This book is based on a major conference with Historic England, Natural England, the Ancient Tree Forum and others which took place in 2016 as part of the celebrations for the tercentenary of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. The event brought together ecologists, landscape historians and archaeologists, land managers and conservationists to look critically at the impact of Brown and his successors on the UK's landscape. The book addresses the paradigms of these designed landscapes. It considers the issues around the legacy of Brown's creations and ideas and the repercussions that are still apparent today. It makes for a thought-provoking and rich discussion covering habitat conservation and creation, drainage and the release of alien species. This is the untold story of the ecology of Capability Brown and the landscape school which followed.

Reconsidering Extinction in Terms of the History of Global Bioethics continues the Routledge Advances in the History of Bioethics series by exploring approaches to the bioethics of extinction from disparate disciplines, from literature, to social sciences, to history, to sustainability studies, to linguistics. Van Rensselaer Potter coined the phrase “Global Bioethics” to define human relationships with their contexts. This and subsequent volumes return to Potter’s founding vision from historical perspectives, and asks, how did we get here from then? Extinction can be understood in terms of an everlasting termination of shape, form, and function; however, until now life has gone on. Where would we humans be if the dinosaurs had not become extinct? And we still manage to communicate, only not in proto-Indo-European, but in a myriad of languages, some more common than others. The answer is simple, after extinction events, evolution continues. But will it always be so? Has the human race set planet earth on a collision course with nothingness? This volume explores areas of bioethical interpretation in relation to the complex concept of extinction.

Lancelot “Capability” Brown was one of the most influential landscape designers of the eighteenth-century at a time when Britain was changing radically from an agrarian to an industrial and colonial nation, whilst Europe was periodically convulsed by war and revolution. The extent and nature of his influence are, however, fiercely debated. Brown worked at hundreds of important sites across England and his name became synonymous with the “English Garden” style which was copied across Northern Europe and entranced Catherine the Great, who remodelled her landscapes in St Petersburg to reflect the new style. He was fêted in his time, and recognised by the Crown, but Brown’s style was readily copied over his later life and particularly after his death. Arguably, this ubiquity led to the denigration of his achievements and even his character, particularly by the agents of the Picturesque. The lack of any personal primary material from Brown - forcing scholars to rely on his landscapes, contracts and bank accounts - has hindered attempts to provide a rounded and credible account of the man and his works. However, by exploring his team of associates and his role as Royal Gardener, new light can be thrown on the man, his landscapes and his landscape legacy. Bringing together a number of perspectives from across Northern Europe, Capability Brown, Royal Gardener explores the lasting international impact of Brown. With Brown’s position as Royal Gardener at its heart, this book explores for the first time his business methods, working methods and European influence. It assesses how, crucially, Brown’s work practices placed him within the world of nurserymen and landscape designers, and how his business practices and long term relationships with draughtsmen and designers allowed him to manage a huge number of projects and a substantial financial turnover. This, in turn, allowed him to work in a way that promoted and advanced his style of landscape. Edited by Professor Jonathan Finch (University of York) and Dr Jan Woudstra (University of Sheffield), and with a varied range of engaging contributors drawn internationally from archaeology, art history, history and landscape architecture, Capability Brown, Royal Gardener weaves together strands from across a broad range of disciplinary interests. It makes an important contribution to the scholarly discussion of Brown’s work, the work of his collaborators, and legacy in the UK and across Northern Europe. Relevant to students and academics at all levels, this volume throws new light on Capability Brown and his impact on the business of place-making in Northern Europe.

Environmental horticulture - also referred to as landscape horticulture and amenity horticulture - is the umbrella term for the horticulture that we encounter in our daily lives. This includes parks, botanic gardens, sports facilities, landscape gardens, roundabouts, cemeteries, shopping centres - any public space which has grass, planting and trees. This book reflects contemporary thinking and is supported by scientific evidence to show the role, value and application of horticulture in the landscape. The discipline of environmental horticulture, its importance and impact on the wider environment is explored in the first part, whilst the second part covers practical horticultural management of different categories of environmental horticulture.

An ideal text for students taking a course in landscape ecology. The book has been written by very well-known practitioners and pioneers in the new field of ecological analysis. Landscape ecology has emerged during the past two decades as a new and exciting level of ecological study. Environmental problems such as global climate change, land use change, habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity have required ecologists to expand their traditional spatial and temporal scales and the widespread availability of remote imagery, geographic information systems, and desk top computing has permitted the development of spatially explicit analyses. In this new text book this new field of landscape ecology is given the first fully integrated treatment suitable for the student. Throughout, the theoretical developments, modeling approaches and results, and empirical data are merged together, so as not to introduce barriers to the synthesis of the various approaches that constitute an effective ecological synthesis. The book also emphasizes selected topic areas in which landscape ecology has made the most contributions to our understanding of ecological processes, as well as identifying areas where its contributions have been limited. Each chapter features questions for discussion as well as recommended reading.

The traditional patterns of land use that have created many of the world's cultural landscapes contribute to biodiversity, support ecological processes, provide important environmental services, and have proven sustainable over the centuries. Protected landscapes can serve as living models of sustainable use of land and resources, and offer important lessons for sustainable development. Examples of these landscapes and the diverse strategies needed to maintain this essential relationship between people and the land are provided.

Ask airline passengers what they see as they gaze out the window, and they will describe a fragmented landscape: a patchwork of desert, woodlands, farmlands, and developed neighborhoods. Once-contiguous forests are now subdivided; tallgrass prairies that extended for thousands of miles are now crisscrossed by highways and byways. Whether the result of naturally occurring environmental changes or the product of seemingly unchecked human development, fractured lands significantly impact the planet’s biological diversity. In Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes, Sharon K. Collinge defines fragmentation, explains its various causes, and suggests ways that we can put our lands back together. Researchers have been studying the ecological effects of dismantling nature for decades. In this book, Collinge evaluates this body of research, expertly synthesizing all that is known about the ecology of fragmented landscapes. Expanding on the traditional coverage of this topic, Collinge also discusses disease ecology, restoration, conservation, and planning. Not since Richard T. T. Forman's classic Land Mosaics has there been a more comprehensive examination of landscape fragmentation. Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes is critical reading for ecologists, conservation biologists, and students alike.