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Cover image of Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes
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Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes

Sharon K. Collinge
foreword by Richard T. T. Forman

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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...

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.

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Reviews

This important and relevant work is well written and very extensively referenced.

Its first-person style, relating often to the author's own experiences, is engaging and personable, and yet the book backs a scientific punch too... Its unassuming style and friendly approach belie it powerful insight and interpretation of a vast literature.

Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes is a fascinating, thorough, and positive book, packed with scientific and technical content—an excellent resource for teachers and students of landscape and restoration ecology or for scientifically oriented naturalists.

Nearly all advanced students, researchers and practitioners of landscape ecology, natural area management, ecological restoration, land use planning, and conservation biology would benefit from reading Sharon Collinge's excellent overview of ecosystem fragmentation and its effects.

Sharon Collinge has taken on a challenging topic—the dismantling and potential reassembly of natural landscapes—and done it great justice. Her book is scholarly yet accessible, a must-read for teachers, students, and practitioners of conservation biology.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
360
ISBN
9780801891380
Illustration Description
24 halftones, 18 line drawings
Table of Contents

Foreword, by Richard T. T. Forman
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Conceptual Frameworks
3. Fragment Size and Isolation
4. Experimenting with Fragmentation
5. Fragment Context and Edge Effects
6. Animal and Plant

Foreword, by Richard T. T. Forman
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Conceptual Frameworks
3. Fragment Size and Isolation
4. Experimenting with Fragmentation
5. Fragment Context and Edge Effects
6. Animal and Plant Movement
7. Species Interactions
8. Parasites, Pathogens, and Disease Emergence
9. Modeling
10. Restoration
11. Ecological Planning
12. Some Final Thoughts
Literature Cited
Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Sharon K. Collinge, Ph.D.

Sharon K. Collinge is an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology as well as of environmental studies at the University of Colorado. She is the senior volume editor of Disease Ecology: Community Structure and Pathogen Dynamics.
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