Spatially explicit population models are becoming increasingly useful
tools for population ecologists, conservation biologists, and land man
agers. Models are spatially explicit when they combine a population si
mulator with a landscape map that describes the spatial distribution o
f landscape features. With this map, the locations of habitat patches,
individuals, and other items of interest are explicitly incorporated
into the model, and the effect of changing landscape features on popul
ation dynamics can be studied. In this paper we describe the structure
of some spatially explicit models under development and provide examp
les of current and future research using these models. Spatially expli
cit models are important tools for investigating scale-related questio
ns in population ecology, especially the response of organisms to habi
tat change occurring at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Simu
lation models that incorporate real-world landscapes, as portrayed by
landscape maps created with geographic information systems, are also p
roving to be crucial in the development of management strategies in re
sponse to regional land-use and other global change processes. Spatial
ly explicit population models will increase our ability to accurately
model complex landscapes, and therefore should improve both basic ecol
ogical knowledge of landscape phenomena and applications of landscape
ecology to conservation and management.