Landscape Ecology: A Synthesis

A comprehensive understanding of landscapes and how they function is essential for addressing many environmental issues and developing effective management techniques. Landscape ecology is an interdisciplinary science that incorporates elements of ecology, geography and social science to investigate how interactions between landscape form and process determine how landscapes function. It is an expanding global discipline that has so far remained somewhat fragmented due to both its interdisciplinary nature and geographical contrasts in approach to landscape research and management. This textbook aims to address this by providing a comprehensive overview of landscape ecology for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as professional researchers. The text incorporates approaches to landscape ecology from around the world, covering key concepts, techniques and applications, supported by wide-ranging and critically analysed case studies. Each chapter considers a key concept or application of landscape ecology and critically evaluates its historical development, ecological and social significance, methods of quantification and modelling, and its practical use for landscape management. The book's content explicitly links biological and ecological principles at varying scales to landscape planning and management applications, thereby proving of use and interest to biologists, ecologists, geographers, landscape planners and land managers. The text also considers the key information that landscape planners and managers need to implement landscape-sensitive management, and helps to highlight notable gaps in the knowledge base alongside differences in perception and perspectives between disciplines. To encourage student engagement with the text, chapters are enhanced with student-centred exercises and discussion topics to encourage further exploration of the subjects covered. With a range of detailed chapters comprehensively covering landscape structure, characteristics, processes and management, the book will provide a uniquely broad synthesis of the discipline as it is most relevant to students and professionals interested in its application to established and emerging environmental issues of global concern.