Landscape Science for Natural Resource Management in a Globalised World

Abstract

This chapter addresses key issues tackled by landscape scientists in the study of natural resource management (NRM). It outlines the nature of landscape science, emphasising that its practitioners originate from several disciplines, but shares a focus on problems occurring at the intersection of the natural and human-created environments. It stresses the role of the modelling of land system dynamics in studies of NRM, but recognises that, increasingly, landscape science has sought to utilise information and knowledge that sits outside traditional scientific data. This is addressed in one of three sections dealing with prominent aspects of landscape science. The first of these addresses the issue of the need to engage with ‘stakeholders’: the land managers and interested parties engaged in or directly affected by NRM. The attitudes, values, behaviour, and knowledge of stakeholders plays a vital part in determining the nature and consequences of NRM, so understanding how these elements can be incorporated into schemes and policies has been a vital facet of landscape science. In Europe, the term NRM is largely synonymous with agri-environment as applied to policy (AEP) or in specific schemes (AES). Again, key stakeholders are land managers, with one aspect of their input addressed here, namely their stewardship of the land. The nature of stewardship is discussed, with different types of stewardship recognised and their significance for the management of cultural landscapes. The next section considers the growing importance of studies focused on ecosystem services (ESS) and their measurement. It is argued that the analysis of changing ESS can be used as a means of assessing the nature of agricultural transformations associated with the impact of both global and local forces. Finally, the need for landscape science to engage both with the general public and policy makers is discussed.