What is Landscape Ecology? An Analysis and Evaluation of Six Different Conceptions

'Landscape ecology' is an ambiguous term commonly used to refer to different research agendas in different disciplines. Here we seek to contribute to the debate about the proper subject matter and method of landscape ecology by identifying and discussing six distinct conceptions of landscape ecology, particularly with regard to their respective understanding of 'landscape'. Our analysis is based on an acknowledgment of the cultural contexts in which the idea of landscape has evolved. Our aims are i) to dispute definitions which involve a purely natural scientific interpretation of the term 'landscape'; ii) to challenge the increasingly popular view that landscape ecology is (or should be) an inter- or transdisciplinary science or research programme comprising not only several natural sciences but also social sciences and humanities; iii) as an alternative to both of these definitions, to highlight and define a landscape ecology research agenda that is widespread but has not yet been explicitly defined, namely, landscape ecology as 'ecology guided by cultural meanings of lifeworldly landscapes'.