Landscape Ecology

(NRC 621)

Course Schedule

This course is modeled after the textbook 'Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice: Pattern and Process' by Turner, Gardner, and O'Neill, published in 2001 by Springer-Verlag, New York. Some of the material for this course was adopted from two principal sources: (1) the Turner et al. textbook and (2) a similar course taught by Dean Urban at Duke University. The similarity in material is acknowledged here (thanks Monica and Dean!).

The administration of this course and all relevant polices are described in detail in the course syllabus (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view). This page provides a schedule for lectures and labs, including links to all lecture handouts (slides and notes) and links to required journal readings (which require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view), for the benefit of students taking the course.

Date Topic Readings
9/6 Introduction to landscape ecology? [handouts]

Chapter 1
NO LAB
Part 1: The Concept of Scale and Scaling Techniques
9/11 Concepts of scale: scale in ecology, components of scale, why is scale important, characteristic scale [handouts]

Chapter 2;
Wiens (1989)
9/13

Concepts of scale: scaling techniques (point patterns, continuous patterns, categorical patterns)

same
9/13 LAB 1: Scaling techniques
9/18 Concepts of scale: dealing with scale same
9/20 What is a landscape? [handouts]

none
9/20 LAB 2: Defining the landscape
Part 2: Agents of Landscape Patterns [handouts]
9/25 The physical template [handouts] Chapter 4;
Swanson et al. (1988)
9/27 Biotic processes [handouts] Watt (1947)
9/27 LAB 3: Neutral landscapes - introduction (read Chapter 6)
10/2 Disturbance regimes [handouts] Chapter 7;
Romme et al. (1995);
Reice (1994)
10/4 Disturbance regimes - continued same
10/4 LAB 4: Neutral landscapes - work
10/11 Disturbance regimes - continued same
10/11 LAB 5: Neutral landsape - final presentations
Part 3: Characterizing Landscape Patterns
10/16 Landscape patterns -- conceptual foundation [handouts] Chapter 5;
Gustafson (1998)
10/18 Landscape metrics [handouts] same
10/18 LAB 6: Landscape pattern - introduction
10/23 Landscape metrics - continued same
10/25 Landscape metrics - continued same
10/25 LAB 7: Landscape pattern - work
Part 4: Landscape Dynamics
10/30 Landscape models [handouts] Chapter 3;
Mladenoff and Baker (1999);
Scheller and Mladenoff (2007)

11/1

 Dynamic landscape models [handouts]

same
11/1 LAB 8: Landscape pattern - final presentations
11/6 Range of variabilty concepts [handouts] Chapter 7;
11/8 Landscape dynamics [handouts] Sprugel (1991)
11/8 LAB 9: Landscape dynamics - work
Part 5: Implications of Landscape Patterns
11/13 Landscape genetics [handouts] Manel et al. (2003)
11/15 Landscape genetics same
11/15 LAB 10: Landscape dynamics - final presenations
11/20 Spatially-structured populations [handouts]
 Chapter 8
11/27 Spatially-structured populations - continued same
11/29 Spatially-structured populations - continued [handouts-marbled] same
11/29 LAB 11: Spatially-explicit population models - introduction
12/4 Communities [handouts] Chapter 8;
Urban et al. (2002)
12/6 Communities - continued same
12/6 LAB 12: Spatially-explicit population models - work
12/11 Ecosystem processes [handouts] Chapter 9;
McKenzie et al. (2007);
Paster et al. (1998)
Part 6: Synthesis and Summary
12/13 Synthesis and summary [handouts] Chapters 10 & 11
12/13 LAB 13: Spatially-explicit population models - final presentations


For more information, please contact:
Dr. Kevin McGarigal
Department of Natural Resources Conservation
University of Massachusetts
304 Holdsworth Natural Resources Center
Box 34210
Amherst, MA 01003
Fax: (413) 545-4358
Phone: (413) 577-0655
Email: mcgarigalk@nrc.umass.edu