Plantesamfund
Encyclopedia
Plantesamfund - Grundtræk af den økologiske Plantegeografi, published in Danish in 1895 by Eugen Warming, and in English in 1909 as Oecology of Plants: An Introduction to the Study of Plant Communities, by Warming and Martin Vahl
, was the first book to be published having the word ecology in its title. The book has had a lasting impact on the field of ecology
, particularly in its German translation soon after its initial publication, and in its expanded and revised English translation.
The book was based on Warming’s lectures on plant geography at the University of Copenhagen
. It gives an introduction to all major biomes of the world. Its aim was to explain how nature solved similar problems (drought, flooding, cold, salt, herbivory) in similar way, despite using very different raw material (species of different decent) in different regions of the world.
in 1896 as
This edition, which was approved by Warming, rapidly ran out of print. A second, unauthorized, edition was issued in 1902 by Paul Graebner, who put his own name after Warming’s on the book’s frontispiece, despite no changes to the contents. This edition was expanded in third and fourth editions:
A Polish
translation of ’Plantesamfund’ (from Knoblauch’s German translation) appeared in 1900:
Two independent Russian
(Moscow
and St. Petersburg) editions appeared in 1901 and 1903
An extended and translated edition in English first apperead in 1909:
It is unknown why an English translation only appeared fourteen years after the Danish
original. In Warming's
private correspondence, he mentions to have received a letter from "a professor from Belleville, Illinois, who wishes to translate Plantesamfund" (May 1898, letter to his son Jens).
Despite the language barrier, Warming’s influence on the development of ecology is remarkable, not the least in Britain and the USA. The British ecologist Arthur Tansley
was extremely influenced by reading ’Plantesamfund’ (or rather the 1896 German edition). Reading the book made him jump from anatomy to ecology.
Similarly, Warming's book impregnated North American naturalists like Henry Chandler Cowles
and Frederic Clements
. Cowles appear to have been completely taken:
published ”Pflanzengeographie auf physiologisher Grundlage” in 1898 (in English
1903 as Plant-geography upon a physiological basis translated by W.R. Fischer, Oxford: Clarendon press, 839 pp.). Some authors have contended that part of the book was a case of plagiarism with heavy unacknowledged borrowing from Plantesamfund.
Schimper
's book is organized in three parts, (1) The factors, (2) Formations and mutualisms, and (3) Zones and regions. The third part is by far the largest (more than 3/4). It contains subsections on the Tropics, the Temperate zone, The Arctic, the Alpine regions and the Aquatic environments. This section is organized in a rather traditional way (leaning on de Candolle and others), but is full of Schimper
's original observations from his travels throughout the World. The first part is organized in chapters about water, temperature, light, air, soil and animals, i.e. following the overall organization of Plantesamfund. The second part has chapters on plant communities under particular environmental control and about lianas, epiphytes and parasites. Schimper
lists the literature used after each chapter and, for the chapters in the first two parts, Warming
’s Lehrbuch der ökologischen Pflanzengeographie (Plantesamfund in the 1896 German
translation) is included in every case. Yet, despite leaning heavily on this work with regard to both structure, content and illustrations of parts one and two, Schimper
does not include Warming
in his acknowledgements in the foreword (43 named individuals are thanked) nor does he include Plantesamfund in the short list of highly recommended readings at the end of the foreword (de Candolle’s Géographie botanique raisonnée (1855), Grisebach
’s Die Vegetation der Erde (1872), Drude
’s Handbuch der Pflanzengeographie (1890) and Atlas der Pflanzenverbreitung (1887) and Engler
’s Versuch einen Entwicklungsgeschickte der Pflanzenwelt (1879-1882)). Taken together it clearly gives the impression that Schimper
has been suspiciously economic with acknowlegdements of his great itellectual debts to Warming
.
The text on growth forms was written anew by Warming for 'Oecology of Plants'
, xerophyte
and halophyte
.
Martin Vahl
Martin Henrichsen Vahl was a Danish-Norwegian botanist and zoologist.He studied botany in Copenhagen and in Uppsala under Carolus Linnaeus. He edited Flora Danica fasc. XVI-XXI , Symbolæ Botanicæ I-III , Eclogæ Americanæ I-IV and Enumeratio Plantarum I-II...
, was the first book to be published having the word ecology in its title. The book has had a lasting impact on the field of ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, particularly in its German translation soon after its initial publication, and in its expanded and revised English translation.
