Landscaping in Las Vegas: A Primer for Beginners

Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems. This is done within a variety of landscape scales, development spatial patterns, and organizational levels of research and policy.^[1][2][3] Landscape ecology can be described as the science of "landscape diversity" as the synergetic result of biodiversity and geodiversity.^[4]

As a highly interdisciplinary field in systems science, landscape ecology integrates biophysical and analytical approaches with humanistic and holistic perspectives across the natural sciences and social sciences. Landscapes are spatially heterogeneous geographic areas characterized by diverse interacting patches or ecosystems, ranging from relatively natural terrestrial and aquatic systems such as forests, grasslands, and lakes to human-dominated environments including agricultural and urban settings.^[2][5][6]

The most salient characteristics of landscape ecology are its emphasis on the relationship among pattern, process and scales, and its focus on broad-scale ecological and environmental issues. These necessitate the coupling between biophysical and socioeconomic sciences. Key research topics in landscape ecology include ecological flows in landscape mosaics, land use and land cover change, scaling, relating landscape pattern analysis with ecological processes, and landscape conservation and sustainability.^[7] Landscape ecology also studies the role of human impacts on landscape diversity in the development and spreading of new human pathogens that could trigger epidemics.^[8][9]

The German term Landschaftsökologie – thus landscape ecology – was coined by German geographer Carl Troll in 1939.^[10] He developed this terminology and many early concepts of landscape ecology as part of his early work, which consisted of applying aerial photograph interpretation to studies of interactions between environment and vegetation.

Heterogeneity is the measure of how parts of a landscape differ from one another. Landscape ecology looks at how this spatial structure affects organism abundance at the landscape level, as well as the behavior and functioning of the landscape as a whole. This includes studying the influence of pattern, or the internal order of a landscape, on process, or the continuous operation of functions of organisms.^[11] Landscape ecology also includes geomorphology as applied to the design and architecture of landscapes.^[12] Geomorphology is the study of how geological formations are responsible for the structure of a landscape.

One central landscape ecology theory originated from MacArthur & Wilson's The Theory of Island Biogeography. This work considered the biodiversity on islands as the result of competing forces of colonization from a mainland stock and stochastic extinction. The concepts of island biogeography were generalized from physical islands to abstract patches of habitat by Levins' metapopulation model (which can be applied e.g. to forest islands in the agricultural landscape^[13]). This generalization spurred the growth of landscape ecology by providing conservation biologists a new tool to assess how habitat fragmentation affects population viability. Recent growth of landscape ecology owes much to the development of geographic information systems (GIS)^[14] and the availability of large-extent habitat data (e.g. remotely sensed datasets).

Landscape ecology developed in Europe from historical planning on human-dominated landscapes. Concepts from general ecology theory were integrated in North America.^[when?] While general ecology theory and its sub-disciplines focused on the study of more homogenous, discrete community units organized in a hierarchical structure (typically as ecosystems, populations, species, and communities), landscape ecology built upon heterogeneity in space and time. It frequently included human-caused landscape changes in theory and application of concepts.^[15]

By 1980, landscape ecology was a discrete, established discipline. It was marked by the organization of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) in 1982. Landmark book publications defined the scope and goals of the discipline, including Naveh and Lieberman^[16] and Forman and Godron.^[17][18] Forman^[6] wrote that although study of "the ecology of spatial configuration at the human scale" was barely a decade old, there was strong potential for theory development and application of the conceptual framework.

Today, theory and application of landscape ecology continues to develop through a need for innovative applications in a changing landscape and environment. Landscape ecology relies on advanced technologies such as remote sensing, GIS, and models. There has been associated development of powerful quantitative methods to examine the interactions of patterns and processes.^[5] An example would be determining the amount of carbon present in the soil based on landform over a landscape, derived from GIS maps, vegetation types, and rainfall data for a region. Remote sensing work has been used to extend landscape ecology to the field of predictive vegetation mapping, for instance by Janet Franklin.

Nowadays, at least six different conceptions of landscape ecology can be identified: one group tending toward the more disciplinary concept of ecology (subdiscipline of biology; in conceptions 2, 3, and 4) and another group—characterized by the interdisciplinary study of relations between human societies and their environment—inclined toward the integrated view of geography (in conceptions 1, 5, and 6):^[19]

