Landscape studies often integrate ecology, geography, and other biophysical and social sciences. A common background assumption of landscape approaches is that some landscape patterns are more sustainable than others. Thus, searching for sustainable patterns is a unifying theme for all landscape studies. But how biodiversity, ecosystems, and human wellbeing interact geospatially to influence landscape sustainability is still poorly understood. To help fill this knowledge gap, landscape sustainability science (LSS) has emerged. Here I will present the framework, core questions, and key research approaches of LSS. Eight core questions focus on understanding the relationships among landscape pattern, biodiversity, ecosystem function, ecosystem services, and human wellbeing, assessing the impacts of environmental and socio-institutional changes on these relationships, and fusing knowledge and action through landscape design/planning and governance. Ten inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches are identified, and their key characteristics are discussed in relation to landscape sustainability. LSS is to help us balance development and environment, and properly adjust the distance between society and nature as well as the degree of connections between landscapes near and afar. Globalizing and sharing scientific knowledge and advanced technologies are undoubtedly crucial to sustainability, but localizing and shrinking our ecological footprints for material demands are vital to sustainability across all scales. LSS is not to promote social or political localization or isolation, but rather to reconnect people with nature, strengthen human-environment feedbacks, and enhance social networks and bonds between people. If global sustainability is to be achieved, most landscapes must be sustained first – not the other way around.
Mots clés : Landscape sustainability science|landscape pattern|ecosystem services|human wellbeing|landscape ecology
A103040JW