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Landscape Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Research Program JX.N DRDdS Institute of Geography (SAV) The German geographer Carl Troll coined the term landscape ecology almost 50 years ago to describe the character of various abiotic factors and define landscape areas by estimating the vegetation in the African savannah through aerial photographs. In 1959, Troll published a basic study of landscape which presented a new, more adequately defined concept of landscape ecology based on Tansley's view of the ecosystem. Tansley called the space occupied by an ecosystem an ecotope, which was to be the basic unit or "cell" of the landscape. Through the concept of landscape ecology, Troll attempted to integrate geographic and ecological approaches into the research of natural phenomena. Troll wrote that the geographic approach fo- cused on the regional differentiation of the earth and aimed at un- derstanding the mutual relations of natural phenomena. In contrast, the ecological approach focused on functional dependencies on a ver- tical line, i.e., among elements of various natural phenomena. Its aim is to recognize the mutual relationships between natural phenomena on a small scale in the ecotope. This concept of research on natural phenomena is not new in principle, and had already appeared in American science in the mid- dle of the last century under the title "landscape physiology" (F. Guyot, 1849). In Europe, it was L. Waibel (1928, 1933) and J. Grano (1929) whose landscape research ran along these lines. 89
40 As a promising research trend capable of integrating various sci- entific disciplines, especially geography and ecology, landscape ecol- ogy became an effective scientific tool for addressing the utilization of natural resources. It penetrated international science as well as ecology and social practices shortly thereafter. The issue of terminol- ogy, however, was problematic because the German term Landschaft is not easily translated into English as "landscape" has a different meaning. In 1970 Troll therefore suggested that the term geoecology should be used instead of landscape ecology to integrate the abiotic and biotic components of the research. Landscape ecology started to develop rapidly at the end of the 1950s when the well-known German geoecological school was estab- lished. It placed emphasis on researching the balance of natural processes in the landscape. Important research problems were hu- man interventions into the landscape system and changes in its sub- stance and energetic quantities. Research was pursued to enhance knowledge of the landscape, to reveal the regularities of the behavior and action of its processes, and to make use of this knowledge in landscape planning. Since its inception, landscape ecology has been oriented to- ward determining natural areas with definite features, and later toward studying the balance of natural processes. In the course of the 1960s, landscape ecology began to address the problems of the man/environment relationship. This trend evolved for several reasons. First, in Central Europeâwhere such research had made considerable progressâthe landscape and its natural processes were heavily influenced by man. Second, the public demanded that sci- ence play a major role in solving the urgent problems and ecological crises in the man/environment relationship. These problems were not limited to issues of air and water pollution by emissions and to degradation of soil by heavy mechanization and chemicalization of agriculture. What also had to be included among these prob- lems were the insufficiently considered technological interventions into natural systems and the problems of spatial organization of the environment in the widest sense, including urbanization and socioe- conomic activities. These issues have played a very important role in the development of landscape ecology in Czechoslovakia as well as in other countries of Central Europe. Mankind's contemporary global problems are major stimuli for the development of landscape ecology on a global scale. The de- veloped, industrialized countries of Europe and North America are
41 suffering from excessive technicalization of the environment due to rapid industrial innovation, while developing countries suffer from heavy destruction of the biosphere through overpopulation and in- sufficient control of natural resource utilization. As mentioned previously, the concept of landscape ecology is not a new one. Without having been specifically labeled as such, this line of research has been pursued for a long time in both North America and Australia, including projects on environmental evalua- tion and problems of potential carrying capacity of the environment. Specific cases demonstrate the interest and willingness of experts worldwide to accept landscape ecology as a tool to identify solutions to environmental problems. The International Geographical Union (IGU) has a specific working group to address problems of land- scape ecology called Landscape Synthesis: Geoecological Foundations of Complex Landscape Management, which involves research centers in more than 60 countries on all continents. Other committees of the IGU such as the Geoecological Mountain Committee and activities of the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE) further demonstrate worldwide interest in this research, and illustrate the interdisciplinary nature of the cooperation, which brings together geoscientific, biological, and agricultural sciences and principles of forest and water management in the treatment of environmental problems. The success of landscape ecology in research as well as in im- plementation reflects the need to solve the growing disproportions in the organization of landscape utilization. The formulation of layout plans usually evolves primarily from analyses of individual branches of the national economy, although attempts to apply more complex knowledge of the landscape have already been undertaken. Sectorial plansâfor water management, agriculture, urbanization, communi- cation, etc.