Wholisitic interpretation of conservation needed

Excerpt

Sustainability and restoration are current buzzwords. These concepts are now used in efforts to prevent natural resource degradation. The major thrust of most of these efforts is to identify what we have done and are doing to disrupt the self-sustaining processes of ecosystems and how we can mitigate or restore these processes to save ecosystems from further degradation.

Landscape perspective

For the past few decades, ecological and conservation studies have focused primarily on “local” relationships studying plants, animals, air, water, and soils within a relatively homogeneous spatial unit. However, observation of “local” change may not convey relevant information in terms of regional conservation goals. Today, some of the most critical environmental conservation issues confronting humankind are the complex responses of landscape ecosystems to human activites. By “landscape” we mean a heterogeneous mix of spatial areas that encompass more than one ownership or management unit.

Landscape ecology deals with the study of the development and dynamics of landscape …