1. Interdisciplinary analysis of subjectively defined landscape units (e.g. Neef School^[20][21]): Landscapes are defined in terms of uniformity in land use. Landscape ecology explores the landscape's natural potential in terms of functional utility for human societies. To analyse this potential, it is necessary to draw on several natural sciences.
2. Topological ecology at the landscape scale^[22][23] 'Landscape' is defined as a heterogeneous land area composed of a cluster of interacting ecosystems (woods, meadows, marshes, villages, etc.) that is repeated in similar form throughout. It is explicitly stated that landscapes are areas at a kilometres wide human scale of perception, modification, etc. Landscape ecology describes and explains the landscapes' characteristic patterns of ecosystems and investigates the flux of energy, mineral nutrients, and species among their component ecosystems, providing important knowledge for addressing land-use issues.
3. Organism-centered, multi-scale topological ecology (e.g. John A. Wiens^[24][25]): Explicitly rejecting views expounded by Troll, Zonneveld, Naveh, Forman & Godron, etc., landscape and landscape ecology are defined independently of human perceptions, interests, and modifications of nature. 'Landscape' is defined – regardless of scale – as the 'template' on which spatial patterns influence ecological processes. Not humans, but rather the respective species being studied is the point of reference for what constitutes a landscape.
4. Topological ecology at the landscape level of biological organisation (e.g. Urban et al.^[26]): On the basis of ecological hierarchy theory, it is presupposed that nature is working at multiple scales and has different levels of organisation which are part of a rate-structured, nested hierarchy. Specifically, it is claimed that, above the ecosystem level, a landscape level exists which is generated and identifiable by high interaction intensity between ecosystems, a specific interaction frequency and, typically, a corresponding spatial scale. Landscape ecology is defined as ecology that focuses on the influence exerted by spatial and temporal patterns on the organisation of, and interaction among, functionally integrated multispecies ecosystems.
5. Analysis of social-ecological systems using the natural and social sciences and humanities (e.g. Leser;^[27] Naveh;^[28][29] Zonneveld^[30]): Landscape ecology is defined as an interdisciplinary super-science that explores the relationship between human societies and their specific environment, making use of not only various natural sciences, but also social sciences and humanities. This conception is grounded in the assumption that social systems are linked to their specific ambient ecological system in such a way that both systems together form a co-evolutionary, self-organising unity called 'landscape'. Societies' cultural, social and economic dimensions are regarded as an integral part of the global ecological hierarchy, and landscapes are claimed to be the manifest systems of the 'total human ecosystem' (Naveh) which encompasses both the physical ('geospheric') and mental ('noospheric') spheres.
6. Ecology guided by cultural meanings of lifeworldly landscapes (frequently pursued in practice^[31] but not defined, but see, e.g., Hard;^[32] Trepl^[19]): Landscape ecology is defined as ecology that is guided by an external aim, namely, to maintain and develop lifeworldly landscapes. It provides the ecological knowledge necessary to achieve these goals. It investigates how to sustain and develop those populations and ecosystems which (i) are the material 'vehicles' of lifeworldly, aesthetic and symbolic landscapes and, at the same time, (ii) meet societies' functional requirements, including provisioning, regulating, and supporting ecosystem services. Thus landscape ecology is concerned mainly with the populations and ecosystems which have resulted from traditional, regionally specific forms of land use.

Some research programmes of landscape ecology theory, namely those standing in the European tradition, may be slightly outside of the "classical and preferred domain of scientific disciplines" because of the large, heterogeneous areas of study. However, general ecology theory is central to landscape ecology theory in many aspects. Landscape ecology consists of four main principles: the development and dynamics of spatial heterogeneity, interactions and exchanges across heterogeneous landscapes, influences of spatial heterogeneity on biotic and abiotic processes, and the management of spatial heterogeneity. The main difference from traditional ecological studies, which frequently assume that systems are spatially homogenous, is the consideration of spatial patterns.^[33]

Landscape ecology not only created new terms, but also incorporated existing ecological terms in new ways. Many of the terms used in landscape ecology are as interconnected and interrelated as the discipline itself.

Certainly, 'landscape' is a central concept in landscape ecology. It is, however, defined in quite different ways. For example:^[19] Carl Troll conceives of landscape not as a mental construct but as an objectively given 'organic entity', a harmonic individuum of space.^[34] Ernst Neef^[20][21] defines landscapes as sections within the uninterrupted earth-wide interconnection of geofactors which are defined as such on the basis of their uniformity in terms of a specific land use, and are thus defined in an anthropocentric and relativistic way. According to Richard Forman and Michel Godron,^[22] a landscape is a heterogeneous land area composed of a cluster of interacting ecosystems that is repeated in similar form throughout, whereby they list woods, meadows, marshes and villages as examples of a landscape's ecosystems, and state that a landscape is an area at least a few kilometres wide. John A. Wiens^[24][25] opposes the traditional view expounded by Carl Troll, Isaak S. Zonneveld, Zev Naveh, Richard T. T. Forman/Michel Godron and others that landscapes are arenas in which humans interact with their environments on a kilometre-wide scale; instead, he defines 'landscape'—regardless of scale—as "the template on which spatial patterns influence ecological processes".^[25][35] Some define 'landscape' as an area containing two or more ecosystems in close proximity.^[15]

A river with functional (flood preventing) engineering (in Houston, Texas)

A canal design focused on esthetical landscape architecture (in Stockholm, Sweden) for comparison.

