BIOCOMPLEXITY - INCUBATION ACTIVITY: Examining Emergent Behaviors of Landscapes Using an Integrated Process-based Perspective

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

0083452 Harmon This project will investigate how processes such as water flow, fire, wind, and other disturbances interact in a forested landscape. The work will involve an exploration of how parts of landscape (elements) are linked together by these processes. The results will be used to develop a general framework to analyze and predict the behaviors of landscapes. This framework will separate processes that occur in a place versus those that link places. The latter set of processes can be used to define landscape versus ecosystem behavior. The framework will change perspectives of scientists and managers from one in which landscapes are viewed as patterns of elements to a perspective in which landscapes are viewed as places where interactions among processes vary according to the arrangement of landscape elements. The former view emphasizes pattern, whereas the latter emphasizes processes. This project will not only advance scientific understanding of the biocomplexity of landscapes, but will also allow land managers to manage natural resources at appropriate scales and in a sustainable manner.