- Email: [email protected]
Methodology in landscape ecological research and planning
156
wild flora, fauna and physical features, mainly for cultural rather than economic purposes. Part II devotes 6 pages to “Successes” and 21 to “Failures” and, at a first glance, critics may feel that this imbalance is a mistake, from the publicity point of view at least, suggestive as it is of either inefficiency or ineffectiveness. However, the “failures” reported here are not operational or managerial disasters on the part of the N.C.C.; they are national losses of major habitat types, e.g. lowland grasslands, acidic heaths, limestone pavements, ancient broadleaved woodlands and wetlands. This section is, in fact, very informative and interesting. Presumably, the chapter’s title was chosen deliberately to alert attention to what remains at risk of further erosion. Part III looks to the future. Although, at heart, still committed to a wider role in the countryside, the N.C.C. adopts a rational outlook on its future. If the obstacles to a wider purview still persist, as they have done since 1949, then the N.C.C. sees its function as weighted heavily towards the cultural end of the spectrum of resource-use instead of playing an important part in resource management. The World Conservation StrategJj included in its global objectives the sustainable use of the earth’s resources, with conservation and development being mutually dependent, and it may well be that the N.C.C.‘s aspirations will be realised in due course. In the meantime, it has drawn up a strategy for the future with detailed prescriptions which warrant our attention. It would be misleading to leave an impression that the N.C.C. has not been particularly successful in its first 35 years. This is certainly not the case. Admittedly, it may have had less influence than might have been anticipated or, in retrospect, desirable from a national point of view. Some small part of this “failure”, if it can be so called, must be ascribed to the exclusiveness and elitism of the original Nature Conservancy, and its
remoteness - perhaps more apparent than real - from the public at large and the economic pressures of the time. Clearly, the image is changing, as is the social and economic context in which it will operate in the future. The conclusions include the truism that “financial support for conservation will grow in close relation to society’s increase in concern for nature”. This publication seems to predict a more aggressive and publicity-conscious organisation than previously. As far as conservation is concerned, the more informed the pubhc the greater the prospects for success. For this reason, a pocket-sized, cheaper edition of this book for younger and impecunious readers would be a worthwhile venture. J .M. CABORN Department of Foremy and Natural Resources The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, Scotland METHODOLOGY Methodology in Landscape Ecological Research and Planning. J. Brandt and P. Agger (Editors). 5 volumes: Vol. I, Landscape Ecological Concepts; Vol. II, Methodology and Techniques of Inventory and Survey; Vol. III, Methodology of Data Analysis; Vol. IV, Methodology of Evaluation/Synthesis of Data in Landscape Ecology; Vol. V, Supplementary Volume. Proceedings of the First International Seminar of the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE), organised at Roskilde University Centre, Roskilde, Denmark, 15- 19 October 1984. IALE: S.M. ten Houte de Lange, Research Institute for Nature Management, P.O. Box 46, 3956 ZR Leersum, The Netherlands. 1984, paperback, price per volume 40.00 D.kr., per set 140.00 D.kr., KBN 87-88 18314-9.
