Adequate data of known accuracy are critical to advancing the field of landscape ecology

Abstract

The science oflandscape ecology is especially dependent on high-quality data because often it focuses on broad-scale patterns and processes and deals in the long term. Likewise, high quality data are necessary as the basis for building policy. When issues, such as climate change, can induce international political and economic consequences, it becomes clear that providing high-quality, long-term data is paramount. It is not an accident tl~at this chapter is positioned near the front of this book. Of the priority research topics presented in this boolc, this is the most pervasive across other topics because the availability ofhigh-quality data Iimits progress in other realms. Be it historic land-use data needed to unclerstand the dynamics of land-use change, the independent data of varying scales needed to assess scaling phenomena or test new metrics, the socioeconomic~cultural data needed to integrate humans into landscape ecology, or the biological and population data needed to evaluate ecological flows, the quality of raw data, metadata, and derived data products is critical to the core of landscape ecology. For each of these key topics and perspectives, the availability and quality of data will affect research results and practical recommendations. Data advances in past two decadesIt has been two decades since the 1983 worlrshop that many say established the landscape ecology field in North America (Risser et al. 1984). It was attended by many who have and still contribute to the field (e.g.,

Remote sensing and the future of landscape ecology

“…These can include position error (ie, inaccurate placement of a feature or object on a map), thematic error (when an object or feature on a map is identified incorrectly) or uncertainty pertaining to class nomenclature. Estimation of such errors and acknowledgement of uncertainty is an essential part of quality control and should form part of any mapping project using remote sensing data (Iverson, 2007;Shao and Wu, 2008). Accuracy estimates of 80% or less are common for land-cover maps produced from remote sensing imagery (Newton, 2007a).…”

“…Landscapes can be defi ned as areas that are spatially heterogeneous, and therefore landscape ecology approaches can potentially be applied at a range of scales to a wide range of different environments, including terrestrial, aquatic and marine systems (Turner, 2005;Wu and Hobbs, 2007). Major research themes in landscape ecology include the causes and consequences of spatial pattern in landscapes, the effects of disturbance, ecological flows in landscape mosaics, land-use and land-cover change, and landscape conservation and sustainable management (Forman, 1995;Turner et al, 2001;Wu and Hobbs, 2002;2007;Turner, 2005). As a research endeavour, landscape ecology has grown rapidly in recent decades (Wu, 2007), supported by the development of specialist journals (eg, Landscape Ecology) and academic organizations (eg, the International Association for Landscape Ecology, IALE, http://www.landscape-ecology.org).…”

Landscape Metrics: Past Progress and Future Directions

“…In 2002, Wu and Hobbs ( [10], 355) listed "data acquisition and accuracy assessment" among the top ten research priorities in landscape ecology, prompting theoretical discussions surrounding the proper use (and misuse) of landscape metrics [12]. Similarly, Iverson [57] stressed that adequate data with known accuracy were critical for advancing landscape ecology. In response, investigations into the impacts of mapping error on landscape metrics grew, with studies specifically examining how the errors inherent in land cover classifications are propagated into landscape pattern analyses [58][59][60][61].…”

History of Landscape Ecology in the United States

“…For example, to fully understand the structure, function, and significance of an ecosystem, its interactions with neighboring ecosystems and the landscape matrix must be explicitly considered (e.g., Golley 1987). Remote sensing data and geographic information systems (GIS), indispensable for analyzing spatial patterns on broad scales, also became widely accessible to ecologists (Iverson 2007). Many of these new ideas were brought together at the historic Allerton Park Workshop in 1983 Risser 1995), which "established something of a 'new paradigm' for landscape ecology" .…”