Landscape Ecology

PLAN20062 Landscape Ecology 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 2 Anna Gilchrist Unit coordinator Planning, Property and Environmental Management 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 Landscape ecology explores the structure (spatial arrangement and pattern of elements) and function (ecological processes and flows) of landscapes, the dynamics of these systems and how these factors affect the species living within them. It differs from the original study of ecology because of its interest in broader spatial extents than those traditionally studied in ecology, the spatial heterogeneity within these spaces, and a strong focus on the way in which humans shape and impact landscape patterns and process. Landscape ecology operates at a variety of scales, with ‘landscapes’ not being defined by size, but instead characterised by the phenomenon being studied that can operate within a mosaic of elements at almost any scale.Through this lens, landscape ecologists examine the ways in which the development and management of land influences the structure and function of landscapes and can subsequently impact upon important biodiversity processes such as species’ movements through the landscape mosaic. Concern about the human impacts on biodiversity has grown in recent years as better understanding of species’ requirements has demonstrated that nature conservation policies need to go beyond the site-scale to protect and enhance the environment over much larger geographic areas. Contemporary landscape ecology is therefore concerned with better understanding the interactions between humans, landscapes and the species within them, to create spaces that provide multifunctional benefits where people and wildlife can thrive.The principles of landscape ecology have highlighted that nature does not thrive if restricted to small, isolated patches and that to reverse biodiversity declines, the connectivity across landscapes need to be enhanced through ecological restoration. These tenets have strong resonance with rewilding, which is a burgeoning area of conservation research and practise. Rewilding is focused on restoring ecosystem dynamics by reducing human intervention and management. However, rewilding has also raised legitimate concerns in landscapes inhabited by people, that history, culture and livelihoods are being erased. As such, landscape ecology has the potential to play an important role in helping us to understand both ecological processes and societal viewpoints about rewilding as a novel approach to ‘transformative conservation’. <div>Landscape ecology explores the structure (spatial arrangement and pattern of elements) and function (ecological processes and flows) of landscapes, the dynamics of these systems and how these factors affect the species living within them. It differs from the original study of ecology because of its interest in broader spatial extents than those traditionally studied in ecology, the spatial heterogeneity within these spaces, and a strong focus on the way in which humans shape and impact landscape patterns and process. Landscape ecology operates at a variety of scales, with ‘landscapes’ not being defined by size, but instead characterised by the phenomenon being studied that can operate within a mosaic of elements at almost any scale.Through this lens, landscape ecologists examine the ways in which the development and management of land influences the structure and function of landscapes and can subsequently impact upon important biodiversity processes such as species’ movements through the landscape mosaic. Concern about the human impacts on biodiversity has grown in recent years as better understanding of species’ requirements has demonstrated that nature conservation policies need to go beyond the site-scale to protect and enhance the environment over much larger geographic areas. Contemporary landscape ecology is therefore concerned with better understanding the interactions between humans, landscapes and the species within them, to create spaces that provide multifunctional benefits where people and wildlife can thrive.The principles of landscape ecology have highlighted that nature does not thrive if restricted to small, isolated patches and that to reverse biodiversity declines, the connectivity across landscapes need to be enhanced through ecological restoration. These tenets have strong resonance with rewilding, which is a burgeoning area of conservation research and practise. Rewilding is focused on restoring ecosystem dynamics by reducing human intervention and management. However, rewilding has also raised legitimate concerns in landscapes inhabited by people, that history, culture and livelihoods are being erased. As such, landscape ecology has the potential to play an important role in helping us to understand both ecological processes and societal viewpoints about rewilding as a novel approach to ‘transformative conservation’.</div>  <div>The unit aims to:1. Introduce key concepts and theories in landscape ecology; 2. Explore recent developments in the application of landscape ecology principles in contemporary conservation theory, particularly in relation to rewilding; 3. Demonstrate landscape planning and management in practice; 4. Detail the importance of wildlife and conservation management at the landscape scale particularly exploring applied examples of rewilding projects; 5. Develop students’ practical skills and techniques for analysing and surveying the ecology of landscapes, including using GIS and field skills.  </div>  Students should be able to:  <ul><li>Describe  key theories and concepts in landscape ecology and apply them to real-world situations </li><li>Recall specific policy instruments that can impact upon and/or implement landscape ecology principles</li></ul> <ul><li>Use a variety of data to inform and justify appropriate landscape ecological decision-making </li><li>Compare, contrast and defend different management options using landscape ecological theory and practice </li></ul> <ul><li>Identify and summarise the appropriate techniques for collecting and analysing data for studying landscape ecology</li><li>Collect, prepare, analyse and interpret data from field work</li><li>Clean, analyse and evaluate data for use in a GIS, and generate and present maps to communicate complex information covering large spatial extents   </li><li>Make use of digital tools to help with the collection and analysis of data  </li></ul> <ul><li>Produce and present a technical ‘consultancy report’ in the appropriate format to an expert audience</li><li>Accurately record and transpose information from analogue to digital formats</li></ul> <div>The course unit consists of asynchronous ‘lectures’ produced as Adobe Spark workbooks,  on-campus workshops and three full day field visits*. The course unit has a very applied focus, teaching students a variety of field and technical, GIS skills that have relevance across the degree programme and for future careers. Learning is supplemented with digital learning including games, videos and other interactive media.  </div>*Please note the University cannot be responsible in the event that field visits have to be cancelled for reasons beyond the University's control 0 Other 100% <figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-font-kerning:0pt;mso-ligatures:none;">Assessment task</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">Length</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">How and when feedback is provided</td><td>Weighting within unit </td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-font-kerning:0pt;mso-ligatures:none;">1. Technical report incorporating GIS analysis</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">2,000 word report (individual)</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">Online via Turnitin within 15 working days of submission</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">50%</td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">EITHER 2. Unseen examination </td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">2 hours </td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">Exam scripts with marking and overview of feedback available on request</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">50%</td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">OR 2. Online ‘Storymap’ submission of landscape analysis including visual media</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">2,000 words</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">Online via Turnitin within 15 working days of submission</td><td><span style="font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif",sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-US;">50%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> Feedback will be provided through formal feedback for assessed work and through verbal feedback during the workshop sessions each week as well as through the VLE.  N Benedict, M.A. and McMahon, E. (2006) Green Infrastructure: linking landscapes and communities Island Press, Washington. Burel, F and Baudry, J. (2003) Landscape Ecology: Concepts, Methods and Applications. Science Publishers, Plymouth. Farina, A. (2006) Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology: Towards a science of landscape. Springer, Netherlands. Forman, R.T.T. (1986) Landscape Ecology. Wiley, Chichester. Forman, R.T.T. (1995) Land Mosaics: The ecology of landscapes and regions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.  Gergel, E and Turner, M.G. (2017) Learning Landscape Ecology: A Practical Guide to Concepts and Techniques (2nd Edition). Springer, New York. Gutzwiller, K.J. (Ed) (2002) Applying Landscape Ecology in Biological Conservation. Springer, New York. Handley, J., Pauleit, S. and Gill, S. (2007) Landscape, sustainability and the city, In Landscape and Sustainability second edition, Benson, J.F. and Roe, M. (eds.) Chapter 9, pp 167-195, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon. Jepson, P and Blythe, C. (2020) Rewilding: The radical new science of ecological recovery. Icon Books. Knappen, J.P., Scheffer, M. and Harms, B. (1992) Estimating habitat isolation in landscape planning. Landscape and Urban Planning. 23, p.1-16. Monbiot, G. (2014) Feral: rewilding the land, sea and human life. Penguin Books, London. Newman, E.I. (2000) Applied Ecology & Environmental Management 2nd edition, Blackwell, Oxford.   Pettorelli, N., Durant, S.M. and du Toit, J.T (Eds) (2019) Rewilding. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Roberts, P., Ravetz, J. and George, C. (2009) Environment and the City Routledge, London. Selman, P. (2000) Environmental Planning (2nd edition ) Sage, London.   Selman, P. (2012) Sustainable Landscape Planning: The Reconnection Agenda. Routledge, London. Turner, M.G., Gardner, R.H. and O’Neill, R.V. (2002) Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practise. Springer, New York. Watts, K. (2007) Evaluating biodiversity in fragmented landscapes: application of landscape ecology tools. Forestry Commission, Edinburgh. With, K. (2019) Essentials of Landscape Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Wu, J. and Hobbs, R.J. (2007) Key Topics in Landscape Ecology: Key Issues in Theory, Methodology, and Applications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Fieldwork 21 Lectures 18 Practical classes & workshops 29 0 132