157
In these proceedings, the great variety of the articles stands out, even though stricter selection criteria should have been applied. The number of articles dealing with new ways of approaching landscape studies seems excessive; many of them go no further than theorizing about the subject, without developing the methodology needed for such studies, and, more seriously, give the impression of ignoring those already developed. Many others limit themselves to descriptive studies. However, this lack of depth is not general, and the detailed description of models and techniques, although hardly ever original, may help to bring planners and people working in this field up to date. The term “Landscape Ecology”, which implies the study of landscape as a mosaic of relatively homogeneous patches of ground (ecotopes) with characteristic internal heterogeneity, is not accepted by the majority of authors. In practice, the only ones who embark on a study of the internal and external relationships of these ecotopes are the scientists from The Department of Landscape Ecology of Nature Management in Leersum (The Netherlands). It may be interesting in future seminars for the most distinguished authors to send out lines of research for the study of ecotopes, although that does not imply the exclusion of young authors and those from Eastern Europe. The articles in these volumes are divided into four topic areas, each of which has one volume devoted to it; the fifth volume contains contributions which arrived after the closing date. Topic I. landscape E~o~og~~a~ Concepts The diversity of articles in this section is noticeable. Some authors limit themselves to the conceptualization of the term landscape, or try to sort out the enormous quantity of articles on the subject which have appeared in the U.S.S.R. In contrast, others use characteristics and qualities of landscape such as
connectivity or negentropy to help their analysis. Other articles highlight the differences between European and tropical cities, or the importance of the structure of the landscape to animal populations. Naveh uses his experience of the recovery of extremely derelict land in the Medite~anean area to define his interdisciplinary concept of Landscape Ecology. This topic area also applies mathematical indices, used in networks, in order to define connectivity and circulation in the different using the gamma and alpha ecosystems, indices, respectively. These indices are attractive because of their simplicity, although the index of connectivity applied by Prihar (1956) and the techniques of mathematical programing seem to be more powerful. The importance of the hedgerows in many areas of Europe and North America justifies an article on the subject. Topic II. methodology and Tech~~i~ues of Inventory and Survey The articles in this section are also very varied, but a nucleus of interesting contributions stands out. These centre on the use of teledetection, thermal satellite imagery, aerial photogrammetry and visual image interpretation to analyse landscape structure and compare the results with those obtained in the past. Other articles analyse the interaction between landscape elements, and explain methodological problems in landscape studies, etc. Topic Iii. Methodology of Data Analysis This volume contains a collection of methods and techniques for the analysis of landscape data, and could therefore be useful in re-training those working in this field. One series of articles centres on the application of statistical techniques and multivariable analysis to concrete landscape studies. Other articles explain computer programs for drawing digital ecological maps, apply com-
158
puter graphics to landscape analysis and its management, and explain the applications of the MAP programme. Topic IV. Methodology of Evaluation jSynthesis of Data in Landscape Ecology This last section presents new methodologies for the global analysis of landscape or one of its elements, as well as a few articles on Land Reclamation. Other articles relate to the analysis and planning of particular formations, and even include dynamic management of these. An article by Bunce stands out, in which he applies the methods developed in the Merlewood Institute to the use of simple data in the production of strategic sampling systems. E.M. FALERO Escuela Tecniea Superior de Ingenieros de Mon tes Catedra de Planificacion y Proyectos Universidad PoEitecnica de Madrid Spain
COMMUNITY
OPEN SPACES
Community Open Spaces: Greening Neigh~orhoods through Comrn~~~ity Action and Land Conservation by Mark Francis, Lisa Cashdan and Lynn Paxson. Island Press, Washington, DC, 1984, 250 pp., illustrated, hardback, price US$ 24.95, ISBN 0-933280-27-O. Like the animal who transports, deposits and fertilises the seeds entrusted to the core of the fruit he has devoured, the city leaves behind, as traces of its appetite, the seeds of new urban landscapes. These seeds are the vacant lot, the vandalised open space and the under-used public park - each ripe for an metamorphosis into user-designed, urban controlled and maintained community open spaces.
