Manning, A. D., Lindenmayer, D. B., Nix, H. A., 2004, Continua and Umwelt: novel perspectives on viewing landscapes, OIKOS 104:3, 621-628. PDF
In the past, landscapes have often be characterised using the categorical “patch-matrix-corridor” model in which a landscape is divided into either “habitat” or “non-habitat”. However, this approach does not reflect the multi-faceted reality of landscapes. The Continua-Umwelt Model incorporates the following in order to better reflect the real world:
- the Umwelt or individual perception and response of organisms to their environment.
This reflects the fact that different organisms perceive the same landscape in different ways. For example, a landscape that is fragmented for one organism could be continuous and variegated for another. - spatial and environmental continua in landscapes - vegetation cover often occurs in continua or gradients rather than with abrupt boundaries, for example, scattered tree ecosystems. Further, different organisms will perceive the same landscape in different ways (see above). Also, environmental continua also affect the distribution of both plants and animals, and affect the niche of an organisms.
- ecological processes - traditional landscape models are pattern-based, however, without an appreciation of ecological processes and the trajectory of a landscape. For example, a woodland landscape without tree regeneration is not sustainable for tree or organisms that depend on them.
- scale - this allows a multi-scale appreciation of a particular landscape, because a fragmented landscape at one scale might be variegated at another, and will be dependent on the organism that is perceiving it.
- time - this allows the conceptualisation of landscape and ecosystem trajectories. These might include spatial shifts in the Umwelt or niche of different organisms, changes in ecological processes, or changes in the structure, composition and distribution of and ecosystem.
The Continua-Umwelt Model incorporates all of these key elements and allows the conceptualisation of multiple views and trajectories of the same landscape. The concept of Landscape Fluidity is based on the Continua-Umwelt Model.