Landscape Ecology: The Long View

It is useful to reflect on the issues that interested people at the first meeting of IALE UK in 1992 because it can help us look critically at the state of the disciple today.  This long view suggests that while we have made good progress in a number of areas, a persistent concern is that landscape ecological knowledge is not used in decision making as effectively as it might. Although many of the barriers to using knowledge arise because of the nature of our governance systems, uptake may also be frustrated because our research is not always seen as relevant. Taking the long view on the work of IALE UK suggests that for the future it may be helpful to focus more on the characterisation landscape change rather than landscape structure. It also suggests that if we want to explain better why landscape change matters to people, then a deeper understanding of the way landscape change affects the delivery of ecosystem services might also be helpful. We need to show that landscape is more than a cultural ecosystem service and that an understanding of its structure, condition and dynamics is fundamental to exploring the relationship that people have with the environment. Sustainable development is more about the way we change than the state we are in or seek to achieve.