Landscape Ecology in a nutshell

The Ecological Value of Vegetation
? Primary producers, produce O2, consume CO2
? Carbon sink (woody plant biomass)
? Develop, maintain, stabilize soils
? Control erosion and runoff
? Moderates climate and weather patterns
? Removes pollutants


Biodiversity – Biological Diversity


Ecological values:
• Genetic variation (natural selection)
• Maintain ecosystem functions
• Redundancy
• Ecosystem stability
• Maximum productivity



Human values
• Food sources (animal and plant)
• Natural products (medicines, pesticides, antibiotics, materials)
• Biological control agents
• Source of genes (hybridizing, genetic engineering)

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Exotic or Non-Native Species
• Can be invasive, weedy
• Displace/replace native species
• Impact ecosystem functions
• Degrade wildlife habitat
• Produce impoverished, homogeneous landscapes

New Jersey Exotics
gypsy moth, hemlock woolly adelgid, chestnut blight, Dutch elm disease, purple loosestrife, Japanese stilt grass, Japanese knotweed, multiflora rose, Japanese barberry, honeysuckle vine, winged euonymus, shrub honeysuckle, Tree of Heaven, Norway maple, autumn olive

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Matrix – Network What is the Matrix?
• In pre-settlement times it WAS the Forest with patches (aberrations) of Native American settlements in between
• TODAY, the matrix is suburban development with patches of forest

Spatial Fragmentation
• average patch size decreases
• average patch density decreases
• patch shape may change
• core area decreases
• distance between patches increases (isolation)


Ecological Fragmentation
• amount of edge increases, then decreases (after > 50% area lost)
• corridors become narrower and disconnected
• marginal lands are impacted (e.g. riparian corridors)
• landscape connections are lost
• leads to impoverished, homogeneous landscape


Planning and Design Guidelines
• use native plant species whenever possible
• emulate natural plant communities
• genetic diversity (seeds, not clones)
• appropriate genetic provenance
• think regionally, act locally
• avoid using invasive exotics
• avoid fragmenting large patches
• preserve sensitive ecosystems

Planning and Design Guidelines
• focus on ecosystems and habitats, not species
• keep linkages natural
• wide vegetation buffers along major water courses
• maintain a few large patches
• provide for species movement between isolated patches
• maintain heterogeneous bits of nature in developed areas

5 Planning Rules of Thumb
• Minimize Edge
• Minimize Fragmentation
• Maximize Habitat
• Protect Corridors
• Maximize Habitat Diversity