Contents -- Part I-Introduction -- 1. Definition of a Discipline -- 1. EMERGENCE OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY IN THE HISTORY OF ECOLOGY -- 1.1. History of ecology from its origin to the 1970s -- 1.1.1. Autecology -- 1.1.2. Synecology -- 1.1.3. Ecology of ecosystems -- 1.2. The emergence of landscape ecology -- 1.2.1. The first developments of landscape ecology: ecological mapping -- 1.2.1.1. Example of ecological mapping: Ducruc's inventory of natural resources -- 1.2.1.2. The geosystem -- 1.2.2. Environmental questions related to landscape transformation -- 1.2.2.1. Consequences of forest fragmentation in the United States -- 1.2.2.2. Changes in land use in Europe -- 1.2.2.3. Response of governments and the scientific community -- 1.2.2.4. The emergence of landscape ecology -- 2. RECOGNITION OF HETEROGENEITY IN ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS -- 2.1. Heterogeneity depends on the nature of elements and scale on which the system is represented -- 2.2. Heterogeneity is a factor of organization of ecological systems -- 2.3. Heterogeneity is both spatial and temporal -- 2.4. New methods to account for heterogeneity -- 3. TAKING HUMAN ACTIVITIES INTO ACCOUNT IN ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS -- 3.1. Genesis of agrarian landscapes: example of hedged farms in western France -- 3.2. The existing landscape structure is the result of past dynamics -- 3.3. Human activities are the main factor of evolution of landscapes on the global level -- 4. EXPLICIT ACCOUNTING FOR SPACE AND TIME -- 4.1. Spatially explicit representation of ecological systems -- 4.2. Taking time into account in the analysis of ecological processes -- 4.2.1. Historical information needed to understand evolutionary mechanisms of "natural" systems and their management -- 4.2.2. Present organization may reflect past environmental conditions: ecological systems may slowly adapt to environmental changes.

4.2.3. Knowleage of the initial state is fundamental to predicting the dynamics of a landscape -- 5. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY IS BASED ON SCIENTIFIC THEORIES LINKED TO ECOLOGY AND RELATED DISCIPLINES -- 5.1. Hierarchy theory -- 5.2. Theories of physics of complex systems: percolation, fractal geometry -- 5.2.1. Theory of chaos -- 5.2.2. Percolation theory -- 5.2.3. Fractal geometry -- 5.3. Island biogeography theory -- 5.4. Theory of disturbances -- 2. Landscape Ecology: Definition of a Multidisciplinary Approach -- 1. LANDSCAPE AS UNDERSTOOD BY THE ECOLOGIST -- 1.1. Landscape, a central concept of many disciplines -- 1.2. Definitions -- 1.3. The scale of the landscape -- 2. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH -- 2.1. Integration of the history of environment and societies: contribution of geomorphology, paleoecology and history -- 2.1.1. Major steps in the establishment of a study site -- 2.1.1.I. End of the Quaternary -- 2.1.1.2. Historical period -- 2.1.1.3. Present state of the site -- 2.1.1.4. Stages of human occupation of the marshes -- 2.1.2. Conclusion -- 2.2. Role of techniques implemented in land use: input of agronomy and anthropology -- 2.2.1. The agronomist's approach -- 2.2.2. The anthropologist's and the ethnologist's approach -- 2.2.3. The concept of cultural landscape -- 2.3. Recognition of past and recent landscape structures: contribution of geography -- 2.4. Ecological functions -- 3. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY: APPLICATION OF RESULTS OF FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH TO CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND LAND MANAGEMENT -- 3.1. Landscape ecology and landscape management -- 3.2. Application to land management -- 3.3. Applications in nature conservation -- Part II-Landscape Structure and Dynamics -- 3. Analysis of Spatial Structures -- 1. CATEGORIES OF LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS -- 2. FROM SAMPLE PLOTS IN A WOOD TO WOODS IN A LANDSCAPE.

3. TYPOLOGY OF PATCHES AND CORRIDORS -- 4. BASIC CONCEPTS FOR QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES -- 4.1. Size of patches and fragmentation -- 4.2. Spatial relationships between patches: connectivity and connectedness -- 4.3. The entire mosaic: heterogeneity -- 4.4. Concepts of scale and hierarchy -- 5. MEASUREMENT OF HETEROGENEITY -- 5.1. Formula -- 5.2. Properties -- 6. FRAGMENTATION -- 6.1. Global structural approach -- 6.2. Fragmentation and available habitat: analytical approach -- 6.3. Characterization of pixels and their context -- 6.4. Conclusion -- 7. CONNECTEDNESS -- 7.1. The corridor network -- 7.2. Effect of presence of wooded corridors on connectivity between groves -- 7.3. Analysis of connectivity by search for most permeable zones -- 7.4. Variation of connectivity over time in an agricultural zone -- 7.5. Conclusion: the many facets of connectivity and connectedness -- 8. RETURN TO SCALE DEPENDENCE: CONTRIBUTION OF FRACTAL GEOMETRY -- 8.1. What is a fractal object? -- 8.2. Methods of measurement -- 8.3. Examples of fractals of landscape elements -- 8.4. Fractal dimension of resources -- 8.5. Fractal domains -- 8.6. Conclusion -- 9. ELEMENTS OF GEOSTATISTICS -- 10. TYPOLOGIES OF LANDSCAPE STRUCTURES -- 10.1. Basic data -- 10.2. Methods -- 10.3. Results -- 10.4. Conclusion -- 11. GENERAL CONCLUSION -- 4. The Dynamics of Landscapes -- 1. QUESTIONS ON ORGANIZATION AND DYNAMICS OF LANDSCAPES STEMMING FROM OBSERVATION -- 2. CHANGES IN LAND USE AT GLOBAL SCALE -- 3. REGIONAL APPROACHES TO CHANGES IN LAND COVER: VARIATIONS DEPENDING ON MODES OF MEASUREMENT -- 3.1. Evolution of land cover in France in the 20th century: a variety of situations -- 3.2. Evaluation of evolution of land cover in western France: methodological assay -- 3.2.1. Statistical data -- 3.2.2. Representation of global trajectories of changes -- 3.2.3. Conclusion.

