Abstract
As we reflect on the advances, topics, and wide range of studies included in this second edition of Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice, it is gratifying to see how landscape ecology has matured. Motivated by broad-scale environmental challenges and facilitated by rapid developments in computing power and technology, landscape ecology has emerged as a synthetic discipline that has generated new concepts, theory, and methods that reveal the importance of spatial pattern in ecological systems. Landscape ecology is now a well-recognized subdiscipline in ecology as well as an interdisciplinary area of research and application that embraces social–ecological systems and extends well beyond ecology. The many landscape studies published in a diverse array of journals also speak to the importance and impact of landscape ecology. In this book, we have emphasized current ecological understanding of the causes of spatial pattern, reciprocal interactions between spatial patterns and ecological processes, and how these patterns and processes change through time. In this final chapter, we summarize some general lessons from landscape ecology and suggest several promising directions for future research.
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Further Reading
Further Reading
-
Baron N (2010) Escape from the ivory tower: a guide to making your science matter. Island Press, Washington, DC
-
Chapin FS III, Kofinas GP, Folke C (2009) Principles of ecosystem stewardship: resilience-based natural resource management in a changing world. Springer, New York
-
Cheruvelil KS, Soranno PA, Weathers KC, Hanson PC, Goring SJ, Filstrup CT, Read EK (2014) Creating and maintaining high-performing collaborative research teams: the importance of diversity and interpersonal skills. Front Ecol Environ 12:31–38
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Groffman PM, Baron JS, Blett T, Gold AJ, Goodman I, Gunderson LH, Levinson BM, Palmer MA, Paerl HW, Peterson GD, Poff NL, Rejeski DW, Reynolds JF, Turner MG, Weathers KC, Wiens JA (2006) Ecological thresholds: the key to successful environmental management or an important concept with no practical application? Ecosystems 9:1–13
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Turner MG, Donato DC, Romme WH (2013) Consequences of spatial heterogeneity for ecosystem services in changing forest landscapes: priorities for future research. Landsc Ecol 28:1081–1097
-
Wu JG (2013) Key concepts and research topics in landscape ecology revisited: 30 years after the Allerton Park workshop. Landsc Ecol 28:1–11
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Turner, M.G., Gardner, R.H. (2015). Conclusions and Future Directions. In: Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2794-4_10
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