LANDSCAPE

&
ECOLOGY

Prepared by
Ar. M. Senthil,M.Arch.
Associate Professor,MSAJAA
AIM:

To familiarize students with landscape architecture and many facets this

profession entails.
p

OBJECTIVES:

To familiarize students with the various elements of landscape

architecture and the principle of landscape design.
To provide an overview of ecological balance and impacts of human
activities
ti iti andd stress
t the
th needd for
f environmental
i t l protection
t ti and d landscape
l d
conservation.
To develop and strengthen the competence in dealing with the analytic,
artistic and technical aspects of designing open spaces at different scales
scales.
What is Landscape Architecture?
1. It is the design of Open spaces.
2 It is another type of urban design.
2. design
3. It is the art and practice of designing
the outdoor environment,
environment especially
designing parks or gardens to
harmonize with buildings g and roads.
4. It is the design of the plants, trees,
shrubs and all other g green vegetations
g
to enhance the greenery of the
environment.
 Landscape architecture is a multi-
disciplinary field, incorporating
aspects of:
botany, horticulture, the fine
arts, architecture, industrial
design, geology and the earth
sciences, environmental
psychology, geography,
and ecology.
 Ecology:
H
How to
t define?
d fi ?

The study of the

interactions of
organisms
g i with
ith their
th i
environment and with
each other
The word ECOLOGY is derived from the
Latin term Oikos
Oikos , added up with logos
logos

Oikos Home
Oik H / Dwelling
D lli
Logos Study

So,

ECOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF

DWELLING UNITS OF LIVING
ORGANISMS
 ECOSYSTEM
How to define it?

An ecosystem is
A i a naturall uniti
consisting of all plants, animals and
micro-organisms (biotic factors).

..in an area functioning together

with all of the non-living physical
(abiotic) factors of the environment.
No Plant or animal inhabits a place
as single.

They exist as a collection termed

as

COMMUNITY

Several similar individuals form a

Community
Examples of Ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystem
Coral reef
Desert
Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem
Human ecosystem
Large marine ecosystem
Marine ecosystem
Rainforest
Savanna
Microbial Ecosystem
T d
Tundra
Urban ecosystem
 BIO-DIVERSITY
A very wide range of organisms and plant life
exists in all ecosystems interrelated to one
another

If one community is wiped off

off, it affects the
whole ecosystem

Our knowledge of plant & animal life is still

limited of the 2 million plant species estimated on
earth, among which only 60,000 have been
identified and documented
We do not know which community would be
of importance to us
us, later
later hence
conservation of our biodiversity becomes
important

All living beings have an ecological

amplitude or tolerance level to temperature
variations water regime
variations, regime, etc
etc.
Example
p of a
food chain in a
Swedish lake
A food chain is the flow of energy from one
organism to the next and to the next and to the
next.

Organisms in a food chain are grouped into

Trophic Levels from the Greek word for
nourishment, trophikos based on how many
links they are removed from the primary
producers.

Trophic levels may consist of either a single

species or a group of species that are presumed
to share both predators and prey
Ecological
Pyramids
 Ecosystem

An ecosys
. ecosystem
e may ay be
defined as - a system formed
by the interaction of a group
of organisms and their
environment
The factors affecting ecosystem
are
Population growth
Human activities
R
Resources availability
il bili
Climatic factors
 Population growth
P
Population
l ti growth
th mainly
i l affects
ff t
ecosystem balance, if the number of
population
l ti increases,
i than
th there
th
exists a resource shortage.
Population growth is the number of
individuals present in each species
of ecosystem.
Resources availability
Two kinds of resources

Renewable Resources: These types of

resources can be renewed.
Non- renewable: These types of
resources cannot be renewed, once
used it will not be p
produced back.

These resources can be utilized byy

different species in the ecosystem, if
the population size increases, there
exists
i t a resource shortage.
h t
Climatic factors:
Cli
Climatic
ti factors
f t such
h as
temperature, rainfall, etc play the
maini role
l in
i ecological
l i l balance.
b l
Certain animals will exist only in
moderate temperature; if there is
high temperature these species cant
survive leads to extinction.
Factors such as heavy y rainfall,
floods, cyclones and hurricanes lead
death to many species
Human Activities:
H
Human activities
ti iti like
lik deforestation
d f t ti
and urbanization greatly destroys
th habitats
the h bit t off animals
i l and d plants.
l t
So that they cant get the sufficient
resources to
t exist.
i t They
Th migrate
i t to
t
other places and some of the
species will
ill die .
What is LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY ?

