Limits of bio-ecologyLimits of bio-ecology in understanding landscapesin understanding landscapes

Landscape as a unique nature - Landscape as a unique nature - culture continuumculture continuum

TotalcharakterTotalcharakter““ of A. von Humb of A. von Humbololdtdt…… Landschaft ..“Das Total Character einer Landschaft ..“Das Total Character einer

Erdgegend“Erdgegend“

the total-nature of the the total-nature of the Earth's surface“Earth's surface“ (1806) (1806)

The total character of a piece of the earth.

The system at the earth surface of biotic and abiotic forces that visually can be recognized

Landscape as a tangible ecosystem

History• Landscape, first recorded in 1598, was borrowed as a

painters' term from Dutch during the 16th century.

• The Dutch word landschap had earlier meant simply “region, tract of land” but had acquired the artistic sense, which it brought over into English, of “a picture depicting scenery on land.”

• 34 years pass after the first recorded use of landscape in English before the word is used of a view or vista of natural scenery.

• People were first introduced to landscapes in paintings and then saw landscapes in real life.

History..• Dutch landschap = land + schap

(shape, ship)• English earlier landskip = land +

skip – ship, composition, shape, form, look

• English contemporary landscape = land + scenery

sciencesart

Social sciences

LandscapeLandscape

• Land - scapeLand - scape

• Life -----scapeLife -----scape

• Moon---scapeMoon---scape

• Sound—scapeSound—scape

• etc.------scapeetc.------scape

Inscape…..In-scape

Pierre Dansereau

(1911) is a Canadian ecologist known as one of the "fathers of ecology".

Biogeography; An Ecological Perspective - an international reputation

CBC Massey lectures: "Inscape and Landscape“

Inscape and LandscapeToronto: CBC Learning Systems, 1973

Pierre Dansereau

Inscape and landscape: The human perception of environment. Columbia University Press (1975)

" the richness of our inscapes is preliminary to a good management of our landscape.."

Landscape in contemporary natural science

CAS = Complex Adaptive Systems (Levin, 1999: Fragile Dominion. Complexity and the Commons. Perseus Book, Reading,

Pennsylvania, USA)

Characteristics of CAS: heterogeneity non / linearity hierarchical organization flows (of matters, energy and information)

Landscape as scientific term and concept

Landscape in a tradition of Landscape ecology

Landscape in ecology..approach and

limit• Hierarchy• Ecosystems• Non-human impact (man is external

agent)• Funcionalism (reductionalism)• Data based approach (hard

data/from land)

The European Landscape Convention (Florence, 2000)

What, according to the Convention, does the term “landscape” cover?

The landscape is part of the land, as perceived by local people or visitors, which evolves through time as a result of being acted upon by natural forces and human

beings. 

“Landscape policy” reflects the public authorities' awareness of the need to frame and implement a policy on landscape. 

The European Landscape Convention (Florence, 2000) Every landscape has its value

• Landscape has no borders Landscape is not a matter for individual states alone.  It also needs to be considered in international policies and programmes.

• The people at the heart of landscape policy One of the major innovations of the European Landscape Convention is the definition of “landscape quality objectives”, meaning, for a specific landscape, the formulation by the competent authorities of the aspirations of the public with regard to the landscape features of their surroundings.  No longer the preserve of experts, landscape is now a policy area in its own right.

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Ecology in human and social science – Ecology in human and social science – methodology or metaphor? Examples of methodology or metaphor? Examples of application.application.

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