Landscape engineering is the application of mathematics and science to shape land and waterscapes. It can also be described as green engineering, but the design professionals best known for landscape engineering are landscape architects. Landscape engineering is the interdisciplinary application of engineering and other applied sciences to the design and creation of anthropogenic landscapes. It differs from, but embraces traditional reclamation. It includes scientific disciplines: agronomy, botany, ecology, forestry, geology, geochemistry, hydrogeology, and wildlife biology. It also draws upon applied sciences: agricultural & horticultural sciences, engineering geomorphology, landscape architecture, and mining, geotechnical, and civil, agricultural & irrigation engineering.

Landscape engineering builds on the engineering strengths of declaring goals, determining initial conditions, iteratively designing, predicting performance based on knowledge of the design, monitoring performance, and adjusting designs to meet the declared goals. It builds on the strengths and history of reclamation practice. Its distinguishing feature is the marriage of landforms, substrates, and vegetation throughout all phases of design and construction, which previously have been kept as separate disciplines.

Though landscape engineering embodies all elements of traditional engineering (planning, investigation, design, construction, operation, assessment, research, management, and training), it is focused on three main areas. The first is closure planning – which includes goal setting and design of the landscape as a whole. The second division is landscape design more focused on the design of individual landforms to reliably meet the goals as set out in the closure planning process. Landscape performance assessment is critical to both of these, and is also important for estimating liability and levels of financial assurance. The iterative process of planning, design, and performance assessment by a multidisciplinary team is the basis of landscape engineering.

Source: McKenna, G.T., 2002. Sustainable mine reclamation and landscape engineering. PhD Thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada 661p.

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An example of contemporary landscape engineering and natural resources management related to the Biosphere 2 and seawater farming projects, is the IBTS Greenhouse, formerly the Forest City designed for the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah. The IBTS rests on a thoroughly integrated design with more than 340 different engineering, science and technology disciplines. It was created for desert greening of hot, arid deserts and optimized for fresh water production from saline, or brackish water. The Integrated Biotectural System is based on a wetland, more specifically a mangrove eco-system designed for food and fodder production of 80tons per hectare and year, also called mariculture. The atmosphere inside the IBTS is turned into a potent water source and harvested with a combination of condensation utilities which makes it a more energy efficient desalination facility than industrial plants. It can produce 500.000m3 of distilled water per day while reclaiming 1000ha of hot arid desert lands. The electricity for the desalination is produced by an on-site forest of micro wind turbines located on the same footprint. These numbers are important because the performance data of for-profit engineered landscapes like wetlands for wastewater treatment or agro-ecological farming sites distinguishes technically feasible from financially and ecologically beneficial projects.

The IBTS is an example for sustainable landscape design that reclaims and recreates productive ecosystems including seawater farming, aquaculture, farming, forestry and residence for a human population. It has become feasible because of the design of a Bedouin Greenhouse-shape, automatic construction and maintenance of the vast membrane Sky-roof. The up-front and operational cost could thus be reduced so far that entire landscapes can be covered permanently, not in a common greenhouse fashion, but with an architectural structure that allows for a real-size forest and urban development below the Sky-roof.

The inherent concepts of the IBTS can be used to engineer, terra-form and activate deserts and other landscapes with harsh conditions. In 2015 the governor of Alaska received an offer for a fully self-sufficient multi-residence housing project based on the concepts developed for the IBTS project and adopted for arctic climate by the developer TS Prototype-Creation.

The father of the first irrigation engineering degree in the Americas was Louis George Carpenter (March 28, 1861 – September 12, 1935) He was a college professor and later the Dean of engineering & physics at Colorado State University formerly known as the Colorado Agricultural College.^[1] He was also an engineer, mathematician and an irrigation and consulting engineer.^[2][3]

It was there where Carpenter began the first organized and systematic college program for irrigation engineering starting in 1888. Those completing such instruction were awarded a bachelor of science degree in irrigation engineering.^[4][5][6]

Carpenter was one of the foremost leading experts on irrigation systems. During his life he investigated irrigation systems not only in North America but also in Canada and Europe. This led to his engineering consulting and water law. He became Colorado's state engineer which he held for several years while still teaching.^[6] Carpenter was involved in not only in irrigation engineering but consulting on hydraulic construction projects and the problems associated with such projects.^[6][7]

• Geotextile
• Hard landscape materials