|
|
Article: Landscape Ecology
- Article from:
- Biology
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Landscape Ecology
Landscape ecology is the study of the causes and ecological consequences of spatial pattern in landscapes. While there is no specific spatial extent that defines a landscape, most landscape ecologists are interested in large areas ranging from a few square kilometers to entire continents. Within landscapes it is usually possible to define a series of different
ecosystem
types occurring as patches within the greater landscape. For example, in an agricultural landscape the patches might be different fields, woodlots, hedgerows, buildings, and ponds. The goal of a landscape ecologist is to understand and describe landscape structure; how this structure influences the ...