Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving the relationship between spatial pattern and ecological processes on a multitude of landscape scales and organizational levels. As a highly interdisciplinary enterprise, landscape ecology is concerned with environment, economic, equity, aesthetics, experience, and ethics – also called the six Es of landscape sustainability (1). Landscape ecology has made tremendous progress in recent decades, but as a rapidly developing discipline it is faced with new problems and challenges (2). There is a great need to holistically integrate the best of what is known from landscape research and practice to benefit human health, ecosystem services, and resource management in an urbanizing world (3).
The 16th Annual Symposium of the US Regional Association of International Association of Landscape Ecology released a list of 10 priority research topics entitled: “Top 10 List for Landscape Ecology in the 21st Century (2)” The top 10 research topics are:
1. ecological flows in landscape mosaics,
2. causes, processes, and consequences of land use and land cover change,
3. nonlinear dynamics and landscape complexity,
4. scaling,
5. methodological development,
6. relating landscape metrics to ecological processes,
7. integrating humans and their activities into landscape ecology,
8. optimization of landscape pattern,
9. land- scape sustainability, and
10. data acquisition and accuracy assessment.
From: Wu and Hobbes (2002)
References
(1) Musacchio, L. R. (2009). “The scientific basis for the design of landscape sustainability: A conceptual framework for translational landscape research and practice of designed landscapes and the six Es of landscape sustainability.” Landscape Ecol(24): 993–1013.
(2) Wu, J. and Hobbes, R. (2002). “Key issues and research priorities in landscape ecology: an idiosyncratic synthesis”. Landscape Ecol(17): 355-365.
(3) Musacchio, L. R. (2009). “The ecology and culture of landscape sustainability: emerging knowledge and innovation in landscape research and practice”. Landscape Ecol (24): 989-992.
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