Instructor: Christian Torgersen
Office: Nash 162
Phone: 737-2463
Email: torgersc@ucs.orst.edu

Meeting: T 1300-1350
Place: Nash 214

Course outline
 

Date	Topic/Discussion	Reading assignment
Sept. 28	Introduction Evocative images and sensuous landscapes: How do we perceive our surroundings?	Note: reading assignments are due on the day they are assigned.
Oct. 5	Landscapes in the mind Natural versus cultural landscapes: Is there a difference? What does it mean to have a "landscape perspective?" Why are landscapes important to people? The romance of landscapes: What is a sense of place?	Meinig (1979), Bass (1999), Moore (1999)
Oct. 12	Historic reconstruction of riparian landscapes Paula Minear (M.S., Oregon State University)	Minear (1995)
	Patterns in space and time
Oct. 19	Part I. -- Elements and structure What is the difference between space and time? How do we describe space and time? What are the elements of spatio-temporal structure? How can we visualize spatio-temporal change? What are patterns? How do we describe patterns? How are patterns important in ecology?	Einstein (1961), Grenander (1996), Watanabe (1985)
Oct. 26	Predicting the distribution of the fisher in northwestern California Carlos Carroll (M.S., Oregon State University)	Carroll (1997)
Nov. 2	Part II. -- Scale What does "scale" mean? What are the spatio-temporal scales of human perception? How does fractal geometry help us understand spatial scaling? How does technology affect the scales of human perception? How do "grain" and "extent" improve our understanding of scale? Why is scale important in ecology?	Wiens (1989), Kotliar and Wiens (1990)
Nov. 9	Hierarchical organization and spatial scaling in stream ecosystems Colden Baxter (M.S., University of Montana)	Baxter (1997), Torgersen et al. (1999)
Nov. 16	Part III. -- Variability and heterogeneity What is variability? How do we describe variability? What is the difference between variability and heterogeneity? What is the relationship between scale and heterogeneity? What is the significance of heterogeneity in ecology?	Kolasa and Rollo (1991), Pickett and Cadenasso (1995)
Nov. 23	Northern goshawk habitat analysis in managed forest landscapes Mike McGrath (M.S., Oregon State University)	McGrath (1997)
Nov. 30	Landscape ecology as a science From what disciplines did landscape ecology arise? How does landscape ecology differ from other disciplines in the natural sciences? Is landscape ecology really a science? Where does landscape ecology fit within the context of ecology? Why is landscape ecology important today?	Zonneveld (1989), Pickett et al. (1994)
Underlined assignments are meant to be perused, as opposed to read exhaustively, to identify how a landscape perspective was incorporated into the specified research.

Reading list

Bass, R. 1999. On Willow Creek. Pages 211-226 in D. L. Barnhill, ed. At home on the earth: Becoming native to our place. University of California Press, Los Angeles.

Baxter, C. V. 1997. Geomorphology, land-use, and groundwater-surface water interaction: A multi-scale, hierarchical analysis of the distribution and abundance of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula.

Carroll, C. 1997. Predicting the distribution of the fisher (Martes pennanti) in northwestern California, U.S.A.: Using survey data and GIS. M.S. thesis. Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Einstein, A. 1961. Relativity: The special and the general theory. Random House, New York.

Grenander, U. 1996. Elements of pattern theory. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

Kolasa, J., and C. D. Rollo. 1991. The heterogeneity of heterogeneity: A glossary. Pages 1-23 in J. Kolasa and S. T. A. Pickett, eds. Ecological heterogeneity. Springer-Verlag, New York.

Kotliar, N. B., and J. A. Wiens. 1990. Multiple scales of patchiness and patch structure: A hierarchical framework for the study of heterogeneity. Oikos 59: 253-260.

McGrath, M. T. 1997. Northern goshawk habitat analysis in managed forest landscapes. M.S. thesis. Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Meinig, D. W. 1979. The beholding eye: Ten versions of the same scene. Pages 33-48 in D. W. Meinig, ed. The interpretation of ordinary landscapes. Oxford University Press, New York.

Minear, P. J. 1995. Historical change in channel form and riparian vegetation of the McKenzie River, Oregon. M.S. Thesis. Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Moore, K. D. 1999. Holdfast: At home in the natural world. The Lyons Press, New York.

Pickett, S. T. A., and M. L. Cadenasso. 1995. Landscape ecology: Spatial heterogeneity in ecological systems. Science 269: 331-334.

Pickett, S. T. A., J. Kolasa, and C. G. Jones. 1994. Ecological understanding. Academic Press, Inc., New York.

Torgersen, C. E., D. M. Price, H. W. Li, and B. A. McIntosh. 1999. Multiscale thermal refugia and stream habitat associations of chinook salmon in northeastern Oregon. Ecological Applications 9: 301-319.

Watanabe, S. 1985. Pattern recognition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.

Wiens, J. A. 1989. Spatial scaling in ecology. Functional ecology 3: 385-397.

Zonneveld, I. S., and R. T. T. Forman. 1989. Scope and concepts of landscape ecology as an emerging science. Pages 3-20 in I. S. Zonneveld and R. T. T. Forman, eds. Changing landscapes: An ecological perspective. Springer-Verlag, New York.