âare for the most part firmly based on reliable analyses. However, these plans often serve sectorial interests and goals and partially reflect socioeconomic factors. Natural scientific and socioe- conomic analyses do not cover the landscape as a whole, and espe- cially not the landscape as a system. This ultimately complicates the implementation of proposed plans. Various sectorial interests con- flict, and after implementation the landscape system often responds negatively with heavy impacts on the environment. Sectorial con- flicts can be solved on the global level, but usually without adequate regard for landscape patterns and the ability to fulfill economic func- tions. Basic research is often not utilized sufficiently in advance to
42 adequately predict consequences, or else it is only utilized in specific conflicting situations. The current state of landscape organization in the environment calls for a new, integrated approach which landscape ecology can provide by utilizing methodological tools to achieve a systems insight into the landscape. Landscape ecology examines the landscape as a dynamic, spatial system of phenomena which are both natural and socioeconomic in character. Landscape development is governed by various natural and so- cioeconomic norms. Natural mechanismsâphysical, chemical, and biologicalârelate to the synergistic and chronological facets of the landscape. Most essential in the new approach to landscape research are the dynamics of the relationships between the elements of the landscape. Ranking among the most significant research problems are issues of the stability of the landscape structure and landscape potential and the ability to fulfill functions related to the needs of society. The function of the landscape as a societal environment has changed over time. It can be said that it has two faces. For a long time, from the emergence of man until the recent past, the landscape appeared to have unlimited potential for man's use and thus provided great security. The interaction between man and the landscape was therefore characterized by negative feedback, which connected man and the landscape in a relatively stable system. Man's feeling of security with regard to the landscape did not encourage upgrading research on the landscape because existing knowledge was considered to be sufficient. Due to changes that have taken place and continue to take place in the landscape as the result of the scientific-technical revolution, the landscape began to respond and change. Ever more abundant are the critical phenomena occurring in man's relationship to the land- scape that seem to point out that the landscape is not an essential, but only accessorial, property that may be forfeited by inappropriate utilization and by overloading its carrying capacity with various hu- man activities and interventions. This "second face" has confronted man with the necessity of quickly and radically modifying his activi- ties in order to preserve the landscape. The interaction between man and landscape has recently been characterized by positive feedback, which connects man with the landscape in a dynamic, accelerating system exhibiting a global and social dimension. The basic aim of landscape ecology is to contribute to solving
43 the problem of harmonization of three facets of the man/landscape relationshipâbiological, economic, and socialâas well as the prob- lem of rational landscape utilization based on scientific research. It is also undesirable to favor one point of view, either harming the land- scape through exploitation of resources without regard for natural conditions or harming society by delaying economic development due to overemphasis on landscape conservation. Landscape utilization must ensure the economic demands of society while preserving the developmental conditions of the biosphere and individual landscape components. Landscape evaluation must therefore be approached from the landscape-user and inhabitant's point of view as well as with consideration of landscape components. The systems proper- ties of the landscape are thus synthesized for potential utilization. Landscape potential embodies both the adequacy of its natural and socioeconomic characteristics for pertinent use and, at the same time, the social interest in preserving the long-term reproductive capacity of the landscape to ensure continued functioning of the landscape and fulfillment of its environmental potential. The landscape ecology research program may be used to address all basic problems of landscape utilization, in the domain of urban systems, agriculture, water management, tourism, or other branches of the national economy. The composition of the interdisciplinary team depends upon the solutions required for individual problems. Landscape ecology provides for the effective cooperation of a very broad spectrum of experts in the geosciences, biological sciences, and social sciences. At the same time, it creates the preconditions for excellent future opportunities to improve man's relationship to the environment, which is one of the most crucial problems facing mankind today.
