2010 Syllabus
NREM 5054:
Applied Landscape Ecology
Co-Instructors:
Dr. Samuel D. Fuhlendorf
Department of Natural Resources
Ecology and Management
471 Ag Hall.
Phone: 744-6410
sam.fuhlendorf@okstate.edu
Dr. Timothy J. O’Connell
Department of Natural
Ecology and Management
240 Ag Hall
Phone: 744-7593
tim.oconnell@okstate.edu
Resources
Prerequisites:
General Ecology. Undergrads or those without a basic ecology course may be admitted at the discretion of the
instructors.
Objectives:
We will provide an overview of landscape ecology and advanced ecology of grasslands, shrublands, and forests. The
focus will be on developing an understanding of the effects of grazing, fire, and other disturbances on biotic and
abiotic processes at multiple scales. Our goal is for this course to be a comprehensive, applied landscape ecology
course that is focused on understanding issues associated with grassland and forested landscapes. Additionally, we
will provide an introduction to theory, techniques, and methods in landscape ecology, with heavy emphasis on
original literature.
Class meeting:
This is a 4-hour course with 3 credit-hours of lecture and 1 credit-hour of lab. The lecture hours will be spent as
traditional lectures and discussions. We will have no regularly scheduled formal lab, but will occasionally use lab time
for fruitful discussions and provide time for field trips.
Office Hours:
Fuhlendorf: Tu/Th 1:30-2:30
471 AGH
O’Connell: Wed. 4:00-5:00 pm
240 AGH
Readings and Discussion:
We have assigned no textbook for this class. This is because well-known landscape ecology texts tend to stress
theory over application to management, which we intend to be the thrust of this course. Also, we are committed to
delving into the primary literature for the discussion that will also be central to the course. All assigned readings will
be readily available online (e.g., JSTOR) or provided to you.
Thursday’s lecture time will usually be spent in discussion of weekly literature assignments. Each manuscript will be
assigned to an individual student discussion leader; the other students in attendance will be assigned the task of
sustaining the discussion so that the session does not degrade into a lecture. Real participation in discussion is
mandatory, every week. Students should expect to lead at least two discussions during the semester.
Discussion leaders will present a 5-minute oral summary of their assigned manuscript. As a guide to organize these
presentations, and for others in discussion to have a framework for their comments and questions we suggest the
following thought items for each section of a given manuscript:
Introduction

Place the research in context – on what previous work does it build?

What’s the main point (objective) of the research?

Is this an appropriate/far-reaching objective?
Methods

On what technologies does the analysis depend?

Do the methods seem appropriate to meet the stated objective?
Results

Without first reading the Discussion, do you think the Results support or refute the objective?

Do the tables and figures agree with the text of the Results?
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Discussion

Did your assessment of the Results agree with the author(s)? Why or why not?

What is the take-home message to the research?

How has (will) this manuscript affect future research?

