Ecologie du paysage : cibler la configuration et l’echelle spatiale

Abstract

L’écologie du paysage décrit la structure, le fonctionnement, les qualités, les fonctions etla dynamique spatio-temporelle des paysages. Cette contribution aborde quelques concepts majeurs de cette discipline afin de faciliter ses applications et cherche à cerner les notions clés suivantes : paysage, écologie du paysage, échelle spatiale, configuration

du paysage et hétérogénéité spatiale. Pour expliquer le développement et l’émergence récente de cette branche scientifique, l’histoire de cette discipline est également effleurée. Les citations d’auteurs permettent une élaboration individuelle des concepts qui ne seront pas abordés dans cette contribution. Cet article est une initiation générale à la discipline

Landscape ecology analyzes the spatial pattern of landscapes, as well as their functioning, qualities, functions, and dynamics in space and time. A landscape can be defined as a heterogeneous land area composed of a cluster of interacting ecosystems. For landscape ecologists, a landscape is a level of spatial scale or organization, situated between the ecosystem level and the regional or biome level. Scale is perhaps the overarching theme of landscape ecology, and refers to the concepts of grain and extent.
Since all ecological systems are characterized by an interdependence of their configuration, composition, and functioning, the attention given in landscape ecology research to describe and quantify spatial patterns and their dynamics is not surprising.  This paper therefore discusses in detail the development of landscape metrics, and focuses likewise the use of fragmentation indices. The relationship between the spatial
pattern of the landscape and the concept of heterogeneity is also put forward, since heterogeneity is considered a crucial characteristic for landscape functioning. The aim of this contribution is to stimulate the incorporation of the concepts of landscape ecology in
current ecological research. The historical context of the main developments in the landscape ecology community are also described, this to clarify the current state of the art of this branch, and the existence of different perspectives and schools. Background
material and references provide entrées into the subjects.