Few, if any, environments are free of human intervention. Often this generates ecosystems which are rich in biodiversity, historical interest, recreational opportunity and scenic beauty just as worthy of conservation as the more natural ecosystems on which protection programmes have been almost exclusively focussed.
These 'cultural landscapes', ranging from the farm and forest lands of Europe and Eastern North America, through to the pasture lands and savannas of the Middle East and Africa to the paddylands of the Pacific Rim, are usually the product of relatively low-level, sustainable exploitation of the environment over long periods of time. Many have survived for centuries, if not millennia, but now urban expansion, depopulation of rural areas and, most damagingly, the intensification of agricultural and sylvicultural practices, are everywhere leading to a loss of their cherished biodiversity and amenity. Whilst past changes have mostly added to the valued characteristics of these landscapes, modern farming and forestry are creating sterile monocultures on the better land whilst marginal lands are being abandoned.
This book documents these changes, illustrates them through detailed case studies of a representative selection of threatened landscapes, analyses their underlying causes and explores ways by which they can continue to be maintained, or new landscapes created which maintain their desired characteristics.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203220897

The countryside and it's amenities of wildlife, landscape beauty and recreational opportunity was created by traditional agricultural practices. Modern farming techniques no longer supply these amenities as an automatic, incedental by-product of food production. If they are to continue to be enjoyed, then specific provision must be made for them. Agricultural policy in Europe is now beginning to do this by redirecting substantial agricultural support to the promotion of enviromentally-friendly farming practices. A wide variety of initiatives in forestry, conservation, hydrology and other sectors are also developing to promote the growing discipline of Countryside management to implement coservation objectives in the countryside. These objectives are themselves now being reassessed as principles from the new discipline of landscape ecology are incorporated into landscape planning and management, and the opportunities for redesigning the countryside offered by overcapacity in agriculture are beginning to be recognised and exploited.; A significant shift is taking place fron the implementation of conservation objectives through planning mechanisms focuses largely on designated protecte

Few, if any, environments are free of human intervention. Often this generates ecosystems which are rich in biodiversity, historical interest, recreational opportunity and scenic beauty just as worthy of conservation as the more natural ecosystems on which protection programmes have been almost exclusively focussed.These 'cultural landscapes', ranging from the farm and forest lands of Europe and Eastern North America, through to the pasture lands and savannas of the Middle East and Africa to the paddylands of the Pacific Rim, are usually the product of relatively low-level, sustainable exploitation of the environment over long periods of time. Many have survived for centuries, if not millennia, but now urban expansion, depopulation of rural areas and, most damagingly, the intensification of agricultural and sylvicultural practices, are everywhere leading to a loss of their cherished biodiversity and amenity. Whilst past changes have mostly added to the valued characteristics of these landscapes, modern farming and forestry are creating sterile monocultures on the better land whilst marginal lands are being abandoned.This book documents these changes, illustrates them through detailed case studies of a representative selection of threatened landscapes, analyses their underlying causes and explores ways by which they can continue to be maintained, or new landscapes created which maintain their desired characteristics.

This third edition of the standard text Countryside Conservation charts and evaluates those changes which represent a fundamental revolution in the ways in which the countryside is planned and managed. It sets out the principles, policies and practice which underlie the ecology, planning and management of the new countryside, discussing ways in which countryside conservation objectives are evolving and how they can best be achieved.