Ecology (oikos - "house logia - "study of") is the interdisciplinary scientific

study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions
with their environment.
LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY

Landscape ecology is perhaps best defined by its focus on:

1) spatial patterns,

2) broader spatial extents than those traditionally studied in ecology, and

3)) the role of humans in creating

g and affecting
g landscape
p ppatterns and p
process.

Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving the relationship

between spatial pattern and ecological processes on a multitude of landscape
scales and organizational levels
As such, landscape ecology has five central themes:
Detecting
D t ti pattern
tt and
d the
th scale
l att which
hi h it is
i expressed,
d and
d summarizing
i i it
quantitatively.

Identifying
Id tif i and
d describing
d ibi th agents
the t off pattern
tt f
formation,
ti which
hi h include
i l d
the physical abiotic template, demographic responses to this template, and
disturbance regimes
g overlaid on these.

Understanding the ecological implications of pattern; that is, why it

matters to p
populations,
p communities, and ecosystems.
y

Characterizing the changes in pattern and process over space and time;
that is, the dynamics of the landscape, and summarizing it quantitatively.

Managing landscapes to achieve human objectives.

The emergence of landscape ecology as a prominent sub discipline of ecology in the
early 1980's can be traced to a number of factors:
1) growing
i awareness off broad-scale
b d l environmental
i t l issues
i requiring
ii a landscape
l d
perspective,
2) increasing recognition of the importance of scale in studying and managing pattern-
process relationships,
l ti hi
3) emergence of the dynamic view of ecosystems/landscapes, and
4)) technological
g advances in remote sensing,
g, computer
p hardware and software.
Landscape ecology (or a landscape perspective) with its focus on spatial
patterns is important to resource managers because:

1) ecosystem context matters,

2) ecosystem function depends on the interplay of pattern and process,

3) because human activities can dramatically alter landscape context and

the relationship between patterns and processes,

resource managers have a stewardship responsibility to understand and

manage these impacts more pragmatically, resource managers have a
policy and legal mandate to include a landscape perspective in resource
management decisions.
LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION
The preservation and careful management of the environment
and of natural resources
The protection of natural resources.
Preservation or restoration from loss, damage, or neglect
The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of
natural environments and the ecological communities that inhabit
them.
Conservation is generally held to include the management of
human use of natural resources for current public benefit and
sustainable social and economic utilization
 Revitalization of the Gardens
of Emperor Humayun's Tomb - A CASE STUDY

The first privately funded restoration of a World Heritage Site in India was
completed in March 2003 through the joint efforts of the

Aga-Khan
Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI), under the aegis Culture Fund of the National
 OBJECTIVE

The objective of the project was to revitalize the gardens, pathways,

fountains and water channels of the chahr-bgh, or four-part paradise
garden surrounding Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, according to the original
plans of the builders.

The preservation of historic gardens requires close attention to the living

and renewable landscape elements.

A management plan is underway for the long-term sustainability of the

enhanced site.
 THE RESTORATION PROJECT HAS FEATURED:
Removal of earth
Planting of lawn,
Re-setting and alignment of path curbstones,
Preparation by some 60 stonecutters of
3,000 meters of hand dressed red
sandstone slabs (to edge the channels),
Creation of 128 ground
ground-water
water recharge pits and the de
de-silting
silting and creation
of other wells as part of the largest rainwater-harvesting system scheme
in any heritage site in India,
Planning and installation of a new water-circulation
water circulation system for the walkway
channels,
Planting of 2,500 trees and plants, including mango, lemon, neem, hibiscus
and jasmine cuttings
cuttings, according to Mughal texts
texts,
Repair of fountains, wells and rainwater-harvesting systems,
Provision of wheelchair access to a significant part of the site.
The revitalization of the gardens required a variety
of activities, from masonry to archival research, and
included the following:

EXCAVATIONS
A series of systematic excavations were
carried out to understand better the garden and its
relationship to the building and adjoining features,
such as the river.

Amongst key features discovered were

aqueducts, terracotta pipes, fountain mechanisms,
wells siphons and copper pipes.
wells, pipes These features,
features
among other factors, formed the brief of the project
as they indicated original garden levels and water
movementt patterns.
tt
BENCHES

F t sandstone
Forty d t b
benches,
h off a design
d i fi t procured
first d in
i
1917 at a cost of 55 rupees each, have now been placed
in the walled g
garden. These have been made using
g
traditional tools and techniques. In addition, nine cast-iron
benches have been repaired and placed in the garden.
Craftsmanship

stone carving and preparation of lime mortar for masonry.

