Anthropogenic
Landscapes,
or "Human Landscapes" are areas of Earth's terrestrial surface
where direct human alteration of ecological patterns and processes is
significant,
ongoing, and directed toward servicing the needs of human populations for food,
shelter and other resources and services including recreation
and aesthetic needs.
Anthropogenic Biomes ("Anthromes"),
describe the globally-significant types of anthropogenic landscapes.
|
|
|
Nearly all humans live in anthropogenic landscapes, especially in urban, suburban
and densely populated rural village landscapes.
|
|
Anthropogenic landscape transformation (land-use change) is one of the primary
drivers of global changes in climate, biodiversity and biogeochemistry.
|
|
Ecological processes in anthropogenic landscapes differ profoundly from those
of pristine and indirectly impacted ecosystems. These processes
include species introduction and domestication, population management and harvest,
the tillage transport and cover of soils by impervious structures, fossil fuel combustion,
irrigation and the fertilization of ecosystems with nitrogen, phosphorus and other
limiting nutrients.
|
|
Anthropogenic landscapes are highly fragmented fine-scale mosaics
of managed and unmanaged landscape features with clearly defined boundaries such
as buildings, roads, yards and agricultural plots.
|
|
To measure and mediate long-term ecological changes in anthropogenic landscapes,
land transformation and management must be measured at the fine spatial scales at
which this generally occurs. AEM
was designed specifically for this purpose.
|
|
|
Anthropogenic Landscapes of the World
A classification proposed by E.C.
Ellis, October 25, 2005. Minimum mapping scale ≥ 1 km2.
- Urban residential. High population
density, non-agricultural, high impervious surface area. Includes cities and towns.
- Urban, non-residential. Low population density, high impervious surface
area. Areas dominated by non-residential anthropogenic structures, especially industrial
areas associated
- Suburban residential. Moderate population density, some vestigial agriculture,
moderate impervious surface areas.
- Developed villages. Moderate population density, some vestigial agriculture,
moderate impervious surface areas. These are historically agricultural villages
where non-agricultural livelihoods now predominate and farmers are a small part
of the population. Common in more developed countries with long histories
of dense rural populati
- Agricultural villages. Moderate population density, with most of the population
engaged in intensive agriculture in some way, low to moderate impervious surface
areas. Common in developing countries with dense rural populations, especially
- Pastoral villages. Moderate
to low population density, with most of the population engaged in sedentary pastoral
livestock production sometimes accompanied by cropping, low to moderate impervious
surface areas. Probably most common in Africa.
- Extensive industrial agriculture. ensive industrial agriculture.
Low population density intensive agriculture, low impervious surface areas.
- Plantations. Low population density large-scale plantation
forestry and agriculture, low impervious surface area, high woody cover. Common
- Shifting cultivation.
Low population density non-intensive traditional agriculture, low impervious surfaces.
Rare today, vestigial in som
- Extensive pastoral. Low population density migratory non-intensive
traditional livestock management and contemporary rangeland management, no impervious
- Intensive non-residential disturbance. tensive non-residential disturbance.
Lowpopulation density,
low impervious surface. Primarily active deforestation, mining and other intensive
disturbances not associated with permanent human occupation.
|
|
|
|
REFERENCES
Ellis E. C., H. Wang, H. Xiao, K. Peng,
X. P. Liu, S. C. Li, H. Ouyang, X. Cheng, and L. Z. Yang. 2006. Measuring
long-term ecological changes in densely populated landscapes using current and historical
high resolution imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment 100(4):457-473. [download]
|
|