How to consider history in landscape ecology: patterns, processes, and pathways
- PDF / 461,927 Bytes
- 12 Pages / 547.087 x 737.008 pts Page_size
- 102 Downloads / 153 Views
(0123456789().,-volV) (0123456789().,-volV)
RESEARCH ARTICLE
How to consider history in landscape ecology: patterns, processes, and pathways Ulrike Tappeiner
. Georg Leitinger
. Anita Zarin ¸a
. Matthias Bu¨rgi
Received: 3 July 2020 / Accepted: 18 November 2020 The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Context Landscape ecology early on developed the awareness that central objects of investigation are not stable over time and therefore the historical dimension must be included, or at least considered. Objectives This paper considers the importance of history in landscape ecology in terms of its impact on patterns and processes and proposes to complement these with the notion of pathways in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of landscape change. Methods We develop a conceptual framework distinguishing between legacy effects, which include
U. Tappeiner (&) G. Leitinger Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria e-mail: [email protected] U. Tappeiner Institute for Alpine Environment, Eurac Research, I-39100 Bolzano/Bozen, Italy A. Zarin ¸a Department of Geography, University of Latvia, Riga 1004, Latvia M. Bu¨rgi Research Unit Land Change Science, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland M. Bu¨rgi Institute of Geography, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
pattern and processes, and path dependence, with a focus of development pathways and we illustrate these perspectives by empirical examples. Results Combined short- to long-lasting imprints and legacies of historical patterns and processes reveal how present patterns and processes are in various ways influenced by legacies of the past. The focus on inherent dynamics of development pathways sheds light on the process of change itself, and its trajectories, and reveals the role of event chains and institutional reproduction. Conclusions Understanding patterns, processes, and pathways over time, allows a more complete analysis of landscape change, and forms the base to preserve vital ecosystem services of both human-made and natural landscapes for the future. Keywords Landscape history Landscape legacy Landscape development Landscape dynamic
Introduction The development of landscape ecology was accompanied by the awareness that the central objects of investigation, such as patterns and processes (Turner 1989, Turner et al. 2003), are not stable over time and therefore the historical dimension must be included, or at least considered (e.g. Rhemtulla and Mladenoff
123
Landscape Ecol
2007). Consideration of history contains various degrees of complexity. On the most straightforward level, it is obvious that present landscape patterns are shaped by past landscape patterns. The complexity increases if instead of only focusing on stability, we also include changes in patterns and processes. Previous conditions and past processes, such as anthropogenic activities can, for example, show an impact on current landscape patterns or processes (Monger et al. 2015). Such effects are sum
Data Loading...
