A New View of the Landscape
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8963924 |
|---|---|
| Authors | W E H Culling (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1988 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 345-345 |
| Publication date | 1988-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-2754 • E-ISSN: 1475-5661 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.2307/622996 |
| OpenAlex | W2331058114 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 1 |
The customary view of the landscape and of landscape processes emphasizes regularity. Macroscopic landforms are represented as contoured surfaces and mean values are held to provide a satisfactory knowledge of structures and processes at the micro level. However, it is known that geomorphic structures can exhibit a spatial variability that renders them unmappable and non-laminar flows are so complex as to defy regular analysis. Irregularity in the landscape may be probabalistic in origin or the outcome of non-linearity where, despite being completely determined, systems can exhibit stochasticity. Two examples of probabilistic irregularity are presented in this paper: (i) the soil-covered landscape as a sample function of a Gaussian field; (ii) variable thresholds as the subtraction of random variables. Non-linear stochasticity enters geomorphology mainly via dissipative structures in turbulent flow. For slightly perturbed, mildy non-linear, conservative systems, stability is provided for by KAM theory, while 'Hamiltonian chaos' guarantees ergodicity and the possibility of equilibrium
Geography · Ecosystem dynamics and resilience · Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics · Slime Mold and Myxomycetes Research
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,09 |
| Citation span | 1994 - 2004 (11) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |