While the importance of incorporating human factors into understanding ecological process is widely recognized, to date there have been few solutions offered as to how this can be done. In his new book, Ecology, Cognition and Landscape, Almo Farina makes an innovative move to do just that. And by reinterpreting both the ecological and social strands of landscape ecology, within a common framework based on cognition, he offers a way to make the necessary connections between the social and natural systems.
Following the success of his widely popular Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology, Farina's new book builds on well-established theories to present his new ideas, explaining both in a way which is accessible to readers from both the natural and social sciences. By focusing on the relationships between human populations, human societies and environmental processes, the book provides the reader with a new approach for exploring and connecting the various aspects of ecological complexity.
Ecology, Cognition and Landscape will be an important and accessible reference for graduate students and researchers interested in all aspects of landscape studies, including ecologists, architects, agronomists, social scientists, environmental psychologists, and those exploring the economic, political and educational dimensions of both rural and urban landscapes.
Cover......Page 1
ISBN 978-90-481-3137-2......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Introduction......Page 10
Introduction......Page 13
From the Ecosystem Concept to the Landscape: Historical and Scientific Motives......Page 14
Brief History of Landscape Ecology......Page 15
A New Model Links Landscape Ecology to Ecosystem Ecology......Page 18
Ecological Theories and Models Incorporated into the Landscape Ecology Paradigm......Page 19
Concluding Remarks......Page 21
Suggested Reading......Page 22
References......Page 23
Introduction......Page 26
The Necessity of Defining a New Science of the Landscape......Page 27
The Landscape Domain......Page 28
Three Phenomenological Domains of Landscape......Page 29
Complexity and Domains......Page 31
Is the Landscape a Unit or a System?......Page 32
The Landscape as a Matrix......Page 33
Space and Landscape......Page 36
Memory and Landscape......Page 37
References......Page 39
Introduction......Page 40
Ecological Complexity and Mosaics......Page 41
Definition of Mosaic......Page 42
Heterogeneity and Mosaic......Page 43
Rules Governing Structure and Dynamics of the Ecological Mosaics......Page 45
What Processes Create Mosaics?......Page 49
The Matrix as the Container of the Ecological Complexity......Page 50
Advantages of Living in a Mosaic-Like System......Page 51
Energy and Information Across a Mosaic......Page 53
Developing the Mosaic Theory from a Plant Perspective......Page 55
Discontinuities......Page 57
The Maintenance of Patchiness Inside a Mosaic......Page 60
Self-Organizing of Mosaics and the Fifth Dimension......Page 61
Connectivity Inside the Mosaic......Page 63
References......Page 64
Hierarchical Organization of Ecological Mosaics......Page 66
Agents of Temporal Changes of the Mosaic Structures......Page 70
Grazing by Large Herbivores......Page 71
Patch Dynamics and Animal Responses......Page 72
Resilience and Other Properties of Ecological Mosaics......Page 74
Patterned and Process Mosaics......Page 75
Scaling the Mosaics by Species......Page 77
Human Mosaicing......Page 78
References......Page 81
Introduction......Page 83
The Functional Circle of the Landscape......Page 84
The Composition of the Landscape......Page 85
The Probabilistic Model......Page 86
Landscape Changes......Page 87
The Nature of the Changes......Page 88
The Human Perception of Changes......Page 89
References......Page 90
Introduction......Page 92
The Spatial Arrangement of Ecotones......Page 94
The Nature of Ecotones......Page 95
Shape of Ecotones......Page 96
References......Page 102
Introduction......Page 103
The Patch Size......Page 104
The Patch Shape......Page 105
The Contagion......Page 106
The Diversity Index......Page 107
Suggested Reading......Page 108
References......Page 109
Introduction......Page 110
Behavior: Perception and Action......Page 111
About Ecological Niche and Habitat......Page 114
The Definition of Eco-Field......Page 115
The Individual Eco-Field and the Definition of the Cognitive Landscape......Page 117
Scoring the Cognitive Landscape......Page 119
Evolutionary Process Epistemology and Cognitive Landscape......Page 121
The General Theory of Resources......Page 122
Conservation and the Cognitive Landscape......Page 124
Individual Displacement, Individual Extinction, or Change of Functional Traits: Three Possible Outcomes of Change in the Eco-Field......Page 126
Source-Sink Model and Eco-Field......Page 128
Individual-Based Cognitive Landscape and the Societal-Based Landscape: The Human Case......Page 129
The Emergent-Properties Based Landscape (EPBL)......Page 131
Eco-Semiotic and Cognitive Landscape......Page 134
Signs from the Landscape......Page 136
The Soundscape: A Peculiar Landscape......Page 138
Conserving Natural Soundscapes......Page 139
Cognitive Landscape Versus Geographical Landscape......Page 142
Suggested Reading......Page 144
References......Page 145
Sustainability, Biodiversity, and Landscape Ethics......Page 149
The Cognitive Landscape and the Eco-Semiotic Approach......Page 151
Landscape as an Eco-Semiotic Interface: A New Human-Oriented Perspective for the Landscape......Page 152
Society and Landscape......Page 154
Developing the Theory of Resources: Landscape and Sense of Place......Page 156
Resources and Cognitive Landscape: The Special Case of Therapeutic Landscapes......Page 157
References......Page 159
Epilogue: From Paradigm Dynamics Towards Landscape Ecology Ontogenesis......Page 162
References......Page 0
Index......Page 167
