This book discusses how future landscapes will be shaped by pervasive change and where, when, and how society should manage landscapes for change. Readers will learn about the major anthropogenic drivers of landscape change, including climate change and human induced disturbance regimes, and the unique consequences that multiple and simultaneously occurring change agents can have on landscapes. The author uses landscape trajectories as a guide to selecting the appropriate course of action, and considers how landscape position, inertia, and direction will determine landscape futures. The author introduces the concept of landscapes as socio-technical-ecological systems (STES), which combines ecological and technological influences on future landscape change and the need for society to acknowledge both when considering landscape management. Thinking beyond solutions, the author identifies barriers to managing landscapes for change including the cost, cultural identity of local populations, and the fear of taking action under uncertain conditions. Nevertheless, processes, tools, and technologies exist for overcoming social and ecological barriers to managing landscapes for change, and continued investment in social and scientific infrastructure holds out hope for maintaining our landscape values even as we enter an era of unprecedented change and disruption.
Dr. Scheller is Professor of Landscape Ecology at North Carolina State University in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources and the Director of the Dynamic Ecosystems and Landscapes Lab. He is the President of the International Association for Landscape Ecology and he is a member of the Emerging Plant Diseases and Global Food Security Cluster at NCSU. He grew up in Minnesota and received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Minnesota and Masters and Doctoral degrees in Forest Ecology from the University of Wisconsin. His research focuses on how landscapes have changed, how they will change, and why it matters. Anthropogenic change will radically alter many landscapes in the coming decades, in ways that exceed our imaginations. To understand and forecast landscape change, his research group studies diverse processes including human actions and management, land use change and history, forest ecology, climate change, etc. These processes inform advanced forecasting tools that incorporate many drivers of change, enabling local and regional decision-makers to assess the potential to manage for landscape change. Robert has published more than 100 manuscripts and book chapters.
