Landscape Ecology in Agroecosystems Management

384pp  ISBN 0849309190      £70.00

• Presents a new approach to managing heat balance parameters utilizing the structure of plant cover in the landscape
• Evaluates the effectiveness of models for assessing land use changes in rural areas
• Discusses methods for evaluating matter cycling in agricultural landscapes with special emphasis on the processes leading to the diffuse pollution problems in ground and surface waters
• Provides strategies for increasing and managing plant and animal species biodiversity through landscape plant cover

Successful management of agricultural landscapes depends on the recognition of the relationships between the processes and the structures that maintain the system. The rapidly growing science of Landscape Ecology quantifies the ways these ecosystems interact and establishes a link between the activities in one region and repercussions in another. Although science continuously yields new environmentally friendly agricultural technology, the sustainable development of a system will ultimately depend on a farmer's ability to understand and utilize these advances. The results presented in this book highlight the options for controlling threats and present guidelines for the implementation of environmentally friendly landscape management.

Written by eminent scientists in landscape ecology research, Landscape Ecology in Agroecosystems Management provides a systematic evaluation of the basic ecological functions of the agricultural landscape. It presents a new approach to managing heat balance parameters and evaluates the effectiveness of models for assessing land use changes in rural areas. It also discusses the methods of evaluating matter cycling in agricultural landscapes with emphasis on the process leading to the diffuse pollution problems in ground and surface waters. It reports studies that show how semi-natural habitats maintained in the agricultural landscape constitute important refuge for many plants and animals and thereby enhances biological diversity in farmlands. Finally, it provides guidelines for management of agricultural landscapes for sustainable development of the countryside.

The integration of agriculture and the natural ecosystem in the landscape has recently become a "hot" topic. The review of the achievements in landscape ecology presented in this book clearly demonstrates that landscape ecology is just passing through the threshold between the recognition of various basic processes to being able to manage these processes to achieve desired goals. This transformation will result not only from the development of knowledge, but also by the change in nature protection paradigms. Whether you are researching, designing, or managing agroecosystems, Landscape Ecology in Agroecosystems Management is a "must have" book.

Contents

The Functional Approach to Agricultural Landscape Analysis, Lech Ryszkowski
Development of Agriculture and Its Impacts on Landscape Functions, Lech Ryszkowski and Janusz Jankowiak
Mitigation of Radiation and Heat Balance Structure by Plant Cover Structure, Janusz Olejnik, Andrzej Kedziora, and Frank Euleinstain
Water Balance in Agricultural Landscape and Options for its Management by Change in Plant Cover Structure of Landscape, Andrzej Kedziora, Janusz Olejnik, and Frank Euleinstain
Control of Diffuse Pollution by Mid-Field Shelterbelts and Meadow Strips, Lech Ryszkowski, Lech Szajdak, Alina Bartoszewicz, and Irena Zyczynska-Baloniak
Implementation of Riparian Buffer Systems for Landscape Management, Richard Lowrance and Susan R. Crow
Dissolved Organic Substances in Water Bodies of Agricultural Landscape, Barbara Szpakowska
Influence of Landscape Mosaic Structure on Diversity of Wild Plant and Animal Communities in Agricultural Landscapes of Poland,Lech Ryszkowski, Jerzy Karg, Krzysztof Kujawa, Hanna Goldyn, and Ewa Arczynska-Chudy
Field Boundary Habitats for Wildlife, Crop, and Environmental Protection, E. J. P. Marshall, J. Baudry, F. Burel,
W. Joenje, B. Gerowitt, M. G. Paoletti, C. F. G. Thomas, D. Kleijn, and D. Le Coeur
Changes of Landscape Diversity Patterns in the Province of Wielkopolska, Poland, Under Influence of Agriculture, Andrzej Mizgajski
The Impact of Agriculture on the Environment of the Northern Parisian Basin, Stanislas Wicherek
Models Assessing the Impact of Land-Use Change in Rural Areas on Development of Environmental Threats and Their Use for Agricultural Politics, Armin Werner and Peter Zander
Ecological Guidelines for the Management of Afforestations in Rural Areas, Stanislaw Balazy
Land Units and the Biodiversity of Tree Clumps from Satellite Images to Ground Analysis, Marc Galochet, Vincent Godard, Micheline Hotyat, and Stanislaw Balazy
Agrolandscape Ecology in the Twenty-First Century, Gary W. Barrett and Laura E. Skelton
Agriculture and Landscape Ecology, Lech Ryszkowski
Index