GEOG 747 - Seminar in Physical Geography - Principles of Landscape Ecology
About the Course:
Scientists, planners, and conservationists are increasingly turning to principles from the field of landscape ecology for resolving debates over land conservation, biodiversity, habitat protection, watershed management and forest preservation. Landscape ecology, which is typically defined as the study of spatial pattern and its relationship to ecological process at a range of scales, has its roots in geography, ecology, environmental management, landscape architecture and regional planning and stresses the interrelationships between ecosystem pattern and process. However, the focus is not only on how ecological processes act to create ecosystem patterns, but also on the reciprocal role of ecological patterns in shaping processes. The goal of this course is to introduce principal and emerging concepts in landscape ecology as well as some of the techniques used in landscape ecological research, with an emphasis on geographic information systems, remote sensing and spatial analysis.
It is not expected that students will have had previous coursework in biogeography, ecology, GIS, remote sensing or spatial ecology; rather, the seminar will hopefully build on what you DO know while providing all of the necessary information that you DON’T know along the way. The format of the class is part seminar (discussion of readings) and part application (applying the methods to a sample dataset). Students will be evaluated on the basis of a final research paper that involves utilizing the theories and methods discussed in this class to address a specific hypothesis or research application.
For more information on the class (including a prospective syllabus), contact: John Kupfer, Dept. of Geography, 777-6739, kupfer@gwm.sc.edu. For more information on research in biogeography and landscape ecology at USC, check out my webpage: http://people.cas.sc.edu/kupfer/
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