Community Open Spaces addresses itself to this metamorphosis; the reclamation of rubble-strewn vacant lots, derelict waterfronts and burned-out building sites, and their transformation by local residents into productive, colourful, well-maintained green spaces. Vegetables, fruits, flowers, shade, tranquility and social interaction are offered as rewards for the considerable effort involved in planning, organizing, fund-raising and maintaining their patch of Eden in the concrete jungle. The study of community open spaces, undertaken as a research project by the authors in 1979, is up-dated and expanded to include an overview of the community open-space movements in the United States and Europe, and seeks “to understand and describe the effects of community-built and managed open spaces such as parks, gardens and playgrounds on people and neighborhoods”. The work is divided into eight chapters, which may be examined in three parts: (1) an introduction to the movement, including an overview of experiences in Europe and America; (2) the general situation and case studies of community open spaces in New York City, with conclusions and recommendations; (3) the characteristics, consequences and future of community open spaces. The introduction to the community openspace movement describes succinctly the problems related to the perceived failure of the traditional park system in responding to community needs. It underlines the concurrent dilemma of what to do with the over-abundant vacant properties in most major cities, and presents public-supported community-designed, built and managed projects as a viable response to the dilemma. Vernacular in character and often unpolished in appearance, these landscapes, contend the authors, serve not only to improve the physical environment, but also to reinforce cooperation and nurture the participants’ feelings of well-being. Nun~~rous cases in both the
wild flora, fauna and physical features, mainly for cultural rather than economic purposes. Part II devotes 6 pages to “Successes” and 21 to “Failures” and, at a first glance, critics may feel that this imbalance is a mistake, from the publicity point of view at least, suggestive as it is of either inefficiency or ineffectiveness. However, the “failures” reported here are not operational or managerial disasters on the part of the N.C.C.; they are national losses of major habitat types, e.g. lowland grasslands, acidic heaths, limestone pavements, ancient broadleaved woodlands and wetlands. This section is, in fact, very informative and interesting. Presumably, the chapter’s title was chosen deliberately to alert attention to what remains at risk of further erosion. Part III looks to the future. Although, at heart, still committed to a wider role in the countryside, the N.C.C. adopts a rational outlook on its future. If the obstacles to a wider purview still persist, as they have done since 1949, then the N.C.C. sees its function as weighted heavily towards the cultural end of the spectrum of resource-use instead of playing an important part in resource management. The World Conservation StrategJj included in its global objectives the sustainable use of the earth’s resources, with conservation and development being mutually dependent, and it may well be that the N.C.C.‘s aspirations will be realised in due course. In the meantime, it has drawn up a strategy for the future with detailed prescriptions which warrant our attention. It would be misleading to leave an impression that the N.C.C. has not been particularly successful in its first 35 years. This is certainly not the case. Admittedly, it may have had less influence than might have been anticipated or, in retrospect, desirable from a national point of view. Some small part of this “failure”, if it can be so called, must be ascribed to the exclusiveness and elitism of the original Nature Conservancy, and its
remoteness - perhaps more apparent than real - from the public at large and the economic pressures of the time. Clearly, the image is changing, as is the social and economic context in which it will operate in the future. The conclusions include the truism that “financial support for conservation will grow in close relation to society’s increase in concern for nature”. This publication seems to predict a more aggressive and publicity-conscious organisation than previously. As far as conservation is concerned, the more informed the pubhc the greater the prospects for success. For this reason, a pocket-sized, cheaper edition of this book for younger and impecunious readers would be a worthwhile venture. J .M. CABORN Department of Foremy and Natural Resources The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, Scotland METHODOLOGY Methodology in Landscape Ecological Research and Planning. J. Brandt and P. Agger (Editors). 5 volumes: Vol. I, Landscape Ecological Concepts; Vol. II, Methodology and Techniques of Inventory and Survey; Vol. III, Methodology of Data Analysis; Vol. IV, Methodology of Evaluation/Synthesis of Data in Landscape Ecology; Vol. V, Supplementary Volume. Proceedings of the First International Seminar of the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE), organised at Roskilde University Centre, Roskilde, Denmark, 15- 19 October 1984. IALE: S.M. ten Houte de Lange, Research Institute for Nature Management, P.O. Box 46, 3956 ZR Leersum, The Netherlands. 1984, paperback, price per volume 40.00 D.kr., per set 140.00 D.kr., KBN 87-88 18314-9.
