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Sam Riffell
Mississippi State University
Two simple definitions of landscape ecology are "spatial
arrangement matters (Forman 1995)" and "the
effect of pattern on process (Turner 1989)". Although
more detailed definitions exist, these two profound statements
continue to capture the essence (and diversity) of our
discipline for the high-paced, sound-bite culture in
which we live. In its usual form, landscape ecology considers
how the composition and arrangement of different habitat
types, land forms, and land uses influence ecosystem
processes and the distribution and dispersal of organisms.
Landscape ecologists most often study the landscape from
a human perspective and scale (10s of kms). However,
because landscape ecology explicitly considers issues
of scale, its basic principles can be useful for scientific
inquiry in landscapes that are larger (entire regions)
or smaller (e.g., a streambed or Petri dish) than our
common human perspective.
I find landscape ecology an
exciting and unique field of study for several reasons.
First, landscape ecology
provides broad-scale answers that are needed to solve
many of the environmental issues facing our world.
Second, it is inherently concerned with spatial scale.
Third, landscape ecology explicitly incorporates human
activities (social, political and economic) into ecology;
not just as external impacts on a natural system, but
as an ecological component with a rightful role in
the landscape even as human society often misunderstands
and abuses that role.
About Sam Riffell
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
at Mississippi State University. The courses I teach include a course entitled ‘Principles
and Practices of Conservation in Agricultural Landscapes.” My research
focuses on the effects of human activities (agricultural practices, roads, and
recreational disturbance) on wildlife. I am the chair of the Foreign Scholar
Travel Award Committee which provides financial assistance for a foreign scholar
to attend our annual meetings.
I first discovered landscape ecology
when I took Dr. Kevin Gutzwiller’s
graduate landscape ecology course at Baylor University, and he encouraged me
to attend a US-IALE conference in 1994. Not only did I find landscape ecology
to be ecologically relevant and personally fascinating, I was also very impressed
by the friendly atmosphere and willingness of all the established landscape
ecologists to talk and interact with students. While I was working on my Ph.
D. at Michigan State, Dr. Jack Liu hosted the 1998 US-IALE conference at our
institution. This cemented my interest in landscape ecology and commitment
to US-IALE.
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