Table Of ContentECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF
NATURE CONSERVATION
CONSERVATION ECOLOGY SERIES:
Principles, Practices and Management
Series Editor:
Dr E. Duffey
Cergne House, Church Street, Wadenhoe, Peterborough
PE85ST, UK
Editorial Board
Professor L. Hansson (Sweden)
Professor W. Erz (Germany)
Professor P. Blondin (France)
Dr S. Hopper (Australia)
Titles published in the Series:
Ecological Principles of Nature Conservation
L. Hansson
Further titles are in preparation.
ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
OF
NATURE CONSERVATION
Applications in Temperate and
Boreal Environments
Edited by
LENNART HANSSON
Department of Wildlife Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
ELSEVIER APPLIED SCIENCE
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WITH 32 TABLES AND 72 ILLUSTRATIONS
© 1992 ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
The ecological principles of nature conservation.
I. Hansson, Lennart
639.9
ISBN 1851667180
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Ecological principles of nature conservation/edited by Lennart Hansson.
p. cm.-(Conservation ecology series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-85166-718-0
1. Nature conservation. 2. Ecology. I. Hansson, Lennart, 1938-
II. Series.
QH75.E27 1992
333.95'16-dc20
91-26208
CIP
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Preface
This volume is the first in a series entitled Conservation Ecology:
Principles, Practices and Management, a theme which Elsevier's pioneer
ing journal Biological Conservation has promoted since its foundation
thirty-three years ago. The science of conservation ecology is now widely
acknowledged as an essential component in the planning and develop
ment of activities which change or modify our natural environment.
Nevertheless in spite of much research and publicity, there is still a wide
gap between theory and practice. Today it is especially important to try
to bridge this gap by interpreting the results of ecological research so that
they are understandable and relevant to a wide range of land managers,
agriculturalists, foresters, and those working in the many categories of
protected areas. The volumes in this series are designed to fulfil this
purpose, and also to play an important educational role for students of
the environmental sciences in schools, universities and other institutions.
In most industrial countries the public is becoming acutely aware of
the demands made on our rural landscape by intensive agriculture and
forestry, new roads, urban expansion and industrial development with the
consequent loss of habitat diversity, wildlife, hedgerows, wetlands, ancient
woodland and meadows. Ecologists are now considering how these
trends can be reversed and the research required to recreate a varied and
attractive landscape including the restoration of native woodlands,
meadows, heaths and other wildlife communities. The Conservation
Ecology series will review the available information and show how it can
be applied to current problems in nature conservation.
When the proposed series was first discussed with the Editorial Board
we were delighted when Professor L. Hansson (through a research team
of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency of the Agricultural
University of Uppsala) offered us an introductory volume on the general
v
VI PREFACE
principles of conservation ecology. The twelve chapters cover a wide
range of environmental disciplines and present much new scientific data
in the examination of ecological concepts relevanfto wildlife and land
scape management. Together they form an excellent basis for the succeed
ing volumes in the series, which will discuss conservation priorities and
management of major ecosystems and landforms.
The principles discussed in this first volume are widely applicable in
many parts of the world, especially temperate and boreal regions. On the
other hand, the Scandinavian viewpoint is of particular interest as it
provides new ideas on well-known concepts based on a long-established
tradition of ecological research applicable to nature conservation. Many
of the case studies described will be new to readers in other countries
for example the preservation needs of the faunas and floras of the
extensive Scandinavian archipelagoes and boreal forests. Professor
Hansson and his colleagues are to be congratulated on the high standard
of science achieved.
The Conservation Ecology: Principles, Practices and Management series
has five other titles in preparation dealing with marine conservation,
recreational ecology, management of freshwater ecosystems, and the
problems of wetland conservation and coastal formations. The ultimate
aim of the series is to cover a comprehensive range of ecosystems
throughout the world where sufficient ecological knowledge is available
to discuss the scientific basis for conservation management.
