History of Landscape ecology
Landscape ecology, as the name implies, is the study of landscapes; specifically, the composition, structure and function of landscapes. But what’s a ‘landscape’? Although there are myriad ways to define ‘landscape’ depending on the phenomenon under consideration, suffice it to say that a landscape is not necessarily defined by its size; rather, it is defined by an interacting mosaic of elements (e.g., ecosystems) relevant to some phenomenon under consideration (at any scale). Thus, a landscape is simply an area of land, at any scale, containing an interesting pattern that affects and is affected by an ecological process of interest.
Landscape ecology, then, involves the study of these landscape patterns, the interactions among the elements of this pattern, and how these patterns and interactions change over time. In addition, landscape ecology involves the application of these principles in the formulation and solving of real-world problems.