Patch dynamics
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Patch dynamics is an ecological perspective that the structure, function, and dynamics of ecological systems can be understood through studying their interactive patches. Patch dynamics, as a term, may also refer to the spatiotemporal changes within and among patches that make up a landscape. Patch dynamics is ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic systems across organizational levels and spatial scales. From a patch dynamics perspective, populations, communities, ecosystems, and landscapes may all be studied effectively as mosaics of patches that differ in size, shape, composition, history, and boundary characteristics.
The idea of patch dynamics dates back to the 1940s when plant ecologists studied the structure and dynamics of vegetation in terms of the interactive patches that it comprises. A mathematical theory of patch dynamics was developed by Simon Levin and Robert Paine in the 1970s, originally to describe the pattern and dynamics of an intertidal community as a patch mosaic created and maintained by tidal disturbances. Patch dynamics became a dominant theme in ecology between the late 1970s and the 1990s.
Patch dynamics is a conceptual approach to
Diverse patches of habitat created by natural
Patches and mosaics
Historically, due to the short time scale of human observation, mosaic landscapes were perceived to be static patterns of human population mosaics.[2] This focus centered on the idea that the status of a particular population, community, or ecosystem could be understood by studying a particular patch within a mosaic. However, this perception ignored the conditions that interact with, and connect patches. In 1979, Bormann and Likens coined the phrase shifting mosaic to describe the theory that landscapes change and fluctuate, and are in fact dynamic.[3] This is related to the battle of cells that occurs in a Petri dish[citation needed].
Patch dynamics refers to the concept that
Logging, fire, farming, and
Patches are also linked. Although patches may be separated in space, migration can occur from one patch to another. This migration maintains the population of some patches, and can be the mechanism by which some plant species spread. This implies that ecological systems within landscapes are open, rather than closed and isolated. (Pickett, 2006)
Conservation efforts
Recognizing the patch dynamics within a system is needed for
See also
- Conservation biology
- Edge effect
- Forest dynamics
- Habitat conservation
- Habitat corridor
- Habitat fragmentation
- Island biogeography
- Landscape ecology
- Spatial ecology
References
- ^ ISBN 0123960215.
- ISBN 9780521564380.
- ISBN 978-0-387-94344-2.
- ^
Wright, Justin P.; Gurney, W.S.C.; C.G., Jones (2004). "Patch dynamics in a landscape modified by ecosystem engineers" (PDF). OIKOS. 105 (2): 336–348. ISSN 0030-1299. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2010-06-26.
- PMID 33878917.
- ^ ISSN 1600-0706.
- PMID 25615127.
Further reading
- Forman, R.T.T. 1995. Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
- Groom, Martha J., Meffe, Gary K., Carroll, Ronald. 2006. Principles of Conservation Biology, Third Edition. Mosaics and Patch Dynamics by Steward T.A. Pickett
- Levin, S. A., and R. T. Paine. 1974. Disturbance, patch formation and community structure. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 71:2744-2747.
- Levin, S. A., T. M. Powell, and J. H. Steele, editors. 1993. Patch Dynamics. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
- Wu, J. G., and O. L. Loucks. 1995. From balance of nature to hierarchical patch dynamics: A paradigm shift in ecology. Quarterly Review of Biology 70:439-466.
- Patch Dynamics [1]