Lime:. The pathways, channels, platforms, minor structures and wells were
all repaired using lime mortar mixed with traditional materials such as gur
(molasses), bel-giri (fruit pulp), surkhi (brick dust), in addition to coarse
sand The lime was also prepared and cured using traditional techniques,
sand. techniques
such as the lime wheel, for compaction.
Sandstone: Red sandstone from selected quarries in the Agra region was
used for a variety of purposes as part of the project. The essential use was for
the water channels. Over 3,000 metres of sandstone was hand chiseled using
traditional tools and techniques. In addition, the signage system, benches,
waterfalls and fountains have all been hand
hand-crafted
crafted in sandstone.
sandstone Over 50
stonecutters have worked continuously for almost two years to prepare the
sandstone elements. An additional ten craftsmen were trained.
MINORSTRUCTURES

Minor structures on the grounds have been surveyed and repaired. Of these, three of
the more significant are the Octagonal Platform, Wall Mosque and Grave Platform.

Octagonal Platform: On the northeast corner of the garden stands an octagonal

platform
f that could have been used for
f a ceremonial royal tent. Constructed
C off local,
dressed quartzite stone - one of the hardest stones known, the platform was in a
state of dilapidation

with the top two courses largely missing. These

have now been restored using traditional tools
and employing techniques in which the
craftsmen were trained.
WHE E LC HAI RAC C E S S

For wheelchair users, a comfortable,

sensitively designed ramp has been
provided at the entrance to the garden.

In addition, in order to make a significant

partt oof tthee ga
pa garden
de access
accessible
b e to w
wheelchair
ee c a
users, bridges have been placed across the
water channels in key locations.
locations
C h i l d r e n s W o r k s h o p

As part of an outreach and awareness campaign, several workshops have

been held with school children at Humayun's Tomb. The primary objectives
were to introduce the children to the significance of their heritage, to make
each child understand the need and benefits of conservation and to make
the study of history and architecture interesting.
interesting

Aspects of archaeology, architecture, nature, conservation, history and

geology were discussed with the children. These workshops, which were
held with a variety of Delhi schools, featured children from all sections of
society.
Illumination

The white light is designed to enhance the effect of moonlight,

making the grand dome visible on the night skyline. The light
fixtures are located at a distance of over 90 meters from the
mausoleum, with the cables all laid underground. The light
fixtures are themselves free standing, requiring no permanent
attachment to the historic buildings.
b ildings
We l l s

Th
Three wells
ll that
th t had
h d been
b completely
l t l filled
fill d in
i and
d covered
d over were
discovered during the course of the works. Two wells four metres in
diameter were found in the sunken area to the east and these were
desilted to a depth of 15 metres. They now hold about six metres of
standing water. Another well was discovered in the southwest
quadrant after an excavation was carried out in its locale. This well, of
narrower diameter, continuouscontinuous record of pictures from 1849
onwards planting plans of the 1880
onwards, 1880ss and early 20th century and a
detailed record of the significant work done in the garden in the period
1903-11.
EarthRemoval

Over 12,300 cubic

bi metres (3,000
( truckloads)
kl d ) off excess earthh were
removed from the garden in order to restore the original plot
levels and the relationship between the pathways and garden plots.
The earth was removed manually, either through head load or
cycle rickshaws, and then taken outside the garden complex (in
order to ensure that no underlying archaeology was damaged). It
was then transported to various other gardens by trucks.
Planting

The choice of plants and planting patterns was derived from a combination of factors,
including their mention in Mughal chronicles, as well as through pollen analysis tests,
archival material, visitor accounts, and soil and climatic conditions in the Humayuns
Tomb gardens.

Along the periphery of the garden large shade trees such as Mango and Neem were
planted.
l d Over
O 300 plants
l off lemon
l and
d orange, said
id to have
h b
been f
favoured
d by
b Humayun,
H
were planted along the outer pathways. Similarly, over 500 saplings of Pomegranate
were planted in the sunken area towards the east. Over 2,000 flower
flower-bearing
bearing and sweet
sweet-
smelling plants such as the Hibiscus (recorded in the Akbarnama to have been planted
here), Chandni, Harsingar, Motia and Mogra have also been planted.
Planting

Wall Mosque: Along the southern enclosure wall of the garden, stands a wall
mosque possibly dating from the 18th-19th century. Conservation work was
undertaken on this mosque, which was in a dangerous state of structural
instability.

