ИСТИНА

Environmental education in Russia is carried out within the several directions of preparation as a part of geographical, biological, chemical, pedagogical and engineering specialties. Training of specialists within geographical specialties is the closest to a field of landscape ecology but even within this direction the landscape ecology as independent discipline is not obligatory for studying. Only in a number of the universities it is offered as a part of disciplines of specialization or disciplines for choice. At the same time theoretical and practical questions of landscape ecology are included in programs of disciplines obligatory according to Federal Standard of Education such as landscape studies and geoecology. These two subjects differ in the main concept and expected skills. Landscape studies uses as the main theoretical concept a system approach. It includes the representation of landscape as geographical system (geosystem). All parts of geosystem are interrelated but the most important of them there is a landform with lithological strata. The main expected skills are landscape analysis and landscape mapping aimed to forecast of landscape development. The most of landscape studies are conducting at local level. Geoecology, on the contrary, uses as a main concept the ecological approach with a human as the central part of ecosystem. At its first appearing in literature and practice the geoecology in Russian had the meaning of landscape ecology but in 1990-s the original sense has changed. The present main topics of geoecology consist on global and regional environmental changes and environmental impact assessment. The main expected skills developed by students are an analysis of the consequences of human impact on ecosystems and elaboration of possible decisions for an improvement of the state of environment. The data source for conducted research was the specially made database on environmental education by more than 100 universities that allowed to compare the representation, contents and applied orientation of both disciplines – landscape studies and geoecology - in curricula and programs of training of bachelors and masters. The critical analysis of the special content directed to forming of holistic idea of a landscape is carried out. The most common forms and ways of training directed to forming of practical skills in the field of landscape ecology are defined. Results of a research include evaluation of the "strong" and "weak" moments in learning techniques and theoretical approach to teach landscape ecology within environmental education. Potential solutions to improve the level of landscape ecology teaching within geoecology is provided, the template version of the contents and practical works for this block on the basis of scope of planning of urban green infrastructure is offered.