157
In these proceedings, the great variety of the articles stands out, even though stricter selection criteria should have been applied. The number of articles dealing with new ways of approaching landscape studies seems excessive; many of them go no further than theorizing about the subject, without developing the methodology needed for such studies, and, more seriously, give the impression of ignoring those already developed. Many others limit themselves to descriptive studies. However, this lack of depth is not general, and the detailed description of models and techniques, although hardly ever original, may help to bring planners and people working in this field up to date. The term “Landscape Ecology”, which implies the study of landscape as a mosaic of relatively homogeneous patches of ground (ecotopes) with characteristic internal heterogeneity, is not accepted by the majority of authors. In practice, the only ones who embark on a study of the internal and external relationships of these ecotopes are the scientists from The Department of Landscape Ecology of Nature Management in Leersum (The Netherlands). It may be interesting in future seminars for the most distinguished authors to send out lines of research for the study of ecotopes, although that does not imply the exclusion of young authors and those from Eastern Europe. The articles in these volumes are divided into four topic areas, each of which has one volume devoted to it; the fifth volume contains contributions which arrived after the closing date. Topic I. landscape E~o~og~~a~ Concepts The diversity of articles in this section is noticeable. Some authors limit themselves to the conceptualization of the term landscape, or try to sort out the enormous quantity of articles on the subject which have appeared in the U.S.S.R. In contrast, others use characteristics and qualities of landscape such as
connectivity or negentropy to help their analysis. Other articles highlight the differences between European and tropical cities, or the importance of the structure of the landscape to animal populations. Naveh uses his experience of the recovery of extremely derelict land in the Medite~anean area to define his interdisciplinary concept of Landscape Ecology. This topic area also applies mathematical indices, used in networks, in order to define connectivity and circulation in the different using the gamma and alpha ecosystems, indices, respectively. These indices are attractive because of their simplicity, although the index of connectivity applied by Prihar (1956) and the techniques of mathematical programing seem to be more powerful. The importance of the hedgerows in many areas of Europe and North America justifies an article on the subject. Topic II. methodology and Tech~~i~ues of Inventory and Survey The articles in this section are also very varied, but a nucleus of interesting contributions stands out. These centre on the use of teledetection, thermal satellite imagery, aerial photogrammetry and visual image interpretation to analyse landscape structure and compare the results with those obtained in the past. Other articles analyse the interaction between landscape elements, and explain methodological problems in landscape studies, etc. Topic Iii. Methodology of Data Analysis This volume contains a collection of methods and techniques for the analysis of landscape data, and could therefore be useful in re-training those working in this field. One series of articles centres on the application of statistical techniques and multivariable analysis to concrete landscape studies. Other articles explain computer programs for drawing digital ecological maps, apply com-
158
puter graphics to landscape analysis and its management, and explain the applications of the MAP programme. Topic IV. Methodology of Evaluation jSynthesis of Data in Landscape Ecology This last section presents new methodologies for the global analysis of landscape or one of its elements, as well as a few articles on Land Reclamation. Other articles relate to the analysis and planning of particular formations, and even include dynamic management of these. An article by Bunce stands out, in which he applies the methods developed in the Merlewood Institute to the use of simple data in the production of strategic sampling systems. E.M. FALERO Escuela Tecniea Superior de Ingenieros de Mon tes Catedra de Planificacion y Proyectos Universidad PoEitecnica de Madrid Spain
COMMUNITY
OPEN SPACES
Community Open Spaces: Greening Neigh~orhoods through Comrn~~~ity Action and Land Conservation by Mark Francis, Lisa Cashdan and Lynn Paxson. Island Press, Washington, DC, 1984, 250 pp., illustrated, hardback, price US$ 24.95, ISBN 0-933280-27-O. Like the animal who transports, deposits and fertilises the seeds entrusted to the core of the fruit he has devoured, the city leaves behind, as traces of its appetite, the seeds of new urban landscapes. These seeds are the vacant lot, the vandalised open space and the under-used public park - each ripe for an metamorphosis into user-designed, urban controlled and maintained community open spaces.
Community Open Spaces addresses itself to this metamorphosis; the reclamation of rubble-strewn vacant lots, derelict waterfronts and burned-out building sites, and their transformation by local residents into productive, colourful, well-maintained green spaces. Vegetables, fruits, flowers, shade, tranquility and social interaction are offered as rewards for the considerable effort involved in planning, organizing, fund-raising and maintaining their patch of Eden in the concrete jungle. The study of community open spaces, undertaken as a research project by the authors in 1979, is up-dated and expanded to include an overview of the community open-space movements in the United States and Europe, and seeks “to understand and describe the effects of community-built and managed open spaces such as parks, gardens and playgrounds on people and neighborhoods”. The work is divided into eight chapters, which may be examined in three parts: (1) an introduction to the movement, including an overview of experiences in Europe and America; (2) the general situation and case studies of community open spaces in New York City, with conclusions and recommendations; (3) the characteristics, consequences and future of community open spaces. The introduction to the community openspace movement describes succinctly the problems related to the perceived failure of the traditional park system in responding to community needs. It underlines the concurrent dilemma of what to do with the over-abundant vacant properties in most major cities, and presents public-supported community-designed, built and managed projects as a viable response to the dilemma. Vernacular in character and often unpolished in appearance, these landscapes, contend the authors, serve not only to improve the physical environment, but also to reinforce cooperation and nurture the participants’ feelings of well-being. Nun~~rous cases in both the