Biocultural Landscapes

Abstract

Since its early developments in the 1980s, landscape ecology has consistently considered anthropogenic elements in landscapes, as well as their significance for the ecosystems composing them. This human impact was often seen as a negative factor, and associated with terms such as habitat loss, biodiversity decline or degradation. Nevertheless, the key role of Man in landscape status and development has systematically been recognized by landscape ecologists, a point of view sometimes referred to when singularizing landscape ecology from other disciplines in ecology, which are often (but not always) oriented towards particular species or functional groups, or aiming to unravel fundamental ecological concepts, hereby commonly excluding the impact of anthropogenic factors on the ecological mechanisms at study. Since the last decennium of the 20th century and even more clearly after entering the new millennium, landscape ecology is directing to systems shaped by a symbiosis of cultural influences and natural values, presenting a variety of anthropogenic effects, a combination not to be considered as negative. This cross-fertilization between human society (cultural values) and its environment (nature) is not surprising, since society development was only possible through resource use, such as space or biodiversity; for example, agricultural development was only possible through domestication of wild plant species. Unique correspondences have been observed of natural and cultural values, suggesting that processes and underlying patterns should be linked, a hypothesis which merits further investigation, to which this book is contributing. The current book is the outcome of a symposium on “Biodiversity in cultural landscapes”, organized in the framework of the 8th IALE World Congress, held in Beijing, from August 18 till August 23, 2011. As stated rightfully in the conference program by the congress chairpersons, Bruce Jones and Bojie Fu, the location of the congress was very well chosen, since China, an ancient country with a rich cultural legacy, beautiful natural areas and an impressive cultural landscape diversity, formed the ideal background to study the relationships between humanity and nature, and natural and cultural landscapes. A statement which implicitly confirms that these links between cultural and biological diversity are to be considered more often by landscape ecologists.