Central Concepts and Issues of Landscape Ecology

The objective of biological conservation is the long-term maintenance of populations or species or, more broadly, of the Earth’s biodiversity. Many of the threats that elicit conservation concern result in one way or another from human land use. Population sizes may become precariously small when suitable habitat is lost or becomes spatially fragmented, increasing the likelihood of extinction. Changes in land cover may affect interactions between predator and prey or parasite and host populations. The spread of invasive or exotic species, disease, or disturbances such as fire may be enhanced by shifts in the distribution of natural, agricultural, or urbanized areas. The infusion of pollutants into aquatic ecosystems from terrestrial sources such as agriculture may be enhanced or reduced by the characteristics of the landscape between source and end point. Virtually all conservation issues are ultimately land-use issues.