Eric Duffey
Acknowledgements
This book is largely a result of a fairly comprehensive research pro
gramme at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on 'Remnant
Habitats in Production Landscapes'. Most of the present authors have
been conducting research projects with grants from this Agency. We are
very grateful for the continuing support from the Agency and its research
officers, and especially thank Tor-Bjorn Larsson for initiatives and
seminars leading towards this synthesis.
We thank Elsevier Science Publishers, and especially Eric Duffey for
their great interest in our project and their rapid and exhaustive replies
to our queries. We are impressed by the swift and careful subediting of
our chapters by Eric and Rita Duffey. As English is a necessary yet
foreign language for all of us, they have performed a considerable task in
amending incorrect wording or plain abuse of their language. We admire
the patient discussions of terms and concepts that took place during this
subediting. In addition, we also received many hints about unknown
papers and alternative interpretations.
Lennart Hansson
and all authors
vii
List of Contributors
P. ANGELSTAM
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Grimso Wildlife Research
Station, S-77031 Riddarhyttan, Sweden
S. As
Department of Zoology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 561, S-75122
U ppsala, Sweden
J. BENGTSSON
Department of Ecology and Environmental Research, Swedish University of
Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7072, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
T. EBENHARD
Department of Zoology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 561, S-75122
Up psala, Sweden
B. EHNSTRCM
Department of Plant and Forest Protection, Swedish University of Agricul
tural Sciences, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
L. ERICSON
Department of Ecological Botany, University of Umed, S-90187 Umed,
Sweden
P.-A. Esseen
Department of Ecological Botany, University of Umed, S-90187 Umed,
Sweden
L. HANSSON
Department of Wildlife Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, P.O. Box 7002, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
O. JENNERSTEN
Department of Zoology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 561, S-75122
U ppsala, Sweden
ix
x LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
J. LOMAN
Department of Ecology, Lund University, Ecology Building, S-223 62 Lund,
Sweden
A.P. M0LLER
Department of Zoology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 561, S-75122
U ppsaia, Sweden
C. NILSSON
Department of Ecological Botany, University of Umea, S-90187 Umea,
Sweden
S.G. NILSSON
Department of Ecology, Ecology Building, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden
J. ROBERTSON
Department of Wildlife Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, P.O. Box 7002, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
K. SJOBERG
Department of Wildlife Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, S-901 87 Umea, Sweden
L. SODERSTROM
Department of Ecological Botany, University of Umea, S-90183 Umea,
Sweden
C. SOLBRECK
Department of Plant and Forest Protection, Swedish University of Agricul
tural Sciences, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
L. SVENSSON
Department of Systematic Botany, University of Lund, O. Vallgatan 18-20,
S-22361 Lund, Sweden
B. WIDEN
Department of Systematic Botany, University of Lund, O. Vallgatan 18-20,
S-223 61 Lund, Sweden
Contents
Preface v
Acknowledgements vii
List of Contributors IX
Chapter 1 Introduction: Applied Ecological Principles
and their Implementation in Nature
Conservation 1
Chapter 2 Conservation of Communities-The
Importance of Edges, Surroundings and
Landscape Mosaic Structure 9
2.1. Introduction 9
2.2. Definitions 12
2.2.1. Community ecology 12
2.2.2. Metapopulation dynamics . 12
2.2.3. Landscape ecology 13
2.2.4. Scale problems 14
2.3. Swedish landscape types 16
2.4. Local and regional manifestations of edge-effects 19
2.4.1. Types and definitions of edges. 23
2.4.2. Direct and indirect abiotic effects 24
2.4.3. Predation. 28
2.4.4. Other interactions 35
2.4.5. Conclusions about edge-effects 36
2.5. Landscapemanagement 37
2.5.1. Ripple effects due to loss of keystone species 38
2.5.2. Landscape grain and interdispersion of
habitat types 42
xi
