Experimental Landscape Ecology

Beginning with an overview of the history and philosophy of the scientific method, and tracing the development of experimental approaches in ecology broadly, the first half of the book discusses the broader issues of what makes a good experiment. Individual chapters describe unique aspects of landscape ecology that present challenges to experimentation, with suggestions for solutions on issues of scale, and how to apply controls, randomization and adequate replication in a landscape setting.

The second half of the book describes different kinds of landscape ecology experimental approaches including:

• large-scale manipulations
• experimental model landscapes
• mesocosms and microcosms
• in silico experiments
• novel landscapes

Each chapter describes the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and identifies the types of landscape ecology concepts and questions that a research can address. Examples from around the world, in a myriad of different environments, help to illustrate the ideas in each chapter.