The book was based on Warming’s lectures on plant geography at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
. It gives an introduction to all major biomes of the world. Its aim was to explain how nature solved similar problems (drought, flooding, cold, salt, herbivory) in similar way, despite using very different raw material (species of different decent) in different regions of the world.
- Warming, E. (1895) Plantesamfund - Grundtræk af den økologiske Plantegeografi. P.G. Philipsens Forlag, Kjøbenhavn. 335 pp.
Translated editions
The book was translated to GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in 1896 as
- Lehrbuch der ökologischen Pflanzengeographie - Eine Einführung in die Kenntnis der Pflanzenverenie by Emil Knoblauch. Berlin, Gebrüder Borntraeger, 1896. 412 pp.
This edition, which was approved by Warming, rapidly ran out of print. A second, unauthorized, edition was issued in 1902 by Paul Graebner, who put his own name after Warming’s on the book’s frontispiece, despite no changes to the contents. This edition was expanded in third and fourth editions:
- Warming, E. & Graebner, P. (1918) Eug. Warming's Lehrbuch der ökologischen Pflanzengeographie, 3 ed. Berlin, Gebrüder Borntrager. Fourth edn (1933) - 1158 pp.
A Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
translation of ’Plantesamfund’ (from Knoblauch’s German translation) appeared in 1900:
- Warming, E. (1900) Zbiorowiska Roślinne zarys ekologicznej geografii roślin by Edward Strumpf and Jósef Trzebiński. Warszawa, 1900. 451 pp.
Two independent Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
(Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and St. Petersburg) editions appeared in 1901 and 1903
- Вармингъ, Е. (1901) Ойкологическая географія растеній – Введеніе въ изученіе растительныхъ сообществъ by M. Golenkin and W. Arnol'di. Moskva, 542 pp. Full text link http://www.abratsev.narod.ru/biblio/varming/varming.html
- Вармингъ, Е. (1903) Распредъленіе растений въ зависимости отъ внъшнихъ условій - Экологическая географія растеній by A. G. Henkel' and with a treatise of the vegetation of Russia by G. I. Tanfil'ev. St. Petersburg, 474 pp.
An extended and translated edition in English first apperead in 1909:
- Warming, E. with M. Vahl (1909) Oecology of Plants - an introduction to the study of plant-communities by P. Groom and I. B. BalfourIsaac Bayley BalfourSir Isaac Bayley Balfour FRS FRSE was a Scottish botanist. He was the son of John Hutton Balfour who was also a botanist.-Biography:...
. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 422 pp. (2nd edn 1925). Reprinted a number of times, most recently by Biotech Books, DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
ISBN 81-7622-010-8
It is unknown why an English translation only appeared fourteen years after the Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
original. In Warming's
Eugenius Warming
Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
private correspondence, he mentions to have received a letter from "a professor from Belleville, Illinois, who wishes to translate Plantesamfund" (May 1898, letter to his son Jens).
The impact of Plantesamfund
It was Eugenius Warming's Lehrbuch der ökologischen Pflanzengeographie that must be considered as the starting point of self-conscious ecology. This book was the first to use physiological relations between plants and their environment, and in addition biotic interactions to explain the moulding of the assemblages that plant geographers had described and classified, and it would set up a research agenda for decades to come.
Despite the language barrier, Warming’s influence on the development of ecology is remarkable, not the least in Britain and the USA. The British ecologist Arthur Tansley
Arthur Tansley
Sir Arthur George Tansley FRS was an English botanist who was a pioneer in the science of ecology. He obtained his degree in Biological Science in 1896, with specialization in botany and zoology. From the start, he was much influenced by the Danish plant ecologist Eugenius Warming. He championed...
was extremely influenced by reading ’Plantesamfund’ (or rather the 1896 German edition). Reading the book made him jump from anatomy to ecology.
The German translation was widely read in England and America and played an important part in stimulating fieldwork in both, countries. It certainly did in my own case: I well remember working through it with enthusiasm in 1898 and going out into the field to see how far one could match the plant communities Warming had described for Denmark in the English countryside; and I also made the book the basis of a course of University Extension lectures at Toynbee Hall in 1899.
Similarly, Warming's book impregnated North American naturalists like Henry Chandler Cowles
Henry Chandler Cowles
Henry Chandler Cowles was an American botanist and ecological pioneer . Born in Kensington, Connecticut, he attended Oberlin College in Ohio. He studied at the University of Chicago with the plant taxonomist John M. Coulter and the geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin as main teachers. He...
and Frederic Clements
Frederic Clements
Frederic Edward Clements was an American plant ecologist and pioneer in the study of vegetation succession.-Biography:...
