Principles of Landscape Ecology ENVS*3320 Instructors: Dr. Shelley Hunt (Module 1)

1. Principles of Landscape Ecology ENVS*3320 Instructors: Dr. Shelley Hunt (Module 1) Rm. 2226, Bovey Building shunt@uoguelph.ca x53065 Dr. Rob Corry (Module 2)

2. MODULE 1 UNDERSTANDING THE BIOPHYSICAL LANDSCAPE: BASIC PRINCIPLES AND ECOLOGICAL BASES OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 1. History and basic principles 2. Land(scape) Classification 3. Spatial and temporal dimensions of landscapes 4. Ecological theory and the study of landscapes 5. Pattern and process in landscapes 6. Conserving forest biodiversity: landscape considerations

3. A current landscape-scale issue in forest ecology: -the new forest management paradigm of designing forest harvesting practices to emulate natural disturbances such as forest fire…

4. Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation

5. Landscape patterns: clearcutting…

6. …vs. forest fire

8. 15 m of road per ha harvested 46 m of road per ha harvested

9. What is a landscape?

17. Huffaker’s experiments with oranges and mites in 1950s • Demonstrated that spatial heterogeneity was needed • to sustain populations of mites and their predators • -in a ‘patch’ of only oranges, the predators ‘won’ • -when spatial variability was introduced (rubber balls, • barriers, oranges partially covered in paper), both • prey and predator populations were sustained

19. What is a landscape? “a kilometres-wide area where a cluster of interacting stands or ecosystems is repeated in similar form” - R. Forman, 1981 Later simplified to… “a kilometres-wide mosaic over which local ecosystems recur” - R. Forman, 1995

20. What is a landscape? “a landscape is an area that is spatially heterogeneous in at least one factor of interest” - M. Turner et al., 2001 There are many definitions – common to most is the idea that… “a landscape is a mosaic of different elements (patches) and that the variety of the elements creates heterogeneity within an area” - J.Wiens 2002 (patches can be types of habitat, vegetation types, land uses…)

25. Landscape = mosaic of patches or ecosystems (e.g. conifer forest, mixed forest, wetland, lake)

26. Region = mosaic of landscapes (agricultural, suburban, natural, etc.)

27. Landscape components structural heterogeneity patch sizes connectivity (physical configuration of patches) functional boundary flows disturbance spread (movement of organisms, materials, disturbances through the landscape) compositional vegetation types habitats land-use types (the kinds of patches making up the landscape)

28. Characterizing landscape structure Patch measures: Size Shape Perimeter Perimeter:area ratio Corridor width, length, etc. Mosaic measures: Patch number Patch diversity Connectivity Patch dispersion etc.

29. What is landscape ecology?

36. What is landscape ecology? “the study of spatial variation in landscapes at a variety of scales. It includes the biophysical and societal causes and consequences of landscape heterogeneity. Above all, it is broadly interdisciplinary”. -IALE “landscape ecology emphasizes the interaction between spatial pattern and ecological processes, that is, the causes and consequences of spatial heterogeneity across a range of scales” -M. Turner et al. 2001

37. What is landscape ecology? “the goals of landscape ecology are to describe, understand the causes of, and interpret the ecological implications that arise from landscape pattern” -J.P. Kimmins

38. What is landscape ecology? Core themes (from IALE): “-the spatial pattern or structure of landscapes, ranging from wilderness to cities, -the relationship between pattern and process in landscapes, -the relationship of human activity to landscape pattern, process and change, -the effect of scale and disturbance on the landscape”

40. What is ecology? • Ecology oikos (house) + logos (the study of) • -developed as a branch of biological science • Growing realization that plants, animals and their environment were interrelated • - much of the early knowledge was developed from practical needs, such as in agriculture • 2. Recognition that humans, like any other organism, are not immune from resource limitation (Malthus) influenced Darwin…

41. What is ecology? …led to more interest in understanding the mechanisms behind observed patterns/phenomena in nature So… From: natural history (collection, description, classification) To: ecology The study of the interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms (Krebs) The study of the structure and function of nature (Odum)

42. Ecology: -a relatively new science -still developing as an experimental science (vs. purely descriptive) -different branches include autecology, population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, landscape ecology

43. What is ecology? -the study of the interrelationships between organisms and their biotic and abiotic environment -concerned with levels of biological organization from the organism upwards

44. Landscape ecology differs from other branches of ecology by… -”explicitly addressing the importance of spatial configuration And… -often focusing on spatial extents much larger than those traditionally studied in ecology” -M. Turner et al. 2001

45. History and development of landscape ecology European school (human and cultural dimensions) North American school (biophysical dimension) Unified discipline of landscape ecology?