and deforestation: the role of infrastructure and tax policy in a 2-sector model. Journal of Regional Science, 35, 135–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1990). Multiple scales of patchiness and patch structure: a hierarchical framework for the study of heterogeneity. Oikos, 59, 253–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1942). Ecological features of the bird fauna of British small islands. Journal of Animal Ecology, 11, 9–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , and (1994). Spatiotemporal dispersal strategies and annual plant-species coexistence in a structured landscape. Oikos, 71, 75–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1976). Population dynamic models in heterogeneous environments. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 7, 287–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1970). Extinctions. In Some Mathematical Questions in Biology: Lectures on Mathematics in the Life Sciences. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society, pp. 77–107.Google Scholar
and (1963). An equilibrium theory of insular zoogeography. Evolution, 17, 373–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, B. T. (1991). Lessons from applying fractal models to landscape patterns. In Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology, ed. and . New York, NY: Springer, pp. 199–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , and (1986). A Hierarchical Concept of Ecosystems. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
, , , et al. (1988a). Indices of landscape pattern. Landscape Ecology, 1, 153–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , and (1988b). Resource utilization scales and landscape pattern. Landscape Ecology 2, 63–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , et al. (1991). Multiple landscape scales: an intersite comparison. Landscape Ecology, 5, 137–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , and (1992a). Epidemiology theory and disturbance spread on landscapes. Landscape Ecology, 7, 19–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (1992b). A hierarchical neutral model for landscape analysis. Landscape Ecology, 7, 55–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (1993). Lacunarity indices as measures of landscape texture. Landscape Ecology, 8, 201–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (1991). Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Conservation Biology, 5, 18–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (1991). Contrasting patterns of land use in Rondonia, Brazil: simulating the effects on carbon release. International Social Science Journal, 43, 681–698.Google Scholar
, , , and (1989). Predicting the spread of disturbances across heterogeneous landscapes. Oikos, 55, 121–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , and (1993). A revised concept of landscape equilibrium: disturbance and stability on scaled landscapes. Landscape Ecology, 8, 213–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, S. J., O'Neill, R. V., Conley, W., Conley, M. R., and Humphries, H. C. (1991). Pattern and scale: statistics for landscape ecology. In Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology, ed. and . New York, NY: Springer, pp. 17–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , and (1995). Scale of heterogeneity of forage production and winter foraging by elk and bison. Landscape Ecology, 10, 75–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1947). Pattern and process in the plant community. Journal of Ecology, 35, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 3
- Cited by