Landscape ecology

The landscape ecology examines ecological relationships in their spatial characteristics, which depending on the underlying concept of a landscape and the examined causal effect structure, which is referred to in some directions than natural balance, as an objectively given spatial- functional wholeness or is seen as a methodological design.

Term / definition

About the definition of " landscape ecology " or what should be called landscape ecology, is controversially debated for many years. Often a distinction between a North American and a continental European tradition: In the North American tradition of landscape ecology is often regarded as the one subdiscipline of ecology (and biology ) is defined, which - without specifying a certain scale - with the interactions between spatial patterns and ecological processes ( pattern and process) is concerned. In the continental European tradition, however, landscape ecology often than that subdiscipline of geography realized that and as part of a synthetic- integrative, holistic approach within a given large-scale detail of the Earth's surface, a landscape, the spatial, temporal and functional interactive structure between the organisms that live there their environment examined, the human is considered part of the landscape.

A more refined analysis shows that seven types of the definition of " landscape ecology " are to be distinguished, which mainly result from the fact that the term " landscape " and " ecology" Different is understood. While the definitions 1, 2 and 6 define landscape ecology as an interdisciplinary science, is, according to the definitions 3, 4, 5 and 7 to that subdiscipline of science ecology, which emphasizes what may be called the topology: organisms and their environment relationships are then examines the relationships between spatio-temporal patterns and ecological processes exist ( pattern and process).

Content

According to the historically first definition that comes from the geographer Carl Troll (1939 ), landscape ecology represents the study of the whole, prevailing in a particular landscape -neck complex causal structure between the communities and their environmental conditions. This manifests itself physically in a specific distribution patterns (landscape mosaic, landscape pattern) and in a natural spatial structure of different sizes. While the Geoecology considered here predominantly abiotic and biotic factors, the biological ecology, the landscape ecology is concerned with the effect of microstructure of both areas in the natural environment.

A second development line of the field comes from the Agriculture, Forestry and was mainly driven by environmental concerns. Problem areas are here as soil erosion, sediment balance, eutrophication and water pollution control. When modeling the processes in the landscape and in the bottom is the " Upscalen " of primary data point on the surface of the most important step. Here and for the soil evaluation are an essential tool today various Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

In the transition region for conservation planning is especially the sustainable use and development of the cultural landscape and habitat and species conservation of endangered animal and plant species. Is Here - for example, in the ECL project " Our Common European Cultural Landscape Heritage " - a pan-European network of research projects for interdisciplinary landscape maintenance in the making, or the development of management plans under Natura 2000.

Originally founded by Geography and Agricultural Sciences Subject thus forms an interface of Earth Sciences, Agricultural Sciences and Life Sciences, and applied disciplines nature conservation and landscape planning.

Study

As the landscape ecology both ecological (biological ) and geographic content has, landscape ecological research groups are based in biological and also in physical geography faculties of many universities. As a course of study landscape ecology can be studied at the following universities include:

Germany

In Germany at the universities of Greifswald (Diploma, Master of Science, Bachelor of Science), Oldenburg (Master of Science) and Münster (Diploma, Master of Science, Bachelor of Science), partly also at the Universities of Bonn and Dresden;

• At the Science Center Weihenstephan of the Technical University of Munich, the former major in landscape ecology is now being continued in the Bachelor study program " Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning" as a major in landscape planning and as part of the master program " Environmental Planning and Ecological Engineering ".
• In Rostock, land management and environmental protection

Austria

In Austria, the University of Agricultural Sciences in Vienna offered since about 1980 to the landscape ecology, current studies are available in landscape planning. The course is interdisciplinary by the close networking of institutes of higher education to a large extent.

• The Universities of Salzburg and Vienna offer relevant wells in the study of geography; Vienna has its own physio- geographical- landscape ecological laboratory.
• At the University of Graz, the possibility of studying the irregular Environmental System Sciences, supplemented with specialist focus economy.

Switzerland

Switzerland: at the ETH Zurich, the study " land management and environmental protection" with a focus at the Institute for Landscape Planning and Landscape Ecology.

Study Majors include agronomy, biology, soil science, forestry, geology, geomorphology, hydrology, climatology, planning sciences (especially urban planning and Geoinformatics ). Also, remote sensing and basic courses in physics, chemistry and mathematics are mostly compulsory courses.