Landscape Ecol (2020) 35:1721–1723
               https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01054-0(0123456789().,-volV)(0123456789().,-volV)
                 BOOKREVIEW
               Anewtextbook on the ecology of landscape ecology
               With, K.A.: Essentials of Landscape Ecology, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
               UK,2019, 656 pp. illus. maps; paper, ISBN: 978-01988-3839-5, USD $65; ebook,
               978-01988-3838-8, USD $49.99
               Erle C. Ellis
               Received: 5 May 2020/Accepted: 7 June 2020/Published online: 14 June 2020
               Springer Nature B.V. 2020
               Landscape ecology teaching has advanced through                             ecology has never been so clearly and completely
               generations of textbooks since Naveh and Lieberman,                         presented. A new teacher could readily use this
               and Forman and Godron’s seminal texts of the mid-                           textbook alone to develop a solid course on the
               1980s. Recently, Monica Turner’s classic text and                           subject.
               Sarah Gergel’s associated lab manual have been                                  All the basics of landscape ecology are covered in
               released in second editions. But until now, there has                       its  11 chapters, starting with the origins of the
               never been a landscape ecology textbook that so                             discipline, the definitions and theories of landscape,
               completely embodies the look and feel of a main-                            scale, patch, heterogeneity, dynamics, disturbance,
               stream undergraduate textbook in the environmental                          connectivity, and spatial processes. Landscape con-
               sciences.                                                                   cepts and theories are well developed through exam-
                   Beautifully produced, with high quality full color                      ples    and entire chapters are dedicated to the
               figures and images throughout, together with lively                          application of landscape ecology theory and technique
               tables and boxes, chapter summary points and ques-                          to better observe and understand the distribution and
               tions, Essentials is the first landscape ecology text-                       dynamics of individuals and populations, invasions
               bookI’ve seen that feels completely prepared to serve                       and disease, gene flow, community and population
               as the only assigned text for an introductory under-                        structure, and ecosystem structure and function. The
               graduate course in landscape ecology. For this reason,                      chapter on landscape pattern analysis is nearly a book
               Essentials could help to facilitate the long-awaited                        in itself, its [75 pages serving as both an introduction
               arrival of landscape ecologyasafundamentalrequired                          to the subject and a useful reference guide to the main
               course in degree programs across the environmental                          tools, measures, and indicators used to map and
               sciences, from biology and ecology to conservation,                         measure landscape structure. The chapter on connec-
               forestry, geography and agronomy. I’ve taught this                          tivity is also thorough, combining theory and mea-
               subject for almost as many years as the author, and I                       surement approaches. Anyone who has already taught
               can say that the classic core material of landscape                         a full course on landscape ecology will be comfort-
                                                                                           able with the core content of the book, which reprises
                                                                                           the classic work in a familiar way, but with better
               E. C. Ellis (&)                                                             illustrations and clarifying content.
               Geography and Environmental Systems, University of                              Where the book really excels is where the author
               Maryland, Baltimore County, 211 Sondheim Hall, 1000
               Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA                                    has focused: on teaching ‘‘the ecology of landscape
               e-mail: ece@umbc.edu
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            ecology’’ (emphasis in original). Separate chapters on      both people and nonhuman nature. That is what the
            populations, movements, invasions, and especially,          science of landscape ecology can and should become
            landscape genetics, are truly excellent and represent       if it is to remain relevant in the Anthropocene.
            critical advances in the teaching of landscape ecology,        The book contains not even one single mention of
            where these subjects are generally covered in far less      the terms ‘‘land system’’, ‘‘social-ecological system’’,
            depth, often within a single chapter. All the way           or ‘‘coupled human and natural system’’ (CHANS),
            through, a wide array of technical methods and              even though these are all quite mainstream frame-
            mathematical formulations are well illustrated and          worksforunderstandinghowandwhyhumanschange
            explainedwithsolidexamples,offeringalevelofboth             and manage landscapes, and how landscape structure,
            simplicity and rigor that will satisfy both experts and     function and change are coupled together with the
            students new to these subjects. The glossary of terms       dynamics of human social systems in both directions.
            alone is a fine reference, and together with the index       Intheonerelativelyextensive15-pagesectionrelating
            and the actual content of the book, even experts in         to human interactions with landscapes, ‘‘Stages of
            landscape ecology will find this text useful and well        Anthropogenic Landscape Transformation’’, the book
            worth owning.                                               claims that ‘‘landscape transformation by humans
               The book’s wonderful illustrations are available         tends   to   progress   through   a   series  of   pre-
            through a link on the publisher’s website, assisting        dictable stages’’. If only things were so simple.
            those using the book for introductory teaching,                The book does include numerous examples that
            including lectures, though these are graphics only,         relate to conservation and restoration, and in some
            without titles, legends or most other descriptive           ways, sustainable land management, but these are
            content that would contextualize them for use directly      more anecdotal than systematic, and there is no one
            in presentations. However, this is an oversight that        chapter in the book focused exclusively on landscape
            might easily be remedied, compared with the most            management, planning, or even conservation. The
            unfortunatelimitation ofthisbook,whichislargelyby           concept of multifunctional landscapes makes a brief
            design.                                                     appearance at the end of the book, together with the
               The first sentence of the book’s description (back        concepts of land sharing/sparing, resilience and sus-
            cover and online) asserts that ‘‘Human activity during      tainability, but these are barely explained, let alone
            the Anthropocene has transformed landscapes world-          utilized, as rubrics enabling landscape ecology, as a
            wide on a scale that rivals or exceeds even the largest     transdisciplinary science, to assume a critical role in
            of natural forces.’’ The second sentence even frames        efforts to more sustainably manage the biosphere in
            landscape ecology ‘‘as a science to investigate the         the Anthropocene. NavehandFormanweretherelong
            interactions between natural and anthropogenic land-        ago, and it is unfortunate not to see their influences,
            scapes…’’. Yet the book itself contains only a tiny         and the emerging paradigm of the Anthropocene,
            amount of content aimed at understanding the causes,        playing a stronger role in the pedagogy of this book.
            consequences, dynamics, and practices of human                 What a pity that the first landscape ecology
            alteration and management of landscapes. In keeping         textbook to so fully address the needs of undergrad-
            withthestatedfocusandbackgroundoftheauthor,the              uate students contains so little content that might help
            book hews closely to the classic North American             them better understand and manage the human land-
            paradigm of landscape ecology (Fig. 1.4B in the             scapesthatnowcovermostoftheterrestrialbiosphere.
            book), a pre-Anthropocene perspective in which              Perhaps this might be remedied in a second edition.
            humans, and ‘‘human activities’’, are viewed as             Nevertheless, even with this profound limitation,
            disturbances to an otherwise natural world, rather          Essentials of Landscape Ecology is the textbook that
            than as the sustained shapers, managers, and stewards       our discipline has long been waiting for, with the
            of an increasingly anthropogenic biosphere. The book        potential to widely expand the inclusion of landscape
            would have gained so much if it had absorbed the            ecology in undergraduate curriculum across a variety
            credo on its own back cover and focused more on             of disciplines. I expect that all those who publish in
            advancing landscape ecology as a science aimed at           this journal, and especially those who teach the
            better understanding and managing landscapes for            subject, will soon or already do own a copy, and
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            better still will use it in their courses. Take notice,      Publisher’s Note   Springer Nature remains neutral with
            because with this textbook, landscape ecology is now         regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
            finally ready to become the mainstream university             institutional affiliations.
            subject it was always meant to be.
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