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SCHEDULEMonday, March 29, 2004 Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 7:00 AM - 6:30 PM Apollo Foyer
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.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Apollo Room 7 The Gap Analysis Program (GAP) is a national interagency program that maps the distribution of plant communities and selected animal species and compares these distributions with land stewardship to identify biotic elements at potential risk of endangerment. GAP uses Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to assemble and view large amounts of biological and land management data to identify areas (gaps) where conservation efforts may not be sufficient to maintain diversity of living natural resources. Historically, GAP has been conducted by individual states; however this has resulted in inconsistencies in mapped distributions of vegetation types and animal habitat across state lines because of differences in mapping and modeling protocols. This was further compounded from the lack of a national vegetation classification nomenclature. In response to these limitations, GAP embarked on a second-generation effort to conduct the program at a regional scale, using a vegetation classification scheme applicable across the US, and ecoregional units as the basis for segmenting the landscape into manageable units. The program’s first formalized multi-state regional effort includes the five states (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) comprising the Southwest Regional GAP Analysis Project (SW ReGAP).
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Apollo Room 5
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Apollo Room 1
During this forum we will review the US-IALE Strategic Planning Committee's assessment of our progress in meeting the goals of the 1998 strategic plan. The Executive Committee invites US-IALE members to contribute to the assessment process at this forum. We will also review our ideas on developing a new strategic plan called US-IALE 2010 that will help focus our priorities and activities through this decade. Development of a new strategic plan must have the input and participation of the members of the society. This is your chance to help direct the future of US-IALE.
All members are encouraged to attend.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 1:00 PM - 2:40 PMApollo Room 3 This event will provide an opportunity for discussion of the personal and professional issues related to career choices. Panelists from a variety sub-disciplines and agencies (e.g. private, government, and academia) will share their diverse experiences to highlight the broad range of professional opportunities associated with landscape ecology. Attendees will have the opportunity to pose additional questions during the forum.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 1:00 PM - 4:20 PM Zeus Room B
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 1:00 PM - 4:40 PM Apollo Room 1 Landscape ecological modeling and ecological risk assessment are often used to support environmental decision making. While each operates within its own set of methods and tools, decision-making may benefit from the fusion of the two disciplines. This session will bring together researchers involved in landscape ecological analyses and spatially explicit ecological risk assessments. Ecological risk assessment, which has much regulatory utilization and guidance, provides a systematic approach to predict the likelihood of undesired effects arising from environmental stressors. Stressors may include chemical contaminants or other ecological disturbances (land use changes, altered hydrology, invasive species, genetically modified organisms, climate change, etc.). Landscape-level approaches could benefit ecological risk assessment in a number of ways, including: (1) explicit consideration of scale and spatial organization during problem formation, (2) accounting for spatial heterogeneity in exposure characterization, (3) extrapolation from small-scale studies to broad-scale effects, (4) selection of appropriate assessment and measurement endpoints, (5) spatial analysis of uncertainties, and (6) the use of maps or other spatial visualization techniques for risk communication. In turn, ecological risk assessment can benefit landscape ecology because: (1) it has an existing regulatory presence (and is often required), (2) its framework lends itself to addressing environmental questions, and (3) it provides direct application to environmental decision making.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 1:00 PM - 5:20 PM Apollo Room 2 The Great Lakes Region has been a focal area for landscape ecological research during the past decade. Landscape ecologists have studied the patterns of ecological processes, such as carbon flux, decomposition, and natural disturbance regimes; and compositional or structural features, such as the diversity of fauna and flora. The interrelationships among these variables have been examined within focal ecosystems at the landscape level and over the mosaic of multiple ecosystems at a regional level. Both retrospective work and predictive modeling of management impacts have been undertaken on a variety of landscape ecosystems. In our symposium, we anticipate synthesizing the major discoveries of several active research groups to assess how this research (1) enhances understanding of the functioning of managed landscapes; and (2) guides management and policy actions that strive to meet multiple goals for restoration, conservation, recreation, and resource extraction. The symposium will highlight both the limitations and successes of this research to knowledge and management of these intensely modified landscapes. We hope that lessons learned from these groups will also be explored by the general landscape ecology community to promote the development of the science and its applications.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 3:00 PM - 5:20 PM Apollo Room 3
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Parthenon 1
The Annual NASA - MSU Banquet celebrates the recipients of the NASA - MSA Enhancement Awards. By invitation only. [CLICK TO EXPAND] Friday, April 2, 2004 [CLICK TO EXPAND] Saturday, April 3, 2004 [CLICK TO EXPAND] Sunday, April 4, 2004 [CLICK TO EXPAND]
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