Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology

ISBN-13: 9783030966133 / Angielski / Miękka / 2023

Almo Farina

Opis

Principles and methods of landscape ecology are intensively used to model and to manage disturbed landscapes and menaced pristine areas as well. Students and professionals can find a new version of "Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology" firstly published in 1998 by Chapman & Hall (London).

Landscape ecology is an integrative and multi-disciplinary science and "Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology" reconciles the geological, botanical, zoological and human perspectives. In particular new paradigms and theories like percolation, metapopulation, hierarchies, source-sink models have been integrated in this last edition with the recent theories on bio-complexity, information and cognitive sciences.

Methods for studying landscape ecology are covered including spatial geometry models and remote sensing in order to create confidence toward techniques and approaches that require a high experience and long-time dedication.

Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology is a textbook useful to present the landscape in a multi-vision perspective for undergraduate and graduate students of biology, ecology, geography, forestry, agronomy, landscape architecture and planning. Sociology, economics, history, archaeology, anthropology, ecological psychology are some sciences that can benefit of the holistic vision offered by this texbook.

A relevant goal of this second edition is to increase confidence in the new generations of students and practitioners for considering the ecological systems as the result of the integration between ecosystemic (non-spatial) and landscape (spatial) patterns and processes.

Spis treści

1 Introduction to landscape ecology
2 Theories and models incorporated in the landscape ecology framework

3 Scaling patterns and processes across landscapes
4 Emerging processes in the landscape

5 Emerging patterns in the landscape

6 Principles of landscape dynamics

7 Principles for landscape conservation, management and design

8 Principles of soundscape ecology

9 Landscape economics and ecosystem services

10 Social dimension of the landscape

11 Sustainable landscapes

12 Climate changes across landscapes

13 Methods

in landscape ecology

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Metrics in landscape ecology

13.3 The fractal geometry approach

13.4 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

13.5 Remote sensing in landscape ecology

13.6 Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

13.7 Spatially Explicit Population Models (SEPM) to describe population patterns in a landscape

O autorze

Almo Farina is honorary professor of ecology at the Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, Urbino University and president of the International Society of ecoacoustics.

His interest is to study the organization of landscapes and how organisms perceive the surrounding complexity. Recently AF has incorporated the principles of biosemiotic into the ecological domain developing the eco-field hypothesis and elaborated the General Theory of Resources. During the last ten years, he has worked on the fundaments of ecoacoustics. He published more than 290 reports, articles and books on zoology, eco-ethology, bird community ecology, landscape ecology, landscape changes, rural landscape modification, eco-semiotics, code biology, and ecoacoustics.

Blurb

This third, thoroughly updated edition of a well received book, presents the most complete collection of theories, paradigms and methods utilized by the landscape sciences.  With the introduction of  new ecosemiotic concepts and innovative managing procedures, it offers a broad list of ecological, ecosemiotical and cultural tools to investigate, interpret and manage the environmental complexity according to a species-specific individual-based approach.

Readers will discover the importance of a landscape perspective to create strategic bridges between science and humanities favored by the holistic sight of sensorial (visual, acoustic, olfactory, tactile, and thermal) “scapes”.

Distributed in 10 chapters, the content covers many aspects of the landscape sciences ranging from the description of fundamental theories, principles and models originated by ecological approaches like source-sink models, island biogeography, hierarchical theory and scale. The ecosemiotical approaches like the eco-field model, the ecoscape paradigm, and the general theory of resources are widely described and discussed.  A cultural approach to landscape is utilized to focus on the heritage values of territories and their environmental identity.

This book, written in an accessible and didactic style, is particularly dedicated to undergraduate and graduate students  but also scholars in ecology, agroforestry, urban planning, nature design, conservation and remediation.  Land practitioners, farmers and policymakers can use this book as an authoritative guide to better understand the function and role of environmental systems according to a social-economic integrated perspective.