In recent years EU policy towards the ‘landscape’ has become better defined, whereas at the same time the notion of ‘landscape’ itself remains elusive. The need for indicators to evaluate and monitor the effects of landscape policies and plans is urgent. What is more, landscape is one of the components considered in environmental reporting, but unlike air, soil, or water, it is difficult to measure using quantitative methods. With studies on landscape indicators being as rare as they are, this volume is an attempt to fill the gap, dealing as it does with the definition and use of specific indicators for landscape assessment and monitoring. To tackle the diverse dimensions of the landscape (whose complexity is well known), the subject is approached by a multidisciplinary team of experts in landscape ecology, landscape history, landscape perception, regional planning, strategic environmental assessment and environmental impact assessment procedures, and multi-criteria assessment methods. Individual chapters include comparative assessments of studies conducted thus far in the EU, as well as detailed analyses of ecological, historical, perceptive, land-use, and economic ways of looking at landscape. As well as providing a rich source of references for researchers studying the landscape from a variety of perspectives, the book will be required reading for European officials involved at any level in planning or assessing the landscape or environment.

Landscape ecology is a rapidly growing science of quantifying the ways in which ecosystems interact - of establishing a link between activities in one region and repercussions in another region. Remote sensing is a fast, inexpensive tool for conducting the landscape inventories that are essential to this branch of science. However, anyone who has conducted studies in the field has already found that traditional landscape ecology metrics are not always reliable with remote images. Landscape Ecology: New Metric Indicators for Monitoring, Modeling, and Assessment of Ecosystems with Remote Sensing presents a new set of metrics that allows remotely sensed data to be used effectively in landscape ecology. This groundbreaking new work is the first to present new metrics for remote sensing of landscapes and demonstrate how they can be used to yield more accurate analyses for GIS studies. The new metrics expand the capabilities of GIS, reduce interference and incorrect readings, help ecologists better understand ecosystem relationships, and reduce study costs. This set of metrics should be adopted by the EPA and will be the standard measure for future landscape analysis. This authoritative guide assesses the current state of the field and how remote sensing and landscape metrics have been used to date. It also explains how some of the traditional metrics were developed and how they can fail in landscape studies. Once this background has been established, the new metrics are introduced and their benefits and uses explained. The information in this book has previously been available only in scattered journal articles; this is the first single source for complete background information and instructions on using the new metrics.

Ecosystem Service Potentials and Their Indicators in Postglacial Landscapes: Assessment and Mapping provides valuable guidance for anyone involved with ecosystem service potential monitoring, use and management-from landscape ecologists and environmental managers, to policymakers and environmental economists. The book highlights effective measurement tools for evaluating the overall potential of ecosystem services from multiple perspectives. Beginning with an introduction to ecosystem services and the theoretical assumptions and objectives associated with their assessment, the book goes on to outline interdisciplinary methods of evaluation and analysis that are fully supported and illustrated throughout using an insightful case study focused on Wigry National Park. A range of different spatial reference units are also discussed, followed by chapters on both analytical and synthetic approaches to identifying service supply potential. In addition, the use of services and the impact of these uses on the assessment of potential is included, along with a discussion of the future shape of ecosystem service assessment.

This practical handbook bridges the gap between those scientists who study landscapes and the planners and conservationists who must then decide how best to preserve and build environmentally-sound habitats. Until now, only a small portion of the relevant science has influenced the decision-making arenas where the future of our landscapes is debated and decided. The authors explain specific tools and concepts to measure a landscape's structure, form, and change over time. Metrics studied include patch richness, class area proportion, patch number and density, mean patch size, shape, radius of gyration, contagion, edge contrast, nearest neighbor distance, and proximity. These measures will help planners and conservationists make better land use decisions for the future.

Traditionally, landscape planning has involved the designation and protection of exceptional countryside. However, whilst this still remains important, there is a growing recognition of the multi-functionality of rural areas, and the need to encourage sustainable use of the whole countryside rather than just its ‘hotspots’. With an inter-disciplinary assessment of the rural environment, this book draws on theories of landscape values, people-place relationships, sustainable development, and plan implementation. It focuses on the competing influences of globalization and localization, seeing the role of planning as the reconciliation of these conflicting demands, reinforcing character and distinctiveness without museum-izing rural areas. Taking a ‘landscape scale’ approach to the topic, this book responds to the interest sparked by concern for rural landscapes and by recent local and national policy shifts in this area.

The conservation of biodiversity has profound implications for managing natural resources with the need for scientific information as a foundation for management decisions increasing dramatically. The_ intent of this book is to look beyond the theory of biodiversity to_ the principles, practices, and policies needed for its conservation. Its objectives are to provide the scientific basis for understanding biodiversity, document case examples of theory and concepts applied at differing scales, and examine policies that affect its conservation.

This book is the first comprehensive study to review and take stock in OECD countries of progress in developing indicators to measure the environmental performance of agriculture.