Multi-scale Studies and the Ecological Neighborhood

Abstract

Multi-scale landscape studies are becoming a well-used way to examine the influence of environmental, landscape, or habitat factors on the abundance or occurrence of species. Multi-scale studies are especially useful when the ecological neighborhood of the organism–landscape interaction is unknown. We review the development of multi-scale approaches and further clarify the associated terminology applied to different aspects of spatial scale. In particular, we argue that ecological neighborhood and analytical focus are not equivalent, although analytical focus may be used to infer ecological neighborhood. We suggest several potential improvements to multi-scale landscape studies that remain to be explored. Results from multi-scale studies could be used to guide ecologically sustainable landscape planning by identifying local management practices that are suited to the landscape context.