4. LOCAL APPROACHES TO CHANGES IN LAND COVER: IMPORTANCE OF SPATIALIZATION -- 4.1. Evolution of a terrace landscape in the Mediterranean region -- 4.1.I. Basic data -- 4.1.2. Evolutions -- 4.1.3. Conclusion -- 4.2. Evolution of a bocage landscape in Lalleu (Ille-et-Vilaine) -- 4.2.1. The study site -- 4.2.2. Analyses and results -- 4.2.3. Conclusion -- 4.3. Evolution of a rice field landscape in subtropical China -- 5. DYNAMICS OF VALLEY LANDSCAPES: THE WATER COURSE AND ITS CORRIDORS -- 6. DYNAMICS OF NON-ANTHROPOGENIC LANDSCAPES -- Case study: Yellowstone National Park (USA) -- Fire -- Research on ecological consequences -- 7. LAND COVER AND EVOLVING LANDSCAPES, A GENERAL PHENOMENON -- 5. Organization of Landscapes -- 1. CATEGORIES OF MODELS -- 2. THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATION -- 2.1. Spatial organization of the landscape mosaic -- 2.2. Organization of a landscape mosaic vis-i-vis other factors -- 2.2.1. Basis for measures of information -- 2.2.2. Various types of information -- 2.3. Example -- 3. ECOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION OF LANDSCAPES -- 3.1. Spatial organization of farming systems in Ottawa (Canada) -- 3.1.1. Basic data -- 3.1.2. Results -- 3.1.3. Concept of landscape niche -- 3.2. Organization of agricultural landscape in the Pays d'Auge (Normandy, France) -- 3.2.1. Factors of landscape organization along a transect -- 3.2.2. Factors of landscape organization -- 4. FROM FARMING SYSTEMS TO LANDSCAPE DIVERSITY -- 4.1. From farms to a diversity of landscape elements -- 4.1.1. Diversity of permanent grasslands in the Pays d'Auge, Normandy -- 4.1.2. Diversity of field boundaries in the Armorican bocage farm land -- Basic data -- Characterization of physiognomic types of field boundaries -- Hierarchy of explanatory factors of the physiognomy of field boundaries -- Physiognomy of field boundaries and characteristics of farms.

Physiognomy of field boundaries and hedgerow and field boundary structure -- Physiognomy of field boundaries and characteristics of fields -- Conclusion -- 4.1.3. Landscape elements as parts of farming systems -- 4.2. Organization of land use in an Armorican bocage farm land -- 4.2.1. General principles of land use patterns in a livestock farm -- 4.2.2. Case study -- Available data -- The results -- Conclusion -- 5. GENERAL APPROACH OF DYNAMICS AND ORGANIZATION OF AGRARIAN LANDSCAPES -- 6. LANDSCAPE DYNAMICS AND (RE)ORGANIZATION: MULTI-SCALE AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH -- Part III-Ecological Processeswithin Landscapes -- Introduction -- 6. The Functioning of Populations at the Landscape Level -- 1. PATCH THEORY AND FUNCTIONING OF METAPOPULATIONS -- 1.1. The concept of metapopulation -- 1.1.1. Definitions -- 1.1.2. Conceptual models -- 1.1.2.1. The Boorman and Levitt model -- 1.1.2.2.The source-sink model -- 1.1.2.3. Metapopulations in a state of non-equilibrium -- 1.2. Metapopulations and landscape -- 1.2.1. Patch size -- 1.2.2. Isolation of patches -- 1.2.3. Ecotones and their configuration -- 1.2.4. The role of corridors -- 1.2.5. Gene flows -- 2. MULTI-HABITAT SPECIES -- 2.1. Daily movement between landscape elements -- 2.2. Seasonal movements between landscape elements -- 2.3. Functional units -- 3. MOVEMENT IN LANDSCAPES -- 3.1. A hierarchical approach to movements -- 3.2. Quantification of movement: intensity and nature -- 3.3. Connectivity or permeability of landscapes -- 3.3.1. The spatial arrangement of patches and percolation theory -- 3.3.2. Permeability of land between patches of favourable habitat (matrix) -- 3.4. Corridors -- 3.4.1. Structure of the corridor -- 3.4.2. Connectivity of the network -- 3.4.3. Corridors and the functioning of metapopulations -- 4. LANDSCAPE DYNAMICS AND THE FUNCTIONING OF POPULATIONS.

4.1. Delay in extinction.