Why did we select this manuscript for discussion?
Grading:
Final grades will be determined as a percentage of 400 total points (i.e., 362-400 = A, 322-361 = B, etc.). Grades
will result from discussion participation, two papers, a term research project, and two exams:
Assignment
In-class discussion
Mid-term exam
Final exam
Landscape scale essay
Landscape Management Plan for Black Kettle National Grassland
Term Research Project (80 pts total; 20% of total grade):
– annotated bibliography (~4 pages)
– written proposal (~ 3 pages)
– oral presentation (~ 10 minutes)
– manuscript (~ 6 pages)
TOTAL
points
60
80
80
40
60
percentage
15
20
20
10
15
20
20
20
20
5
5
5
5
400
100
Any student engaged in plagiarism or other types of cheating will receive (at a minimum) an F for the particular
assignment. Students who fail a course due to academic dishonesty will receive the “eff-shriek”, and the literal symbol
“F!” will appear on the transcript. The University also wants you to know how much they value you and want you to
succeed: http://osu.okstate.edu/acadaffr/aa/syllabusattachment-Fall.htm.
Exams:
There will be two exams. The final exam will not be expressly cumulative, but will certainly draw on concepts covered
earlier in the course. Exams will blend multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions.
Landscape Scale Essay:
You will quickly come to appreciate the importance of scale in landscape ecology, partly due to the fact that
“landscapes” have no pre-defined scale. Researchers, policy-makers, and land managers use the term “at the
landscape scale” quite frequently, however, so there must be some relevant, practical scale at which we tend to
perceive landscapes. Your job in this 2-3 page essay with references is to peruse the literature and make your case
for what that generally perceived landscape scale is.
Landscape Management Plan for Black Kettle National Grassland:
We will take two important field trips this semester, to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve and the Black Kettle National
Grassland. Our tour of the Preserve will focus on a landscape management plan that has been in place there for
several years. No such plan exists for the National Grassland. Your assignment in a 5-10 page paper is to develop a
landscape management plan for the Black Kettle National Grassland that incorporates elements of landscape
structure, function, and change. Simply mimicking the management at the Preserve will be unsatisfactory: your plan
will need to consider the unique resources and challenges present at Black Kettle, as well as your informed opinion of
how much land area should be in different land cover elements at any given time.
Term Research Project:
Each student will conduct an original research project on a relevant topic that will culminate in the preparation of a
brief manuscript (~ 6 pages) suitable for submission to a peer-refereed journal. These projects may or may not be
related to thesis/dissertation research – it’s up to the student. Term projects also may or may not rely heavily on GIS
technology – we recognize that some students will be trained in GIS and others will not. There are plenty of
interesting questions to explore in landscape ecology that do not require ArcView proficiency or can be investigated
using existing and readily available spatial data. We will be looking for some application of landscape ecology theory
to a management issue; we are open to multiple methods students might pursue to make that application.
Students will be graded on four aspects of the term project: an annotated bibliography demonstrating an
investment in the primary literature germane to the topic, a brief written proposal outlining the issue and the
approach, an oral presentation (Powerpoint) in standard “conference” format, and a completed manuscript.
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Date
8/24
8/26
8/31
Day
T
R
T
Leader
O’Connell
O’Connell
Fuhlendorf
Topic/activity
Orientation
Intro to landscape ecology
Hierarchy and scaling
9/2
R
9/7
9/9
T
R
Fuhlendorf
Evolution of landscape ecology
Student-led discussion
9/14
T
O’Connell
Hoyt 2000, Badgely and Fox 2000
9/16
R
Biogeography at multiple
scales
Student-led discussion
9/21
9/23
T
R
O’Connell
McIntyre and Wiens 1999, Gillson 2004
9/28
9/30
T
R
Fuhlendorf
Structure – patches and matrix
FIELD TRIP- Black Kettle
National Grassland
Characterizing landscapes
Student-led discussion
10/5
O’Connell
10/7
T
R
Structure – pattern and process
Student-led discussion
10/12
T
O’Connell
10/14
R
Corridors, dispersal, and
metapopulations
Student-led discussion
10/19
T
10/21
R
10/26
T
10/28
11/2
R
T
11/4
R
11/9
T
11/11
R
11/16
T
11/18
R
11/23
T
Fuhlendorf
11/25
11/30
R
THANKSGIVING
12/2
R
O’Connell
Forest dynamics
12/7
T
O’Connell
12/9
R
Reserve design and
