Landscape Ecology

Journal: Landscape Ecology

Abbreviation

Landsc. Ecol.

Publisher

Springer

ISSN

0921-2973
1572-9761

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Publications1 - 10 of 34

The Importance of Spatial Scale in Habitat Models
Graf, Roland F.; Bollmann, Kurt; Suter, Werner; et al. (2005)
Landscape Ecology
Patterns of habitat occupancy, genetic variation and predicted movement of a flightless bush cricket, Pholidoptera griseoaptera, in an agricultural mosaic landscape
Diekötter, Tim; Baveco, Hans; Arens, Paul; et al. (2010)
Landscape Ecology
Rethinking ecosystem service trade-offs through perceived synergies and prioritisation: evidence from Haizhu National Wetland Park
Zhai, Xuezhu; Lange, Eckart; Cameron, Ross W. (2026)
Landscape Ecology
Context Multifunctional urban nature areas conserve biodiversity while delivering cultural ecosystem services (ESs), yet intensive use can create conflicts between them. While most studies address trade-offs at broader landscape scales, less is known about perceptions at the meso-scale, where people directly experience them. Such perceptions are key for aligning conservation with public values. Objectives This study aims to examine how visitors perceive trade-offs and synergies among biodiversity, aesthetics, and recreation in a multifunctional wetland park. It further seeks to advance understanding of ES interactions by complementing scale perspectives and rethinking trade-offs through public perceptions. Methods Haizhu National Wetland Park, the public-accessible part of the Ramsar-listed Haizhu Wetlands in Guangzhou, China, was selected as a case study for its ecological value and intensive visitation. Visitor perceptions were assessed through discrete choice experiments, participatory mapping, and interviews. Results A biodiversity-sensitive subgroup (17%) benefits from biodiversity gains and is harmed by losses, while others are more sensitive to costs or aesthetics and may tolerate biodiversity decline if scenic quality is preserved. Scenarios expanding recreation while degrading both biodiversity and aesthetics consistently reduce welfare. Strong synergies between aesthetics and biodiversity or recreation suggest that aesthetics may act as a mediator, enabling improvements in aesthetics and biodiversity to sustain overall welfare without enhancing recreation at the expense of biodiversity. Conclusions The findings suggest that prioritising biodiversity-sensitive, aesthetically enriched habitats may yield greater welfare gains than enhancing all services equally and underscore the importance of incorporating heterogeneous human preferences regarding ES relationships into urban nature conservation.
Landscape genetics since 2003: status, challenges and future directions
Bolliger, Janine; Lander, Tonya; Balkenhol, Niko (2014)
Landscape Ecology
A scientific symposium on landscape genetics, held at the 2013 IALE Europe Conference in Manchester UK (September 2–8, 2013), highlighted status, challenges and future avenues in the field. Key topics included analytical aspects in landscape genetics, conceptual progress and application of landscape genetics for conservation management. First, analytical aspects referred to statistical relationships between genetic and landscape data. It was suggested that linear mixed models or Bayesian approaches are particularly promising due to more appropriate and powerful ways for analyzing landscape effects on genetic variation. Second, supplementing neutral genetic variation with adaptive genetic variation is very promising. However, research needs to go beyond the identification of genomic regions under selection and provide information on the ecological function of adaptive genetic regions. Conceptually, endogenous processes (e.g., life-history attributes such as dispersal) require consideration as supplementary factors in shaping the genetic variation in addition to landscapes. Also, the temporal dimension in landscapes for both the past and the future should be given increased attention as the genetic responses to landscape change may be non-simultaneous, resulting in time lags. As for applied conservation management, landscape genetics can provide important baseline information such as basic data on species movement in a spatial context, assessments of the spatial need for management efforts, or evaluations of the effectiveness of already existing management measures.
Cross-scale effects of land use on the functional composition of herbivorous insect communities
Neff, Felix; Blüthgen, Nico; Chisté, Melanie N.; et al. (2019)
Landscape Ecology
On the relative importance of land use, landscape characteristics, bird and plant assemblages as drivers of Mediterranean ecosystem functioning
