History of Landscape Ecology in the United States

This book describes the emergence of landscape ecology, its current status as a new integrative science, and how distinguished scholars in the field of landscape ecology view the future regarding new challenges and career opportunities. Over the past thirty years, landscape ecology has utilized development in technology and methodology (e.g., satellites, GIS, and systems technologists) to monitor large temporal-spatial scale events and phenomena. These events include changes in vegetative cover and composition due to both natural disturbance and human cause—changes that have academic, economic, political, and social manifestations.

There is little doubt, due to the temporal-spatial scale of this integrative science, that scholars in fields of study ranging from anthropology to urban ecology will desire to compare their fields with landscape ecology during this intellectually and technologically fertile time. History of Landscape Ecology in the United States brings to light the vital role that landscape ecologists will play in the future as the human population continues to increase and fragment the natural environment. Landscape ecology is known as a synthesized intersection of disciplines; but new theories, concepts, and principles have emerged that form the foundation of a new transdiscipline.

Gary W. Barrett holds the Eugene P. Odum Chair of Ecology in the Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia (UGA). He is coauthor of eight books; and has published over 190 articles in professional journals. Until 1994, he was Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. At Miami University he was recipient of the 1986 Sigma Xi Researcher of the Year Award. From 1994 through 1996 Barrett was the Director of the Institute of Ecology, UGA. He was Ecology Program Director with the National Science Foundation (1981–1983). Barrett is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1990). He served as President of the United States Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (USIALE) (1988–1990), Association for Ecosystem Research Centers (1995–1996), and American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) (1998). He received the 2000 AIBS Presidential Citation Award in recognition of leadership and contributions to the biological sciences, and the prestigious Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award in 2001 from USIALE. Barrett was the recipient of the 2005 Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring Award, UGA.

Terry L. Barrett holds a M. A. in art and M. F. A. in painting from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Barrett continues to contribute to the field of landscape aesthetics with 12 publications in professional journals, including two edited books. She served as Cohost and Program Cochair of the 2010 Twenty-fifth Anniversary Symposium of the United States Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (USIALE), University of Georgia, Athens. As Independent Scholar, she received the 2012 Purple Heart Award given by graduate students within the Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, for extraordinary fidelity and dedication to graduate education.

Jianguo Wu is Dean’s Distinguished Professor in School of Life Sciences and School of Sustainability, Arizona State University. He received his B.S. from Inner Mongolia University, his M. S. and Ph. D. from Miami University, Ohio, and did his postdoctoral work at Cornell University and Princeton University. His current research areas include landscape ecology, urban ecology, and sustainability science. He has published over 250 scientific papers, including 12 books. Dr. Wu has been the Editor-In-Chief ofLandscape Ecology since 2005. He has been Program Chair and Councilor-at-Large of United States Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (USIALE), and was recipient of 2012 USIALE Distinguished Service Award, 2011 IALE Outstanding Scientific Achievements Award, 2010 USIALE Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award, and 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Award for International Scientific Cooperation. He was elected AAAS Fellow in 2007 and Leopold Leadership Fellow in 2009.