US-IALE 2004

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PARENT SESSION
Keynote Speaker - Landscape Ecology: An Evolving Science
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 9:00 AM - 9:40 PM Parthenon 4

The discipline of landscape ecology (LE) originated in the static landscapes of Europe. LE quickly took on a more dynamic landscape perspective when introduced to North America in the late 1970s, related to changing land uses, disturbances, and succession. LE continues to evolve rapidly, facilitated by new analytic tools (e.g., GIS and LIDAR imaging) and expanding scientific knowledge. Applications of LE in development of natural resource policies and plans have been a powerful influence, often identifying important scientific issues in LE. Current challenges in LE include expansion of its conceptual foundations and empirical bases. Landscapes as patch works has been the dominant conceptual model (patch-matrix-corridor) but this needs to be expanded to views of landscapes as networks and gradients. Riverscapes provide an excellent illustration of how all 3 concepts can be usefully integrated in addressing large spatial-scale ecological phenomena. Similarly, conservation planning needs to adopt a view of landscapes as gradients of habitat suitability or ecosystem function, moving away from the simple black-and-white dichotomy of patches as either "habitat" or "nonhabitat". In this way, management of portions of the landscape identified as ecological reserves and as unreserved (the "matrix") can be effectively integrated.