restoration, rangeland mgt.
Student-led discussion
12/14
T
Student-led discussion
Readings
none
Romme and Knight 1982, Urban et al. 1987
Delcourt and Delcourt 1988, Turner et al.
1989
Turner 1989, Augustine 2010, Gabriel et al.
2010
Groom et al. 2006, Andersen 2008
Wiens 1989, Forman 1995, Theobald 2010
Carlile et al. 1989, O’Neill et al. 1989
Levin 1992, Perry and Enright 2006
Baldi 2008, Atwood 2006
Annotated bibliography due
Baker 1992, Pickett and Cadenasso 1995
Ludwig & Tongway 1995, Knapp and Keeley
2006
Haddad 1999, Vermaat et al. 2008
Wiens 1997, Wu 2006, Pringle et al. 2010
Term project proposal due
Brady Allred
Fuhlendorf
Grazing Behavior on
landscapes
FIELD TRIP-tallgrass prairie
preserve
Ecological Disturbance
Fuhlendorf et al. 2006
Fuhlendorf et al. 2009
Beier and Noss 1998, Cadenasso et al
2006, Kalwij et al. 2008
??, Viedma 2008
EXAM 1
EXAM 1
EXAM 1
O’Connell
Habitat fragmentation issues
Yahner 1988, Hansson and Angelstam
1999, Howard et al. 2001
Schooley 2006, Hamer et al. 2006
Student-led discussion
Fuhlendorf
O’Connell
Dynamics – landscape
development
Gene or Student-led discussion
Natural vs. anthropogenic
disturbances
Student-led discussion
Range dynamics
Swanson et al. 1988, Burnett et al. 1998
Wu and Loucks 1995, Busing and White
1993
Baker 1995, Leston and Rodewald 2006
McCarthy et al. 2006, Bastian et al. 2006
Briske et al. 2005, Milne 1996
Final Term Projects Due
T
Student-led discussion
EXAM 2
EXAM 2
Swaffield and Primdahl 2006, Wimberly
2006 + oral presentations
Trabaud and Galtie 1996, Schulte and
Mladenoff 2005 + oral presentations
Christensen et al. 1996, Holling 1992
+ oral presentations
Nassauer and Opdam 2008, Koponen et al
2008 + oral presentations
EXAM 2
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Course Reading List. Unless otherwise indicated, these papers are readily accessible from JSTOR
(http://www.jstor.org/). Landscape Ecology (1987-1997) can be found here:
http://www.landscape.forest.wisc.edu/landscapeecology, or for papers published 1997-2006, here:
http://www.kluweronline.com/ksn/0921-2973/contents.
Andersen, B. J. 2008. Research in the journal Landscape Ecology, 1987–2005. Landscape Ecology 23: 129–134.
Antrop M. 2000. Background concepts for integrated landscape analysis. AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
77 (1-2): 17-28.
Atwood TC. 2006. The influence of habitat patch attributes on coyote group size and interaction in a fragmented landscape.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE ZOOLOGIE 84 (1): 80-87.
Augustine, David J. Spatial versus temporal variation in precipitation in a semi-arid ecosystem. Landscape Ecology 25:913925
Badgley, C. and D. L. Fox. 2000. Ecological biogeography of North American mammals: Species density and ecological
structure in relation to environmental gradients. Journal of Biogeography 27: 1437-1467.
Baker, W. L. 1992. Effects of settlement and fire suppression on landscape structure. Ecology 73: 1879-1887.
Baker, W. L. 1995. Longterm response of disturbance landscapes to human intervention and global change. Landscape
Ecology 10: 143-159.
Baldi A . 2008. Habitat heterogeneity overrides the species-area relationship. JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY Volume: 35
Issue: 4 Pages: 675-681
Bastian O, Kronert R, Lipsky Z. 2006. Landscape diagnosis on different space and time scales - a challenge for landscape
planning. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 21 (3): 359-374.
Beier, P. and R. F. Noss. 1998. Do habitat corridors provide connectivity? Conservation Biology 12: 1241-1252.
Briske, D.D., S.D. Fuhlendorf, and F.E. Smeins. 2005. Invited Synthesis. State-and-transition models, thresholds, and
rangeland health: A synthesis of ecological concepts and perspectives. Rangeland Ecology and Management 58:110
Burnett, M.R., P. V. August, J. H. Brown, Jr., and K. T. Killingbeck. 1998. The influence of geomorphological heterogeneity on
biodiversity: I. A patch scale perspective. Conservation Biology 12: 363-370.
Busing, R. T. and P. S. White. 1993. Effects of area on old-growth forest attributes: Implications for the equilibrium landscape
concept. Landscape Ecology 8: 119-126.
Cadenasso ML, Pickett STA, Grove JM. 2006. Dimensions of ecosystem complexity: Heterogeneity, connectivity, and history.
ECOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY 3 (1): 1-12.
Carlile, D. W., J. R. Skalski, J. E. Batker, J. M. Thomas, and V. I. Cullinan. 1989. Determination of ecological scale. Landscape
Ecology 2: 203-213.
Christensen, N. L., A. M. Bartuska, J. H. Brown, S. Carpenter, C. D’Antonio, R. Francis, J. F. Franklin, J. A. MacMahon, R. F.
Noss, D. J. Parsons, C. H. Peterson, M. G. Turner, R. G. Woodmansee. 1996. The report of the Ecological Society of
