Species Survival in Fragmented Landscapes

Species Survival in Fragmented Landscapes PDF

Author: J. Settele

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 670

ISBN-13: 940090343X

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The effects of isolation, area size, and habitat quality on the survival of animal and plant populations in the cultural landscape are central aspects of a research project started in Germany in 1993 (,Forschungsverbund, Isolation, FHichengroBe und BiotopquaIiHit', abbreviated to 'FIFB'). After a long period of preparation, scientists from seven univer sities and one research institution started to work within the frame of this project. Fund ing for four years was provided by the former German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology (BMFT), now the Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). A strong focus of the project has been the improvement of the methodology for environmental impact assessments and the implementation of results into environmental planning. As there is a certain risk that national projects develop some kind of 'mental in breeding', it was decided to discuss concepts, methods, and first results with scientists of international reputation at a rather early stage of the project. For this purpose, an inter national workshop was held in the small village of Lubast, north of Leipzig (state of Saxony) in March 1995. 130 scientists from 10 nations met to discuss and debate issues surrounding habitat fragmentation for three days. Papers presented there formed the basis for this book. As discussions included general reviews as well as particular case studies, we decided to structure this book in a similar way. Consequently, a combination of broad and more general, review-like papers as well as original papers are presented.

Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change

Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change PDF

Author: David B. Lindenmayer

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2013-02-22

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 159726606X

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Habitat loss and degradation that comes as a result of human activity is the single biggest threat to biodiversity in the world today. Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change is a groundbreaking work that brings together a wealth of information from a wide range of sources to define the ecological problems caused by landscape change and to highlight the relationships among landscape change, habitat fragmentation, and biodiversity conservation. The book: synthesizes a large body of information from the scientific literature considers key theoretical principles for examining and predicting effects examines the range of effects that can arise explores ways of mitigating impacts reviews approaches to studying the problem discusses knowledge gaps and future areas for research and management Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change offers a unique mix of theoretical and practical information, outlining general principles and approaches and illustrating those principles with case studies from around the world. It represents a definitive overview and synthesis on the full range of topics that fall under the widely used but often vaguely defined term "habitat fragmentation."

Conservation in Highly Fragmented Landscapes

Conservation in Highly Fragmented Landscapes PDF

Author: Mark Schwartz

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 1475706561

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Mark W. Schwartz Soon after we came into extensive meadows: and I was assured that those meadows continue for a hundred and fifty miles. being in winter drowned lands and marshes. By the dryness of the season they were now beautiful pastures, and here presented itself one of the most delightful prospects I have ever beheld; all low grounds being meadow, and without wood, and all of the high grounds being covered with trees and appearing like islands: the whole scene seemed an elysium. Capt. Thomas Morris. 1791 I am sitting in a 60-mile-an-hour bus sailing over a highway originally laid out for horse and buggy. The ribbon of concrete has been widened and widened until the field fences threaten to topple into the road cuts. In the narrow thread of sod between the shaved banks and the toppling fences grow the relics of what once was Illinois: the prairie.

Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes

Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes PDF

Author: Sharon K. Collinge

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2009-06

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 0801891388

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Ask airline passengers what they see as they gaze out the window, and they will describe a fragmented landscape: a patchwork of desert, woodlands, farmlands, and developed neighborhoods. Once-contiguous forests are now subdivided; tallgrass prairies that extended for thousands of miles are now crisscrossed by highways and byways. Whether the result of naturally occurring environmental changes or the product of seemingly unchecked human development, fractured lands significantly impact the planet’s biological diversity. In Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes, Sharon K. Collinge defines fragmentation, explains its various causes, and suggests ways that we can put our lands back together. Researchers have been studying the ecological effects of dismantling nature for decades. In this book, Collinge evaluates this body of research, expertly synthesizing all that is known about the ecology of fragmented landscapes. Expanding on the traditional coverage of this topic, Collinge also discusses disease ecology, restoration, conservation, and planning. Not since Richard T. T. Forman's classic Land Mosaics has there been a more comprehensive examination of landscape fragmentation. Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes is critical reading for ecologists, conservation biologists, and students alike.

