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...

Peter is a young man with no future other than working his little farm. Then one day his cousin brings him the news that his grandfather is dying. Suddenly everything changes. His grandfather holds the secret that will break the Dark Prince's iron grasp of their valley. That secret is held in ten golden puzzle pieces which, once found and put together, will enable the King to return. With his grandfather dead, Peter is the only one who has a chance of completing the puzzle in time. He begins at once on the quest, but soon realizes that the Dark Prince will do anything in his power to stop...