America committee on the scientific basis of ecosystem management. Ecological Applications 6: 665-691.
Delcourt, H. R. and P. A. Delcourt. 1988. Quaternary landscape ecology: Relevant scales in space and time. Landscape
Ecology 2: 23-44.
Fassnacht KS, WB Cohen and TA Spies. 2006. Key issues in making and using satellite-based maps in ecology: A
primer. FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 222 (1-3): 167-181.
Forman, R. T. T. 1995. Some general principles of landscape and regional ecology. Landscape Ecology 10: 133-142.
Fuhlendorf, S. D. and D. M. Engle. 2001. Restoring heterogeneity on rangelands: Ecosystem management based on
evolutionary grazing patterns. Bioscience 51: 625-632.
Gabriel et al. 2010. Scale Matters: the impact of organic farming on biodiversity at different spatial scales. Ecology Letters 13:
858-869.
Gillson L. 2004. Evidence of hierarchical patch dynamics in an east African savanna? LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 19 (8): 883894.
Groom G, Mucher CA, Ihse M, et al. 2006. Remote sensing in landscape ecology: experiences and perspectives in a
European context. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 21 (3): 391-408 APR 2006
Haddad, N. M. 1999. Corridor use predicted from behaviors at habitat boundaries. The American Naturalist 153: 215-227.
Hamer TL, Flather CH, Noon BR. 2006. Factors associated with grassland bird species richness: The relative roles of
grassland area, landscape structure, and prey. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 21 (4): 569-583.
Hansson, L. and P. Angelstam. 1991. Landscape ecology as a theoretical basis for nature conservation. Landscape Ecology
5: 191-201.
Hargis, C. D., J. A. Bissonette, and J. L. David. 1998. The behavior of landscape metrics commonly used in the study of
habitat fragmentation. Landscape Ecology 13: 167-186.
Holling, C. S. 1992. Cross-scale morphology, geometry, and dynamics of ecosystems. Ecological Monographs 62: 447-502.
Howard, M. N., S. K. Skagen, and P. L. Kennedy. 2001. Does habitat fragmentation influence nest predation in the shortgrass
prairie? The Condor 103: 530-536.
(Not available online; we will provide.)
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Hoyt, C. A. 2000. Pollen signatures of the arid to humid grasslands of North America. Journal of Biogeography 27: 687-696.
(http://www.epa.gov/maia/pdf/LandscapeChange.pdf)
Kalwij JM, Milton SJ, McGeoch MA. 2008. Road verges as invasion corridors? A spatial hierarchical test in an arid ecosystem
LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Pages: 439-451
Knapp EE, and JE Keeley. 2006. Heterogeneity in fire severity within early season and late season prescribed burns in a
mixed-conifer forest. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE 15 (1): 37-45.
Koponen P, Poulsen JG, et al. Impact of landscape and corridor design on primates in a large-scale industrial tropical
plantation landscape BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION Volume: 17 Issue: 5 Pages: 1105-1126
Leston, LFV and AD Rodewald. 2006. Are urban forests ecological traps for understory birds? An examination using Northern
Cardinals. Biological Conservation 131: 566–574.
Levin, S. A. 1992. The problem of pattern and scale in ecology. Ecology 73: 1943-1967.
Ludwig, J.A. and D.J. Tongway. 1995. Spatial organisation of landscapes and its function in semi-arid woodlands, Australia.
Landscape Ecology 10: 51-63.
McCarthy MA, Thompson CJ, Williams NSG. 2006. Logic for designing nature reserves for multiple species
AMERICAN NATURALIST 167 (5): 717-727.
McIntyre, N. E. and J. E. Wiens. 1999. How does habitat patch size affect animal movement? An experiment with darkling
beetles. Ecology 80: 2261-2270.
Milne, B., A. R. Johnson, T. H. Keitt, C. A. Hatfield, J. David, P. T. Hraber. 1996. Detection of critical densities associated with
pinon-juniper woodland ecotones. Ecology 77: 805-821.
Nassauer JI, Opdam P. 2008. Design in science: extending the landscape ecology paradigm. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 23
633-644
O’Neill, R. V., A. R. Johnson, and A. W. King. 1989. A hierarchical framework for the analysis of scale. Landscape Ecology 3:
193-205.
Perry G. L. W. and N. J. Enright. 2006. Spatial modelling of vegetation change in dynamic landscapes: a review of methods
and applications. PROGRESS IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 30 (1): 47-72.
Pickett, S. T. A. and M. L. Cadenasso. 1995. Landscape ecology: spatial heterogeneity in ecological systems. Science 269:
331-334.
Pringle, RM, DF Doak, AK Brody, R Jocque and TM Palmer. 2010. Spatial pattern enhances Ecosystem functioning
Romme, W. H. and D. H. Knight. 1982. Landscape diversity: The concept applied to Yellowstone Park. BioScience 32: 664670.