Pasture Landscapes and Nature Conservation

Pasture Landscapes and Nature Conservation PDF

Author: Bernd Redecker

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 3642559530

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One of the main problems and aims of nature conservation in Europe is to protect semi-open landscapes. The development during the past decades is characterized by an ongoing intensivation of land use on the one hand, and an increasing number of former meadows and pastures lying fallow caused by changing economic conditions on the other hand. In several countries the estabishment of larger "pasture landscapes" with a mixed character of open grassland combined with shrubs and forests has been recognized as one solution to this problem. The book gives an overview of the European projects concerning to this topic - nature conservation policy and strategies, scientific results and practical experiences creating large scale grazing systems.

Landscape Ecology of a Stressed Environment

Landscape Ecology of a Stressed Environment PDF

Author: Claire C. Vos

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 9401123187

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This series presents studies that have used the paradigm of landscape ecology. Other approaches, both to landscape and landscape ecology are common, but in the last decade landscape ecology has become distinct from its predecessors and its contemporaries. Landscape ecol ogy addresses the relationships among spatial patterns, temporal pat terns and ecological processes. The effect of spatial configurations on ecological processes is fundamental. When human activity is an import ant variable affecting those relationships, landscape ecology includes it. Spatial and temporal scales are as large as needed for comprehension of system processes and the mosaic included may be very heteroge neous. Intellectual utility and applicability of results are valued equally. The International Association for Landscape Ecology sponsors this series of studies in order to introduce and disseminate some of the new knowledge that is being produced by this exciting new environmental science. Gray Merriam Ottawa, Canada Preface In Europe, during the seventies, landscape ecology emerged as a fusion of the spatial approach of geographers and the functional approach of ecologists. The latter focused on ecosystem functioning, regarding eco systems as homogeneous, almost abstract units in space, with input and output of energy and matter to and from the undefined surroundings.

Conservation Biology for All

Conservation Biology for All PDF

Author: Navjot S. Sodhi

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2010-01-08

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0191574252

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Conservation Biology for All provides cutting-edge but basic conservation science to a global readership. A series of authoritative chapters have been written by the top names in conservation biology with the principal aim of disseminating cutting-edge conservation knowledge as widely as possible. Important topics such as balancing conversion and human needs, climate change, conservation planning, designing and analyzing conservation research, ecosystem services, endangered species management, extinctions, fire, habitat loss, and invasive species are covered. Numerous textboxes describing additional relevant material or case studies are also included. The global biodiversity crisis is now unstoppable; what can be saved in the developing world will require an educated constituency in both the developing and developed world. Habitat loss is particularly acute in developing countries, which is of special concern because it tends to be these locations where the greatest species diversity and richest centres of endemism are to be found. Sadly, developing world conservation scientists have found it difficult to access an authoritative textbook, which is particularly ironic since it is these countries where the potential benefits of knowledge application are greatest. There is now an urgent need to educate the next generation of scientists in developing countries, so that they are in a better position to protect their natural resources.

How Landscapes Change

How Landscapes Change PDF

Author: Gay A. Bradshaw

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-09

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 3662052385

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North and South America share similar human and ecological histories and, increasingly, economic and social linkages. As such, issues of ecosystem functions and disruptions form a common thread among these cultures. This volume synthesizes the perspectives of several disciplines, such as ecology, anthropology, economy, and conservation biology. The chief goal is to gain an understanding of how human and ecological processes interact to affect ecosystem functions and species in the Americas. Throughout the text the emphasis is placed on habitat fragmentation. At the same time, the book provides an overview of current theory, methods, and approaches used in the analysis of ecosystem disruptions and fragmentation.

Conservation Medicine

Conservation Medicine PDF

Author: A. Alonso Aguirre

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2002-09-26

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0195348621

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Conservation medicine is an emerging discipline, focussing on the intersection of ecosystem health, animal health, and human health. Work in the biomedical and veterinary sciences is now being folded into conservation biology; to explore the connections between animal and human health; trace the environmental sources of pathogens and pollutants; develop an understanding of the ecological causes of changes in human and animal health; and understand the consequences of diseases to populations and ecological communities. Conservation Medicine defines this new discipline. It examines ecological health issues from various standpoints, including the emergence and resurgence of infectious disease agents; the increasing impacts of toxic chemicals and hazardous substances; and the health implications of habitat fragmentation and degradation and loss of biodiversity. It will provide a framework to examine the connections between the health of the planet and the health of all species and challenge practitioners and students in the health sciences and natural sciences to think about new, collaborative ways to address ecological health concerns.