Learning Landscape Ecology: A Practical Guide to Concepts and Techniques

This new practical guide provides a "hands-on" approach to learning the essential concepts and techniques of landscape ecology. The fundamental knowledge gained will enable students to usefully address landscape-level ecological and management issues. It is an ideal companion to the text, Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice by Monica G. Turner, Robert H. Gardner, and Robert V. O'Neill, also published by Springer-Verlag. The book is organized into nine sections comprising 20 chapters, each of which consists of a lab focusing on an important point in the text. A variety of approaches are presented: group discussion, thought problems, written exercises, and modeling. Each exercise is categorized as to whether it is for individual, small group, or whole class study. Appendices of additional exercises using specialized technical tools of landscape ecology (for example, GIS) are supplied for instructors with appropriate equipment. The book includes a CD-ROM containing spatial data sets and modeling software for use with a number of the exercises. About the Included CD: Many of the labs use only Excel (.xls) files or Adobe (.pdf) files (or no files at all) and as such are compatible with computers running on either Mac or Windows platforms, as long as the computers have Excel and/or Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.Chapters 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 and part of 7 fall into this category. Several other programs require a PC running Windows: Markov, HarvestLite, Rule, Fragstats, ReserveDesign and Folio are DOS executables; ArcExplorer and Bachmap must be installed on a Windows PC. These programs require a Windows emulator for use on a Macintosh platform.