Schooley RL. 2006. Spatial heterogeneity and characteristic scales of species-habitat relationships. BIOSCIENCE 56 (6): 533537.
Schulte LA, Mladenoff DJ. 2005. Severe wind and fire regimes in northern forests: Historical variability at the regional scale.
ECOLOGY 86 (2): 431-445.
Swaffield S, Primdahl, J. 2006. Spatial concepts in landscape analysis and policy: some implications of
globalisation LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 21 (3): 315-331.
Swanson, F. J., T. K. Kratz, N. Caine, and R. G. Woodmansee. 1988. Landform effects on ecosystem patterns and
processes. BioScience 38: 92-98.
(http://www.humboldt.edu/~storage/pdfmill/batch%203/landform.pdf)
Taylor, A. H. 2000. Fire regimes and forest changes in mid and upper montane forests of the southern Cascades, Lassen
Volcanic National Park, California, USA. Journal of Biogeography 27: 87-104.
Theobald, D.M. 2010. Estimating natural landscape changes from 1992 to 2030 in the conterminous US. Landscape Ecology
25: 999-1011
Trabaud, L. and J. Galtie. 1996. Effects of fire frequency on plant communities and landscape pattern in the Massif des Aspres
(southern France). Landscape Ecology 11: 215-224.
Turner, M. G., R. V. O’Neill, R. H. Gardner, and B. T. Milne. 1989. Effects of changing spatial scale on the analysis of
landscape pattern. Landscape Ecology 3: 153-162.
Turner, M.G. 1989. Landscape Ecology: The Effect of Pattern on Process. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 20:
171-197.
Urban, D. L., R. V. O’Neill, and H. H. Shugart, Jr. 1987. Landscape ecology: A hierarchical perspective can help scientists
understand spatial patterns. BioScience 37: 119-127.
Vermaat, JE, N Vigneau, and N Omtzigt. 2008. Viability of meta-populations of wetland birds in a fragmented landscape:
testing the key patch approach. Biodiversity and Conservation 17: 2263–2273.
Viedma, Olga. 2008. The influence of topography and fire in controlling landscape composition and structure in Sierra de
Gredos (Central Spain). Landscape ecology 23 657-672.
Wiens, J.A. 1989. Spatial Scaling in Ecology. Functional Ecology 3: 385-397.
Wiens, J.A. 1997. The emerging role of patchiness in conservation biology. In: S.T.A. Pickett, R.S. Ostfeld, M. Shachak, G.E.
Likens (eds.) The Ecological Basis of Conservation: Heterogeneity, Ecosystems and Biodiversity. Chapman & Hall,
New York NY, USA.
Wimberly MC. 2006. Species dynamics in disturbed landscapes: When does a shifting habitat mosaic enhance
connectivity? LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 21 (1): 35-46.
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Wu JG. 2006. Landscape ecology, cross-disciplinarity, and sustainability science LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 21 (1): 1-4.
Wu, J., and O.L. Loucks. 1995. From balance of nature to hierarchical patch dynamics: a paradigm shift in ecology. Quarterly
Review of Biology 70: 439-466.
Yahner, R.H. 1998. Changes in wildlife communities near edges. Conservation Biology 2: 333-339.
From the journal Landscape Ecology:
Landscape Ecology is the flagship journal of landscape ecology which is a rapidly developing discipline
as well as a new ecological paradigm. Focusing on highly inter- and transdisciplinary studies, Landscape
Ecology draws together expertise from biological, geophysical, and social sciences to explore the
formation, dynamics and consequences of spatial heterogeneity in natural and human-dominated
landscapes. In particular the journal publishes new and innovative papers which seek to improve our
understanding of the relationships between spatial patterns and ecological processes, and which provide
guidance and solutions to help develop and maintain sustainable landscapes. A valuable resource for
both researchers and practitioners in broad-scale ecology, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem
management, and landscape planning and design, Landscape Ecology is currently one of the leading
journals across these fields.
Key research areas include:










relationships among landscape pattern, ecological processes and scale
the nature and ecological consequences of land use and land cover change
the effects of landscape fragmentation on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
the effects of landscape heterogeneity on population dynamics, ecosystem processes, and
ecosystem services
disturbance and patch dynamics in natural and anthropogenic landscapes
scaling – transferring information across space, time, and organizational levels
applications of nonlinear dynamics and complexity science in landscape studies
landscape approaches to biodiversity conservation, environmental management, and ecological
restoration
integrating ecology with landscape planning, design, and architecture
transdisciplinary studies of landscape sustainability
6