Grave Platform: In the northwest quadrant, a rather large platform features

severall gravestones. Seemingly
S i l built
b il in
i three
h di i
distinct phases,
h this
hi platform
l f was
almost reduced to rubble. The platform has been carefully and scientifically
conserved. It now adds to the character of the garden.
S U M M A RY

The rehabilitation project included the following main elements:

Reinstating the walkways and conserving the edging stones,

Repair,
p extension and reactivation of the irrigation
g system,
y

Establishing water sources for the water channels and irrigation system, including
pump station for a water-recycling system,

Conserving, repairing and rebuilding the water channel system,

Re-levelling the planted zones and revitalizing them with species and arrangements tha
conform to the customs and patterns of Mughal sources, and

Support for research that informs the conservation and restoration process,
process contributes t
the development of educational materials for use in schools of architecture, conservatio
and heritage management, as well as for visitors to the Tomb.
RECLAIMATION : the act or process of reclaiming: as

a: reformation, rehabilitation

b: restoration to use : recovery

Reclamation is the process of reclaiming something from loss or from

a less useful condition.

It is generally used of water reclamation, which, a century

ago meant damming streams (thus the US Bureau of Reclamation
owning dams), and now has come to be used to describe wastewater
reclamation
Land is a valuable asset for human use. However, this use has
affected the quality of land through acid rain, mineral extraction,
waste disposal and industrial use. This Factsheet will briefly discuss
the creation of derelict land and review the ways in which such land
can be successfully reclaimed.
What is Derelict Land ?
Derelict land is defined as, Land
Land that is so damaged by industrial and other
developments that they are incapable of beneficial use without treatment (DOE,
1992). There are four major causes of derelict land:
Mining, quarrying and waste heaps A good example of this is the former tin and
china clay mines in Comwall.
Declining industry in inner-city
inner city areas,
areas such as textile mills in Manchester.
Manchester
Military use
Disused railway
y lines
Every piece of derelict land which is reused for industry improves environmental
conditions in the local vicinity and prevents the equivalent area being newly
destroyed elsewhere. Alternatively, many derelict land sites become attractive
conservation or recreation sites for the local community,
community or they can be returned
to farming.
Reclamation is the improvement of derelict land into a new end use,
whereas restoration is the return to a former use.
Problems of Reclamation
The box below shows that there are both physical and chemical problems to
overcome in reclamation.
The Physical and Chemical Problems of Derelict Land
Physical:
Drainage Land may be too dry or too wet.
Drainage. wet By increasing the organic content of
sandy soils by 25% the water retention capacity is doubled.
Even when topsoil is overlain, an impermeable subsoil can cause problems by restricting
plant root growth.

Soil Structure. Soils may be of a single material, compacted , with no organic

matter and poor structure. Without a good range of sediment sizes there may be poor
water holding characteristics.

Instability. This affects site safety, the surrounding land and makes successful
reclamation very difficult. Gradients can be lowered and loose
material compacted during site preparation. It is also possible to use expensive synthetic
stabilisers (e.g.
(e g polyvinyl acetate) and cheaper mulches
(e.g. wood chips and hay). These can also improve nutrient levels.
Chemical :
Nutrient Deficiency. Plants need macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, sulphur
and potassium) in large quantities and micronutrients, e.g.
calcium and magnesium in smaller quantities, for growth. Deficiencies arise because of
the slow weathering rate of some parent materials, the
presence of only one substrate type and lack of nitrogen fixation from the air
air. Various
techniques are used to solve these problems:
Addition of fertilisers, or waste materials such as sewage sludge, pig slurry and
f
farmyard
d manure to
t directly
di tl provide
id nutrients.
ti t
Growth of plants to incease nutrient quantities. Particularly useful are species, such as
the Brown Bent (Agrostis canina) which can tolerate
poor soils. In addition leguminous plants, including clover, lupins, vetches, gorse
and alder have nitrogen fixing bacteria within nodules of
their roots and can therefore grow in nitrogen poor soils and rapidly improve nutrient
availability.
Toxicity - this is the most difficult problem to overcome, with problems arising even if the
site is covered with top soil. Lead is toxic in levels
of over 10 ppm and copper in 0.5 ppm. The only solution is to plant tolerant species together with
fertilisers.
pH - acidity is a particular problem since it causes secondary effects. For example acid
soils may make nutrients such as calcium unavailable
and cause the release of aluminium and magnesium in toxic concentrations
concentrations. Alkalinity caused by
hydroxides of calcium, magnesium, sodium
and potassium is also a problem. However, sodium and potassium may eventually leach away
and calcium hydroxide oxidises and becomes
neutralised.
Satinity - salinity is often associated with material previously in contact with deep ground
water. Salinity is mainly a short-lived probleminthe
UK because the salts are soon leached away.
There problems are always site specific. In order to succeed a complete
treatment is necessary. For example, topsoil is useless if the correct
drainage is not present.
present
In modem industry, the end use of Land is often determined before the
site is used. This allows important preparations to be made at the
beginning, such as filling of old pits, landscaping hills and building access
routes. A common technique used to prevent the creation of poor
substrate is storing topsoil from opencast mines, or bringing in topsoil
from a site which is about to be destroyed. However, there are problems
with such techniques, particularly cost. In addition, heavy machinery and
storage may cause undesirable compaction and some reduction in
quality is inevitable.
Unfortunately, pre-planning for reclamation was rarely considered in
this way in the past. Table 1 illustrates derelict land types around the UK.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
EnvironmentImpactAssessment

WhatisEIA?

