The Whole Elephant: Classification and Terminology as Tools for Achieving Generality in Landscape Ecology

The development of principles to guide land uses for conservation on landscapes requires us to negotiate between the hazards of oversimplification and too much complexity. The terminology and classification that we use to describe and investigate landscape processes are crucial to this process. I argue that we need to maintain breadth in the range of biophysical situations, land uses and organisms that are considered by landscape ecologists. Only then will it be possible to identify the important elements required to achieve management outcomes. These points are illustrated through a history of research in Australian eucalypt woodland landscapes.Guidelines for the development of landscape design principles are proposed. Concepts that are crucial to conservation at landscape scales include the consideration of all land uses that occur on landscapes. These land uses need to be linked to their effects on organisms through their disturbance characteristics and whether these represent exogenous and/or endogenous disturbances to the biotic communities. Through this understanding, it will be possible to develop principles regarding the types, amount and location of land uses that are compatible with the persistence of organisms on landscapes.