Required reading questions Flashcards
according to Weins, what is the difference between a landscape ecologist and a conservationist?
Weins wrote: Landscape ecology as a foundation for sustainable conservation.
Although both conservationist and landscape ecology are interested in protecting places for biodiversity, landscape ecologist view it from a different perspective. To a landscape ecologist, the place that so interest conservationists are elements in a large landscape mosaic. In this changing world conservationists goal is to find ways to maintain biodviersity by targeting places for protection or conservation management and by advocating sound environmental policies. Landscape ecologists, the goal is to use an understanding of landscape patterns and processes to design and manage land use in ways that promote well being of people and nature. Both aim to enhance the sustainability of landscapes. Many themes such as scale, context and boundaries have yet to be common in conservaation
Explain why scale should be considered from multiple perspectives for the conservation black-tailed prairie dog populations and the species that rely on their burrows for habitat? in weins 2009.
Weins wrote: Landscape ecology as a foundation for sustainable conservation.
in grassland national park there is plague, and the scale of conservation is particularly important in areas subject to plague. If you only manage at the scale of a single colony or a small protected area this will miss the broad scale spatial dynamics and be ineffective. Therefore, a considerably larger area must be used to be effective for these colony species.
According to Urban (1987), what are the three agents of pattern formation?
- disturbances
- biotic processes
- environmental constraints
In the hierarchy paradigm how does the size and frequency (rate) of events, disturbances or behaviors differ between low-levels and high-levels? Urban et al. 1987
(lower level behvaiours act to generate higher level behaviurs and higher level units control those at lower level). higher levels are larger than lower levels and higher levels are slower then lower levels.
According to Urban (1987) humans primarily influence landscapes by rescaling patterns in space and time. What are the four ways humans rescale the landscape? Provide a brief example for each.
- human control of forest fires
- rescales natural regions by establishing new boundaries. Pipelines, drainage canals and roads all create new boundaries.
- man also introduces novel perturbations that might differ in spatial or temporal scale from natural regimes.
- also may homgenize a forest stands fine scale patterns that result from gap dynamics.
What are the 3 core effects that influence patch dependent species?
Driscoll et al. 2013
- dispersal
- resource provision
- the abiotic environment
How might increasing the extent of the matrix in a landscape influence the dispersal of patch dependant species between patches?
Driscoll et al. 2013
if patch dependent species exploit resources in the matrix, a proportionally greater area of matrix to patch could increase the relative abundance of such resources.
How can we modify the matrix to increase biodiversity?
Driscoll et al. 2013
through modifying spatial variation, spatial scale, temporal variation, temporal scale and adaptation and plasticity.
How do vegetation communities shift in response to Kentucky Bluegrass invasion?
Printz, J.L., and J.R. Hendrickson. 2015. Impacts of kentucky bluegrass invasion (Poa pratensis L.) on ecological processes in the Northern Great Plains.
The communities dominated by ketnucky bluegrass have significantly loess cover and diversity of native grasses and forb species.
What mechanisms does Kentucky Bluegrass use to invade natural areas? How do these mechanisms relate back to those discussed in class?
Printz, J.L., and J.R. Hendrickson. 2015. Impacts of kentucky bluegrass invasion (Poa pratensis L.) on ecological processes in the Northern Great Plains.
once established, kentucky blue grass can alter the plant-soil feedback mechanisms, reinforcing its presence, providing a competitive advantage for itself and ultimatelyu displacing other native plant species. Once kentucky bluegrass has been established, a site cannot return to its native grassland state.
In your own words describe state and transition models.
Printz, J.L., and J.R. Hendrickson. 2015. Impacts of kentucky bluegrass invasion (Poa pratensis L.) on ecological processes in the Northern Great Plains.
State and transition models were developed to help land managers make better decisions when managing vegetation for a suite of potential land uses
What is the main objective of this study?
Koper, N., K.E. Mozel, and D.C. Henderson. 2010. Recent declines in northern tall-grass prairies and effects of patch structure on community persistence.
to evaluate potential roles of prairie patch structure in explaining changes in number, size and quality of northern tall-grass prairies over time.
What is the relationship between patch size and patch quality? What are some of the main factors that drive this relationship?
Koper, N., K.E. Mozel, and D.C. Henderson. 2010. Recent declines in northern tall-grass prairies and effects of patch structure on community persistence.
the larger the patch the greater the quality. Larger patches provide a greater diversity of habitat types and support small inetiror patches of colder and wetter habitats. the larger patches also have longer edges with the matrix which may have the positive influence of plant quality.