E i
EnvironmentalImpactAssessment(EIA)isaprocesswhichensuresthat
t lI tA t (EIA) i hi h th t
allenvironmentalmattersaretakenintoaccountquiteearlyinthe
project at planning process itself
projectatplanningprocessitself.
Ittakesintoconsiderationnotonlytechnicalandeconomic
considerations but also, traditional aspects like impact on local people,
considerationsbutalso,traditionalaspectslikeimpactonlocalpeople,
biodiversityetc.
EnvironmentImpactAssesment
WhyEIA?

EIAisintendedtopreventorminimizepotentiallyadverseenvironmental
i
impactsandenhancetheoverallqualityofaproject.
t d h th ll lit f j t Themainbenefits
Th i b fit
andadvantagesofEIAare:

9Lowerprojectcostsinthelongterm
9Increased
Increasedprojectacceptance
project acceptance
9Improvedprojectdesign
EnvironmentImpactAssessment

9Informeddecisionmaking
9Environmentallysensitivedecisions
9Increasedaccountabilityandtransparency
9Reducedenvironmentaldamage
9Improvedintegrationofprojectsintotheirenvironmentaland
socialsettings
EnvironmentImpactAssessment

Which type of projects under go EIA?

WhichtypeofprojectsundergoEIA?

9Agriculture
9Construction(Roadnetworks,Malls,Townships,Dametc)
9Industries
9El
9Electricalprojects
i l j
9Wastedisposal
9Any developmental projects around Protected Areas / Nature Preserves
9AnydevelopmentalprojectsaroundProtectedAreas/NaturePreserves
9CleanDevelopmentMechanismCDMprojects
EnvironmentImpactAssesment

The EIA Directive

TheEIADirective

TheEIADirectiverequiresprojectslikelytohavesignificanteffects
ontheEnvironmentbyvirtueoftheirnature,sizeorlocationto
y ,
undergoanenvironmentalassessmentbeforethecompetent
authorityinquestiongrantsconsent.

TheEIADirectivedefinesaprojectastheexecutionof
constructionworksorofotherinstallationsorschemes,
otherinterventionsinthenaturalsurroundingsandlandscape
i l di th
includingthoseinvolvingtheextractionofmineralresources
i l i th t ti f i l
E i
EnvironmentImpactAssessment
tI tA t

The EIA Directive

TheEIADirective

The EIA should identify, describe and assess the direct and
indirect effects of a project on the following factors:

9Human beings
9Fauna and flora
9Soil, Water & Air
9Climate and the landscape
9Material Assets
9Cultural Heritage
9Interaction between all above factors

EIA therefore sho

should
ld ha
have
e a very
er strong social dimension
E i
EnvironmentImpactAssessment
tI tA t
HistoryofEIAinIndia

Startedin197677,whenPlanningCommissionaskedDepartmentof
Science&TechnologytoexamineRiverValleyProjectsfrom
environmental angle
environmentalangle
Till1994,EnvironmentalClearancefromCentralGovernmentwasan
administrativedecisionwhichlackedlegislativesupport.
On 27th January1994,UnionMinistryofEnvironment&Forests,GOI
On27 January 1994 Union Ministry of Environment & Forests GOI
underEnvironment(Protection)Act1986,promulgatedEIAnotification
makingEnvironmentclearancemandatoryforexpansionor
modernization of any activity or for setting up new projects listed in
modernizationofanyactivityorforsettingupnewprojectslistedin
Scheduleoneofthenotification,whichhavebeenamendedmorethan
12times.
Environment Impact Assessment
EnvironmentImpactAssessment

EIAClearancerequired

TotalEIAclearanceisrequiredfor32categoriesofdevelopmental
worksbroadlycategorizedintofollowingindustrialsectors:
9Mining
9Thermalpowerplant
9Ri
9Rivervalley
ll
9Infrastructure(Road,highway,ports,harbour,airports,
9Industries including very small electroplating or foundry units)
9Industriesincludingverysmallelectroplatingorfoundryunits)

CertainactivitiespermissibleunderCoastalRegulationZoneAct
1991,alsorequiresimilarclearance
THANK YOU