Lopezosa, Paula; Berdugo, Miguel; Soliveres, Santiago (2023)
Landscape Ecology
Context: Mediterranean landscapes are undergoing severe transformations (land-use change and homogenization) that threatens biodiversity and the services these ecosystems provide. These effects can differ amongst biodiversity facets (plants vs. birds, taxonomic vs. functional) and ecosystem functions (e.g., seed dispersal, forest regeneration, pest control), although these are still poorly understood in Mediterranean landscapes. Objectives: Our study aims at understanding how Mediterranean landscape characteristics and land use (tree croplands, shrublands and pine, oak and mixed forest) affect the diversity of birds and plants, and how these changes in biodiversity could affect ecosystem functioning. Methods: In 2020–2021, we sampled 49 (5 × 5 m) plots in South-eastern Spain and from five different land uses: tree croplands, shrublands, and pine, oak and mixed forests. We measured land use, habitat diversity and size, together with birds and plant diversity. We assessed both direct and indirect (via bird and plant diversity) effects of landscape characteristics on 6 different ecosystem functions related to forest regeneration, predation, herbivory or aboveground biomass, which imply interactions between birds, plants and their environment. Results: Plant communities responded mainly to local features (land use), whereas birds did so to habitat size and landscape diversity (within 500 m radius). Seed and caterpillar predation were more affected by bird’s diversity, whereas regeneration capacity of woody species was driven by both plants and birds. Land use was amongst the most important drivers of all measured functions, with generally higher functioning levels in oak and mixed forests than in the rest of land uses. Conclusions: Our results emphasize the complementary information obtained when considering multiple biodiversity facets in studying the consequences of landscape transformation. We also show that these multiple biodiversity changes can be as important as those of land-use or landscape characteristics for ecosystem functioning.
Modeling the Impact of Climate and Vegetation on Fire Regimes in Mountain Landscapes
Schumacher, Sabine; Reineking, Björn; Sibold, Jason; et al. (2006)
Landscape Ecology
Agent-based modeling of complex social–ecological feedback loops to assess multi-dimensional trade-offs in dryland ecosystem services
Miyasaka, Takafumi; Le, Quang B.; Okuro, Toshiya; et al. (2017)
Landscape Ecology
Context: Recent conceptual developments in ecosystem services research have revealed the need to elucidate the complex and unintended relationships between humans and the environment if we are to better understand and manage ecosystem services in practice. Objectives: This study aimed to develop a model that spatially represents a complex human–environment (H–E) system consisting of heterogeneous social–ecological components and feedback mechanisms at multiple scales, in order to assess multi-dimensional (spatial, temporal, and social) trade-offs in ecosystem services. Methods: We constructed an agent-based model and empirically calibrated it for a semi-arid region in Northeast China, and examined ecosystem service trade-offs derived from the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP), which is based on payment for ecosystem services. This paper describes our model, named Inner Mongolia Land Use Dynamic Simulator (IM-LUDAS), using the overview, design concepts, and details + decision (ODD + D) protocol and demonstrates the capabilities of IM-LUDAS through simulations. Results: IM-LUDAS represented typical characteristics of complex H–E systems, such as secondary and cross-scale feedback loops, time lags, and threshold change, revealing the following results: tree plantations expanded by the SLCP facilitated vegetation and soil restoration and household change toward off-farm livelihoods, as expected by the government; conversely, the program caused further land degradation outside the implementation plots; moreover, the livelihood changes were not large enough to compensate for income deterioration by policy-induced reduction in cropland. Conclusions: IM-LUDAS proved itself to be an advanced empirical model that can recreate essential features of complex H–E systems and assess multi-dimensional trade-offs in ecosystem services.
Do small-grain processes matter for landscape scale questions?
Elkin, Ché; Reineking, Björn; Bigler, Christof; et al. (2012)
Landscape Ecology
Three objectives of historical ecology
Buergi, Matthias; Gimmi, Urs (2007)
Landscape Ecology

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