Ecological Studies on the Rural Landscape Pattern and its Effects on Plant Species Flow

Abstract

We analyzed the characteristics of rural landscape patterns and its effects on ecological process, in the suburbs of the Tsukuba city, Japan, to discuss the conservation method of biotic communities in rural landscapes. The results are summarized as follows 1) rural landscape have been composed of small scale mosaics in time and space, 2) in these mosaics vegetation units interact through species flow, 3) these patterns and interactions form the regeneration complex for plant communities. We may conclude that it is necessary to maintain the diversity of successional stage of vegetation and their spatial network in the landscape structure for the conservation of biotic communities.