Landscape Diversity: The Concept Applied to Yellowstone Park

Abstract

Changes in landscape patterns may influence a variety of natural features including wildlife abundance, nutrient flow, and lake productivity. Data suggest that cyclic changes in landscape diversity occur on areas of 100 km2 in Yellowstone National Park. When properly managed, large wilderness areas provide the best and probably the only locale for studying the kind of landscape changes that occurred for millenia in presettlement times.