The Ecology Book

167

See also: Climate and vegetation 168–169 ■ Ecological succession 170–171

■ The biosphere 204–205 ■ Endangered habitats 236–239 ■ Deforestation 254–259

P

lant ecology examines how

plants interact with one

another and with their

environments. Danish botanist

Johannes Eugenius Warming first

brought the sciences of botany and

ecology together in his book The

Ecology of Plants in 1895. He

described how plants react to their

surroundings, and how their life

cycles and structures relate to where

they grow. The book introduced the

concept of plant communities, and

outlined how a group of species

interact and develop in reponse to

the same local conditions.

Plants and ecosystems

For many years, plant ecology

and animal ecology were studied

separately, but in the early 20th

century a more connected

perspective emerged. Important

theories on plant communities and

succession—the process by which

an ecological community changes

over time—were established during

this time period. In 1926, Russian

geochemist Vladimir Vernadsky

introduced the idea of Earth’s

biosphere, the parts of its surface

and atmosphere where all living

organisms exist and interact.

Plants are sensitive barometers

of change within an environment.

The study of their anatomy,

physiology, distribution, and

abundance, as well as their

interactions with other organisms

and their response to environmental

factors, such as soil conditions,

hydrology, and pollution, can

provide invaluable information

about the entire ecosystem. ■

ORGANISMS IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

IN CONTEXT

KEY FIGURE

Johannes Eugenius

Warming (1841–1924)

BEFORE

1859 Charles Darwin’s

detailed descriptions of plants

and animals in their natural

environment mark the start of

an appreciation of what is later

termed “ecology.”

AFTER

1935 British botanist Arthur

Tansley publishes an article in

Ecology in which he defines

the term “ecosystem.”

1938 American botanists

John Weaver and Frederic

Clements further develop the

concepts of plant communities

and succession.

1995 David Attenborough’s

television documentary “The

Private Life of Plants” depicts

plants as dynamic influencers

of their environment.

That land is a community

is the basic concept

of ecology.

Aldo Leopold

American ecologist

PLANTS LIVE

ON A DIFFERENT

TIMESCALE

THE FOUNDATIONS OF PLANT ECOLOGY

US_166-167_Organisms_and_environment-Plant_ecology.indd 167 22/11/2018 17:50