International Association For Landscape Ecology

Landscape ecology is the study of spatial variation in landscapes at a variety of scales. It includes the biophysical and societal causes and consequences of landscape heterogeneity. Above all, it is broadly interdisciplinary.

The conceptual and theoretical core of landscape ecology links natural sciences with related human disciplines. Landscape ecology can be portrayed by several of its core themes:

• the spatial pattern or structure of landscapes, ranging from wilderness to cities,
• the relationship between pattern and process in landscapes,
• the relationship of human activity to landscape pattern, process and change,
• the effect of scale and disturbance on the landscape.

The International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) aims to develop landscape ecology as the scientific basis for the analysis, planning and management of the landscapes of the world. IALE advances international co-operation and interdisciplinary synergism within the field, through scientific, scholarly, educational and communication activities.

In looking ahead, IALE envisions a future characterised by:

• widespread recognition, within the scientific community, of the contributions made by landscape ecologists,
• rigorous research and scholarship, resulting from active collaboration and interdisciplinary synergism among diverse fields encompassed by biophysical sciences, social sciences, humanities,

natural resource management, land planning and design, conservation, and land use policy widely, routinely, and creatively based on principles of landscape ecology