The pattern of the landscape has always been important to TEC ecologist, Rosie Whicheloe, who started her career in landscape planning; working on landscape character assessments, and large scale habitat mapping.
It came as no surprise to The Ecology Consultancy, that when an opportunity arose to become actively involved in the rapidly developing, interdisciplinary science of Landscape Ecology, she put her name forward. Rosie was recently accepted as a new committee member (and newsletter editor) of the UK chapter of the International Association of Landscape Ecologists (IALE).
For those unfamiliar with the term, Landscape Ecology focuses explicitly on the ecological understanding of spatial heterogeneity. This is the study of interactions across space and time between the structure and function of physical, biological and cultural components of landscapes (marine, freshwater and terrestrial).
In the UK, the IALE aims to encourage communication between scientists, policy makers, planners and practitioners concerned with landscape ecology and promotes inter-disciplinary research. A newsletter is published online 4 times a year and a range of post-graduate workshops and events are organized. A yearly conference open to all is held in September. This year’s event focused on Urban Ecology and was held in Kings College, London (abstracts are now available online).
If you would like to find out more visit IALE or contribute to the next newsletter please get in touch.
