The study of ecosystems, fundamental to ecology, has been complemented by the growing field of landscape ecology. Ecosystem Function in Heterogeneous Landscapes addresses how interactions among ecosystems affect the functioning of individual ecosystems and the larger landscape. This groundbreaking synthesis unites ecosystem ecology's knowledge of system function with landscape ecology's knowledge of spatial structure.

Practical concerns about scaling up from individual ecosystems to larger landscapes require an understanding of how networks of interacting ecosystems function together. The book elucidates the challenges faced by ecosystem scientists working in spatially heterogeneous systems, relevant conceptual approaches used in other disciplines and in different ecosystem types, and the importance of spatial heterogeneity in conservation resource management. The distinguished authors discuss how how much heterogeneity needs to be taken into account for specific types of scientific and management issues. Their chapters cover the spectrum from proposing novel conceptual approaches to detailing the practical implications of heterogeneous landscapes for fire management, water management and conservation planning.

This title meets a great demand for training in spatial analysis tools accessible to a wide audience. Landscape ecology continues to grow as an exciting discipline with much to offer for solving pressing and emerging problems in environmental science. Much of the strength of landscape ecology lies in its ability to address challenges over large areas, over spatial and temporal scales at which decision-making often occurs. As the world tackles issues related to sustainability and global change, the need for this broad perspective has only increased. Furthermore, spatial data and spatial analysis (core methods in landscape ecology) are critical for analyzing land-cover changes world-wide. While spatial dynamics have long been fundamental to terrestrial conservation strategies, land management and reserve design, mapping and spatial themes are increasingly recognized as important for ecosystem management in aquatic, coastal and marine systems. This second edition is purposefully more applied and international in its examples, approaches, perspectives and contributors. It includes new advances in quantifying landscape structure and connectivity (such as graph theory), as well as labs that incorporate the latest scientific understanding of ecosystem services, resilience, social-ecological landscapes, and even seascapes. Of course, as before, the exercises emphasize easy-to-use, widely available software. http://sarahgergel.net/lel/learning-landscape-ecology/

This work provides in-depth analysis of the origins of landscape ecology and its close alignment with the understanding of scale, the causes of landscape pattern, and the interactions of spatial pattern with a variety of ecological processes. The text covers the quantitative approaches that are applied widely in landscape studies, with emphasis on their appropriate use and interpretation. The field of landscape ecology has grown rapidly during this period, its concepts and methods have matured, and the published literature has increased exponentially. Landscape research has enhanced understanding of the causes and consequences of spatial heterogeneity and how these vary with scale, and they have influenced the management of natural and human-dominated landscapes. Landscape ecology is now considered mainstream, and the approaches are widely used in many branches of ecology and are applied not only in terrestrial settings but also in aquatic and marine systems. In response to these rapid developments, an updated edition of Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice provides a synthetic overview of landscape ecology, including its development, the methods and techniques that are employed, the major questions addressed, and the insights that have been gained."

Landscape pattern is generated by a variety of processes, including disturbances. In turn, the heterogeneity of the landscape may enhance or retard the spread of disturbance. The complex relationship between landscape pattern and disturbance is the subject of this book. It is designed to present an illustrative analysis of the topic, presenting the perspectives of several different disciplines. The book includes conceptual considerations, empirical studies, and management examples. Important features include: hypotheses about the spread of disturbance and the effects of scale changes in landscape studies; the multidisciplinary approach; and the explicit focus on the landscape level. The intended audience comprises graduate students, academics, and professionals interested in landscape ecology. The reader will receive a state-of-the-art treatment of a current topic in landscape ecology.

Landscape ecology as a modern interdisciplinary science is making use increasingly of quantitative research techniques adopted from other fields. So far, no synthetic reference has been available to those wishing to acquaint themselves with new approaches to quantitative analysis of spatial heterogeneity at the landcape level. This book seeks to meet this need by providing a conceptual framework and illustrating potential applications for methods such as pattern analysis, spatial statistics, fractals, spatial modeling, broad-scale studies, and extrapolation across scales. Each technique is discussed in sufficient detail to be adaptable to a variety of research problems. Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology is an important resource for researchers and students of landscape and ecosystem ecology in understanding and analyzing the dynamics of complex spatial systems.

This groundbreaking work connects the knowledge of system function developed in ecosystem ecology with landscape ecology's knowledge of spatial structure. The book elucidates the challenges faced by ecosystem scientists working in spatially heterogeneous systems, relevant conceptual approaches used in other disciplines and in different ecosystem types, and the importance of spatial heterogeneity in conservation resource management.

The papers included in this readings text were selected and are introduced by the authors of Ecology as examples of excellent and insightful research that greatly contributes to our grasp and exploration of ecological questions. These studies span the range of ecological perspectives and are significant reading for every student in the life sciences.