Landscape

Ecology
M.C. JARESY PLATA
Troll (1950) started from the premise,
that the landscape is an integrated
entity (holistic), in the sense of being
more than the sum of interacting
biophysical and anthropic components
(climate, lithology, soil, vegetation,
human activities), for this reason must
be conceived and studied as such.
 • The landscape is considered as an integrated space-
time entity, whose morphological and functional
expression is mainly due to the relationships that exist
between its components, and not to a sum of their
qualities.
Basic principles on
which Landscape • Human is one of the formative factors of the
Landscape, especially of cultural or transformed
Ecology is based: landscapes.

• An integrated ecological diagnosis and prospective

land use planning that guarantees the conservation
and sustained use of resources can only be achieved
through a comprehensive approach.
 A. Provides a conceptual, theoretical-methodological
transdiciplinary framework.

B. It allows an integral and synthetic approach.

The role of Landscape
Ecology in ecological
C. It uses a methodological approach based on the
surveys and land integrated interdisciplinary work of "specialists with
evaluation can be an overall vision".
summarized in the
following aspects: D. Its purpose is a prospective approach to the
rational use of natural resources through the
planning of a sustainable use of the landscape.
The interactions that take place between the forming factors of the landscape, give
the landscape a series of emergent properties, these emerging properties are
typical and specific to each landscape, which are reflected in:

The physiognomy
Biomass (profiles):
The shapes of the and structure of
Drainage patterns quantity, quality,
relief the vegetation
stratification
cover

The stability of
The biological geoprocesses and
The productivity
diversity bioprocesses, etc
...
The landscape elements
are the result of the
interaction of the
landscape-forming
factors (climate, geology,
hydrology, soil,
vegetation, fauna, man)
as well as their variability
across the geographical
space, along the time.
 THE TEMPORALITY AND CHANGE IN THE
LANDSCAPES
Cyclic changes: These are changes during which the system starts and
returns to an equal or very similar state. Depending on its duration, we
talk about:

Seasonal, annual cycles Multi-year cycles Millennial cycles

• Climatic: • Climate: dry periods • climatic: glaciations

Precipitation,
hurricanes.
• Hydrological: (floods;
anthropic: burning,
tillage)
Unidirectional changes: Are those during which the system reaches progressive
levels of stability that do not imply returning to the original state unless
disturbances occur to the system.

According to its duration, we talk about:

Evolutionary changes
Succession changes of
from thousands to
up to hundreds of
millions of years
years (plant, primary
(evolution of biota;
or secondary
geomorphological
successions, land use
evolution of the
sequences).
landscape).
• The spatial magnitude and the degree of homogeneity of the
landscape elements is a function of the level of specific hierarchy of
analysis, which depends primarily on the level of detail with which a
particular landscape is being observed.
Geographical units that are related to the
Landscape Ecology approach:
Watershed:
• It is defined as a portion of the earth's surface drained by a stream of
water and its tributaries, which form a unit from the functional
hydrological point of view. The basins are part of a landscape or
contain several landscapes according to their surface and location,
and their watershed limits may coincide or not coincide with those of
the landscape units. It is always a functional geographical unit.
Region:
• It is defined as a part of the earth's surface with homogeneous
general climatic, physiographic, biotic (and socioeconomic)
conditions, for example: (Andean Region, Llanera Region, Amazon
Region).

• It usually contains a series of landscapes or Biogeocenosis. The

concept of region is also usually applied in a “monothematic” sense
as an Economic Region, Climate Region,…
Ecosystem:
• It is an ecological functional and structural unit (with abiotic, biotic
and cultural components), applicable to any level of spatial scale from
micro to macro. It does not therefore have a generalizable spatial
dimension.
Biogeocenosis
• It is defined as a homogeneous unit that results from the combination
of non-anthropogenic natural phenomena in a specific area of ​the
Earth (climate, soil, vegetation, ...). It can be understood as natural (or
potential) units or ecosystems.
• Landscape ecology conceives the approach to the study of the earth's
surface based on three general aspects (Forman and Godron 1986;
Zonneveld 1979):
The Structure:

