Landscape Ecology Flashcards
Landscape Ecology
Study of spatial variation in landscapes at a variety of scales
Core Themes of Landscape Ecology
Spatial pattern or structure of landscapes
Relationship between pattern and process in landscapes
Relationship of human activity to landscape pattern, process and change
Effect of scale and disturbance on the landscape
Landscape
An area of land composed of a patchwork of communities
Mosaic
Patchwork of different types of land cover
Landscape Mosaic
Changes in the physical and biological structure of distinct communities called patches
Matrix
Background land use type in a mosaic
Patches
Homogenous community types that differ from their surroundings in structure and species composition
Border
Place where the edge of one patch meets the edge of another
Types of Borders
Narrow Wide (ecotone) Perforated Sealed Straight Convoluted
Inherent edges
Stable and permanent
Induced Edges
Subject to successional changes over time
Edge Effect
Phenomenon where edge communities are often quite diverse
Corridors
Connect patches
Connectivity
Extent to which a species can move among patches in the matrix
Characteristics of Disturbance
Intensity
Frequency
Scale
Intensity
Proportion of biomass lost or proportion of species killed or removed
Frequency
Mean number of disturbances per time interval
Scale
Spatial and temporal
Linear Disturbances
Events that disrupt the structure of a population, community or ecosystem, change the availability of the resources in the physical environment and form straight line pattern in the landscape (create corridors)
