Landscape Boundaries: Consequences for Biotic Diversity and Ecological Flows

ISBN-13: 9781461276777 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 452 str.

Andrew J. Hansen; Francesco Dicastri

Opis

The emergence of landscape ecology during the 1980s represents an impor- tant maturation of ecological theory. Once enamored with the conceptual beauty of well-balanced, homogeneous ecosystems, ecologists now assert that much of the essence of ecological systems lies in their lumpiness. Patches with differing properties and behaviors lie strewn across the land- scape, products of the complex interactions of climate, disturbance, and biotic processes. It is the collective behavior of this patchwork of eco- systems that drives pattern and process of the landscape. is not an end point This realization of the importance of patch dynamics in itself, however. Rather, it is a passage to a new conceptual framework, the internal workings of which remain obscure. The next tier of questions includes: What are the fundamental pieces that compose a landscape? How are these pieces bounded? To what extent do these boundaries influence communication and interaction among patches of the landscape? Will con- sideration of the interactions among landscape elements help us to under- stand the workings of landscapes? At the core of these questions lies the notion of the ecotone, a term with a lineage that even predates ecosystem. Late in the nineteenth century, F. E. Clements realized that the transition zones between plant communi- ties had properties distinct from either of the adjacent communities. Not until the emergence of patch dynamics theory, however, has central signif- icance of the ecotone concept become apparent.

Spis treści

I General Patterns and Properties of Ecotones.- 1. The Environment and Development Crises as Determinants of Landscape Dynamics.- 2. Ecotone Dynamics in Space and Time.- 3. Ecological Functions in a Biome Transition Zone: Translating Local Responses to Broad-Scale Dynamics.- 4. Human Impact on Landscape Patterning: Mediterranean Examples.- 5. Quantitative Methods for Studying Landscape Boundaries.- II Biodiversity and Ecotones.- 6. Regional and Local Vegetation Patterns: The Responses of Vegetation Diversity to Subcontinental Air Masses.- 7. Local Extinctions, Habitat Fragmentation, and Ecotones.- 8. Avian Community Dynamics: The Interplay of Landscape Trajectories and Species Life Histories.- 9. Distribution and Dynamics of Soil Organisms Across Ecotones.- III Ecological Flows and Ecotones.- 10. Ecological Flows Across Landscape Boundaries: A Conceptual Overview.- 11. Theoretical Foundations for Understanding Boundaries in Landscape Mosaics.- 12. A Percolation Model of Ecological Flows.- 13. Energy and Material Flows Across Boundaries in Agricultural Landscapes.- 14. Changes in Plant Ecophysiology Across a Central European Hedgerow Ecotone.- 15. Landforms, Disturbance, and Ecotones.- IV Case Studies.- 16. Water Flows and the Dynamics of Desert Vegetation Stripes.- 17. Dynamics of Montane Treelines.- 18. Sharp and Gradual Mountain Timberlines as a Result of Species Interactions.- 19. Use of Simulation Models to Evaluate the Alteration of Ecotones by Global Carbon Dioxide Increases.- 20. Transitional Climate Zones and Biome Boundaries: A Case Study from China.- 21. Coastal Zone Ecotones.- V Synthesis.- 22. Epilogue: Biodiversity and Ecological Flows Across Ecotones.