Understanding Landscape Ecology

This book offers a rich and updated analysis of the fundamentals of the discipline of landscape ecology, explored and explained through the key concepts of scale, representation, hierarchy, heterogeneity, connectivity and landscapes as social-ecological systems. Understanding Landscape Ecology provides the reader with key insights into the origins, major developments and cutting edge innovations of this exciting and quickly moving field. The book presents fundamental concepts central to an understanding of landscape ecology and leads the reader through an integration of key ecological and geographical concepts without assuming any prior knowledge of ecological theory. It will be of particular interest to those with a geographical background given its emphasis on spatial heterogeneity and spatial relationships in its exploration of the pattern-process paradigm. The book employs stand-alone explanations, using examples and thought experiments to equip both technical and non-technical readers with the means to understand and apply the principles in landscape ecology. This book is intended primarily as an accessible text for undergraduate students of geography, ecology, biology and related fields but will also be of use to post-graduate students, practitioners and doctoral researchers seeking to consolidate their knowledge and understanding.