Land Mosaics : The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions

by Richard T. T. Forman , Foreword by Edward O. Wilson

• ISBN13: 9780521479806
• ISBN10: 0521479800
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-11-24
• Publisher: Ingram Pub Services

Summary

Animals, water, wind, and people flow at different rates according to spatial patterns common to almost all landscapes and regions. This up-to-date synthesis explores the ecology of heterogeneous land areas, where natural processes and human activities interact to produce an ever changing mosaic. The subject has great relevance to contemporary society and this book reflects the breadth of this importance: there are many ideas and applications for planning, conservation, design, management, sustainability and policy. Spatial solutions are provided for society's land-use objectives. Students and professionals alike will be drawn by the attractive and informative illustrations, the conceptual synthesis, the wide international perspective, and the range of topics and research covered.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xiii
Preface	xv
Acknowledgements	xx
PART I. LANDSCAPES AND REGIONS
Foundations
Mosaics and the patch-corridor-matrix model	3	(4)
Spatial scale	7	(7)
Natural process and human activity	14	(5)
Ecology of landscapes	19	(3)
Ecology of regions	22	(6)
Historical development of the field	28	(1)
Research methods	29	(7)
Conservation, planning, and other fields	36	(2)
Appendix: Glossary of common terms	38	(6)
PART II. PATCHES
Patch size and number
Patch dynamics: origin and persistence	44	(1)
Size effect on ecosystems	45	(9)
Size effect on biodiversity	54	(12)
Genetics in a patch	66	(2)
Minimum viable populations	68	(4)
Number of large patches	72	(3)
Appendix A. Ecosystem/community structure and function	75	(3)
Appendix B. Population ecology	78	(2)
Appendix C. Equations for species richness	80	(2)
Boundaries and edges
Types and abruptness	82	(5)
Edge development and controls	87	(8)
Functions of boundaries	95	(6)
Interactions between adjacent ecosystems	101	(3)
Width and curvilinearity	104	(5)
Moving boundaries	109	(5)
Patch shape
Common and uncommon shapes	114	(6)
Causes	120	(4)
Shape attributes and ecological flows	124	(9)
How to measure shape	133	(5)
Moving patches	138	(3)
Appendix: Equations for measuring patch shape	141	(5)
PART III. CORRIDORS
Corridor attributes, roads, and powerlines
Internal and external structure	146	(1)
Five corridor functions	147	(6)
Width and connectivity	153	(4)
Changing corridors	157	(1)
Linear boundaries, corridors, and troughs	158	(1)
Road corridors	159	(13)
Trails and powerlines	172	(4)
Appendix: Experience with wildlife underpasses and tunnels	176	(2)
Windbreaks, hedgerows, and woodland corridors
Structural richness	178	(2)
Windbreaks and wind	180	(7)
Effects on microclimate, soil, snow, and plants	187	(8)
Hedgerows as habitats	195	(3)
Woodland corridors as wildlife conduits	198	(9)
Appendix: Equations for wind and erosion	207	(2)
Stream and river corridors
Corridor types	209	(7)
Key processes	216	(12)
Water quality and dissolved substances	228	(4)
Fish and aquatic habitats	232	(4)
Terrestrial animals and plants	236	(7)
Corridor width and connectivity	243	(9)
Appendix: Equations for water and erosion	252	(2)
Networks and the matrix
Network development and structure	254	(8)
Dendritic networks	262	(3)
Rectilinear networks and wavy nets	265	(4)
Functional roles of networks	269	(3)
Networks in action	272	(5)
Matrix structure	277	(2)
Matrix dynamics	279	(3)
Appendix: Network equations	282	(4)
PART IV. MOSAICS AND FLOWS
Mosaic patterns
Ecosystems in a cluster	286	(8)
Configuration usage and change	294	(6)
Mosaics reflecting geology and culture	300	(2)
The third dimension	302	(4)
Types of landscape and region	306	(4)
Habitat arrangements and strategic points	310	(7)
Measuring mosaics	317	(2)
Appendix: Equations for measuring a mosaic	319	(4)
Wind and water flows in mosaics
A global framework	323	(4)
Energy interconnecting mosaic elements	327	(10)
Materials and the giant conveyor belt	337	(8)
Flows in rough terrain	345	(6)
Disturbances in mosaics	351	(8)
Spatial pattern and disturbance spread	359	(6)
Species movement in mosaics
Movement, mosaic, and model characteristics	365	(7)
Metapopulation dynamics	372	(11)
Gene flow	383	(3)
Movement among non-adjacent elements	386	(7)
Exotics and invaders	393	(5)
Livestock	398	(8)
PART V. CHANGING MOSAICS
Land transformation and fragmentation
Spatial processes in land transformation	406	(6)
Habitat fragmentation	412	(3)
Land change patterns	415	(8)
Modeling mosaic sequences	423	(3)
Toward an ecologically optimum land transformation	426	(6)
Reforestation and other patterns	432	(4)
Land planning and management
Aggregate-with-outliers principle	436	(4)
Planning	440	(9)
Principles in a generic plan	449	(7)
Forest, dry area, and agriculture	456	(3)
Planning a suburb	459	(10)
Ecological design of house lots	469	(5)
Management	474	(7)
Creating sustainable environments
Concepts of sustainability	481	(5)
Time and space	486	(6)
Human dimensions	492	(5)
Assays	497	(5)
Adaptability and stability	502	(4)
Learning from history	506	(6)
Regional ecology revisited	512	(2)
Making a landscape or region sustainable	514	(11)
References and author index	525	(80)
Index	605