1st Edition

Landscape Ecology in Agroecosystems Management

Edited By Lech Ryszkowski Copyright 2002
    384 Pages
    by CRC Press

    378 Pages 36 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Successful management of agricultural landscapes depends on the recognition of the relationships between the processes and the structures that maintain the system. The rapidly growing science of Landscape Ecology quantifies the ways these ecosystems interact and establishes a link between the activities in one region and repercussions in another. Although science continuously yields new environmentally friendly agricultural technology, the sustainable development of a system will ultimately depend on a farmer's ability to understand and utilize these advances. The results presented in this book highlight the options for controlling threats and present guidelines for the implementation of environmentally friendly landscape management.

    Written by eminent scientists in landscape ecology research, Landscape Ecology in Agroecosystems Management provides a systematic evaluation of the basic ecological functions of the agricultural landscape. It presents a new approach to managing heat balance parameters and evaluates the effectiveness of models for assessing land use changes in rural areas. It also discusses the methods of evaluating matter cycling in agricultural landscapes with emphasis on the process leading to the diffuse pollution problems in ground and surface waters. It reports studies that show how semi-natural habitats maintained in the agricultural landscape constitute important refuge for many plants and animals and thereby enhances biological diversity in farmlands. Finally, it provides guidelines for management of agricultural landscapes for sustainable development of the countryside.

    The integration of agriculture and the natural ecosystem in the landscape has recently become a "hot" topic. The review of the achievements in landscape ecology presented in this book clearly demonstrates that landscape ecology is just passing through the threshold between the recognition of various basic processes to being able to manage these processes to achieve

    The Functional Approach to Agricultural Landscape Analysis. Development of Agriculture and Its Impacts on Landscape Functions. Mitigation of Radiation and Heat Balance Structure by Plant Cover Structure. Water Balance in Agricultural Landscape and Options for its Management by Change in Plant Cover Structure of Landscape. Control of Diffuse Pollution by Mid-Field Shelterbelts and Meadow Strips. Implementation of Riparian Buffer Systems for Landscape Management. Dissolved Organic Substances in Water Bodies of Agricultural Landscape. Influence of Landscape Mosaic Structure on Diversity of Wild Plant and Animal Communities in Agricultural Landscapes of Poland. Field Boundary Habitats for Wildlife, Crop, and Environmental Protection. Changes of Landscape Diversity Patterns in the Province of Wielkopolska, Poland, Under Influence of Agriculture. The Impact of Agriculture on the Environment of the Northern Parisian Basin. Models Assessing the Impact of Land-Use Change in Rural Areas on Development of Environmental Threats and Their Use for Agricultural Politics. Ecological Guidelines for the Management of Afforestations in Rural Areas. Land Units and the Biodiversity of Tree Clumps from Satellite Images to Ground Analysis
    Agrolandscape Ecology in the Twenty-First Century. Agriculture and Landscape Ecology.

    Biography

    Lech Ryszkowski