Back to the future: using landscape ecology to understand changing patterns of land use in Canada, and its effects on the sustainability of coastal ecosystems

Abstract

Abstract Mercer Clarke, C. S. L., Roff, J. C., and Bard, S. M. 2008. Back to the future: using landscape ecology to understand changing patterns of land use in Canada, and its effects on the sustainability of coastal ecosystems. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1534–1539. In Canada, concerns are mounting that the coastal environments may be more affected by human activities than is evidenced by current monitoring and assessment of environmental quality. Holistically orientated approaches to coastal management have concluded that indicators of coastal sustainability must include a wider array of factors that go beyond marine ecosystem health to include the health and well-being of coastal terrestrial environments and human communities. Research is needed to bridge the disciplinary and jurisdictional barriers that hamper better understanding of the relationships between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and to help recognize the role of humans as both a contributing and an affected species in the coastal ecotone. Our examination of past and current knowledge of conditions along the Atlantic shore of Nova Scotia led us to challenge the predominant view that all is well along Canadian coasts. Using an interdisciplinary approach derived from landscape ecology, we examined international, national, and local efforts to assess management indicators against factors that gauge their relevance to marine- and land-development planning and management. We propose a new context for indicators, one that challenges scientists to provide decision-makers with information that can be used to drive social change, avoiding or mitigating human activities and sustaining coastal ecosystems.