• This consists in the study of the spatial configurations of ecosystems

or component elements in terms of the composition and distribution
of energy, matter and species.
The Operation:
• The study of the types of interaction between landscape-forming
factors and landscape elements, in terms of the types, intensities and
directions of energy, matter and species flows.
Temporality:
• The study of the patterns of dynamics of changes in structure and
functioning over time. Cyclic changes and unidirectional changes.
That the development or evolution of a landscape depends basically on
the fact that three mechanisms operate in a region (area) of the earth's
surface, (Forman and Godron, 1986):

• i. Particular geomorphological and climatic processes that act for

prolonged periods of time.

• ii. Patterns of colonization of organisms.

• iii. Local disturbances in specific ecosystems, for relatively short

periods of time.
• Like any concrete system,
landscapes are made up of
two fundamental groups or
parts of these patterns:
those that are visible and
those that are not.
• The Phenosystemic component: It is that set of characteristics that
group all visible patterns of the landscape, which are composed
primarily of external physiognomic or structural aspects.
• The Cryptosystemic component: It is the one that corresponds to the
characteristics and processes of the landscape that are not visible or
underlie its phenotypic expression, that is, the pheosystemic
component.
From a general
structural-
Patch
functional point of
view, three types of
spatial elements can
be found in any
Corridors
landscape. (Forman
and Godron 1986):
Matrix
PATCHES

Non-linear surface of variable size that differs physiognomically from its

surroundings, and that has a degree of internal homogeneity. Can vary
according to their size, shape, type, heterogeneity and their edge
characteristics.
They are generally immersed in a matrix of contrasting characteristics
in terms of physiognomy and composition.

1. Patches and disturbance

2. Remaining Patches
Corridors

• Defined as a narrow and elongated strip, of variable shape and

direction that crosses a matrix and differs from it.

• Natural corridors are directly related to either drainage networks,

animal migration pathways, or particular conditions of the substrate
due to lithological differences (failures or contacts) or hydrological.
• Cultural corridors, in turn, are mainly determined by aspects related
to infrastructure and transport activities or property limits, or
management areas.
The ecosystem functions of the corridors can be very variable but they are mostly related
to the flow of matter, species and energy through the landscape. Plays the role of:

Physical barrier separating other elements

Connecting elements to each other.

Isolating one (s) elements, creating biological islands

MATRIX

• Is the most extensive and the most interconnected, thus acquiring a

dominant role in the operation of a landscape. It is defined as a
matrix of a landscape, that type of landscape element that occupies
the largest relative area.
 • It studies the structure and
processes that take place in
the ecological transition /
stress strips that are located
between different
ecosystems.

ECOTONES: LIMITS AND TRANSITIONS

BETWEEN LANDSCAPE UNITS
HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND THE LANDSCAPE
 ACCESSIBILITY (relief, drainage)

The GRADE,
TYPE and AVAILABILITY OF WATER RESOURCES

SPEED of the AVAILABILITY OF BIOLOGICAL AND EDAPHIC

artificialization RESOURCES

process of the TYPE OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND ECONOMY

LANDSCAPE
depends on: OCCUPATION TIME

AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY
EFFECT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON BIOPHYSICAL
PROCESSES:
• SPEED UP
• DELAY
• ACTIVATE
• BLOCK (DISABLE)
5 types of landscapes, in relation to the type,
degree and intensity of human activity in a portion
of geographical space

• Wild landscapes: those in which the impact of human activities is

indirect and insignificant in structure and operation. It includes arctic
areas, or parts of deserts, rain forests, etc ...).
• Managed Landscapes: those in which native species are managed and
harvested, p. ex. in grazing or forestry areas
• Cultivated landscapes: those in which agricultural activities
predominate with replacement of native species. They are usually
presented in mosaic with clusters of houses and patches of managed
landscapes.
• Suburban landscapes: areas composed of a mosaic of heterogeneous
patches of residential complexes, crops, managed semi-natural
vegetation and natural vegetation.
• Urban landscapes: areas where the matrix is ​composed of urban
constructions with some scattered patches of managed vegetation.