Spatial theory in early conservation design: examples from Aldo Leopold’s work

Abstract

Aldo Leo­pold is well known in North America as a conservationist, author, and promoter of the Land Ethic. Although Leo­pold’s work is rarely included in the realm of landscape ecology, he left several illustrations of an early spatial theory for conservation. While European geographer Troll published the term ‘landscape ecology’ in 1939, Leo­pold was discovering the role of spatial configuration in European working landscapes, and began to apply the landscape ecology concepts to wildlife management and cooperative conservation in the US. With his own spatial language he wrote, mapped, and applied elements of pattern, process, and connectedness in the landscape. In this perspective piece I use three examples from Leo­pold’s work to demonstrate his contribution to spatial theory in early conservation design. First, this paper deciphers spatial elements conveyed through Leo­pold’s writing, drawing, and teaching in the early 1930s. Second, I re-interpret Leo­pold’s observations of the spatial design of remises from his visit to Silesia, Europe. Third, I show how the lessons from Silesia were applied to a landscape in Wisconsin, USA, involving both farmers and townspeople in cooperative implementation of a remise system. Collectively, a new perspective emerges on the early dialogue of landscape ecology and conservation across continents.