. Cowles appear to have been completely taken:
Charles J. Chamberlain, who attended Coulter’s lectures as a student and later joined the University of Chicago faculty, recalled in a memoir that ‘none of us could read Danish except a Danish student, who would translate a couple of chapters, and the next day Coulter would give a wonderful lecture on Ecology ... Cowles, with his superior knowledge of taxonomy and geology, understood more than the rest of us, and became so interested that he studied Danish and, long before any translation appeared, could read the book in the original ... The treatment of such sand dunes as Warming knew, started Henry on his study of the comparatively immense moving dunes south of the University.
Schimper's 'Pflanzengeographie auf physiologisher Grundlage'
The German ecologist A.F.W. SchimperAndreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography.-Biography:...
published ”Pflanzengeographie auf physiologisher Grundlage” in 1898 (in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
1903 as Plant-geography upon a physiological basis translated by W.R. Fischer, Oxford: Clarendon press, 839 pp.). Some authors have contended that part of the book was a case of plagiarism with heavy unacknowledged borrowing from Plantesamfund.
"This work not only covered much of the same ground as Warming did in 1895 and 1896 but in fact also leaned heavily on Warming’s research. SchimperAndreas Franz Wilhelm SchimperAndreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography.-Biography:...
(1898) quoted extensively from more than fifteen of WarmingEugenius WarmingJohannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
’s works and even reproduced WarmingEugenius WarmingJohannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
’s figures. Yet nowhere did SchimperAndreas Franz Wilhelm SchimperAndreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography.-Biography:...
acknowledge his profound debt to WarmingEugenius WarmingJohannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
, neither in the list of picture credits, nor in the acknowledgements section of the Vorwort, nor in his list of major sources, and not even in a footnote! ... Although replete with Warming’s data, it contains few ideas and did not advance ecology beyond what Warming had done earlier.”
Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography.-Biography:...
's book is organized in three parts, (1) The factors, (2) Formations and mutualisms, and (3) Zones and regions. The third part is by far the largest (more than 3/4). It contains subsections on the Tropics, the Temperate zone, The Arctic, the Alpine regions and the Aquatic environments. This section is organized in a rather traditional way (leaning on de Candolle and others), but is full of Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography.-Biography:...
's original observations from his travels throughout the World. The first part is organized in chapters about water, temperature, light, air, soil and animals, i.e. following the overall organization of Plantesamfund. The second part has chapters on plant communities under particular environmental control and about lianas, epiphytes and parasites. Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography.-Biography:...
lists the literature used after each chapter and, for the chapters in the first two parts, Warming
Eugenius Warming
Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
’s Lehrbuch der ökologischen Pflanzengeographie (Plantesamfund in the 1896 German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
translation) is included in every case. Yet, despite leaning heavily on this work with regard to both structure, content and illustrations of parts one and two, Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography.-Biography:...
does not include Warming
Eugenius Warming
Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
in his acknowledgements in the foreword (43 named individuals are thanked) nor does he include Plantesamfund in the short list of highly recommended readings at the end of the foreword (de Candolle’s Géographie botanique raisonnée (1855), Grisebach
August Grisebach
August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach was a German botanist and phytogeographer. Born in Hannover on April 17, 1814, he died at Göttingen on May 9, 1879.- Biography :...
’s Die Vegetation der Erde (1872), Drude
Carl Georg Oscar Drude
Carl Georg Oscar Drude was a German botanist.- References :...
’s Handbuch der Pflanzengeographie (1890) and Atlas der Pflanzenverbreitung (1887) and Engler
Adolf Engler
Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, like Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien , edited with Karl A. E...
’s Versuch einen Entwicklungsgeschickte der Pflanzenwelt (1879-1882)). Taken together it clearly gives the impression that Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography.-Biography:...
has been suspiciously economic with acknowlegdements of his great itellectual debts to Warming
Eugenius Warming
Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
.
Contents
| Plantesamfund | Oecology of Plants |
|---|---|
| Indledning | Introduction |
| Kap. 1 Floristisk og økologisk Plantegeografi | Ch. I. Floristic and Ecological Plant Geography |
| Kap. 2. Livsform (Vegetationsform) | Ch. II. Growth Form |
The text on growth forms was written anew by Warming for 'Oecology of Plants'
| Kap. 3 Plantesamfundene | Ch. III. Plant Communities |
| Kap. 4. Oversigt over Indholdet af det Følgende | Ch. IV. Plan of This Book |
| Første Afsnit. Økologiske Faktorer og deres Virkninger | Section I. Oecological Factors and Their Action |
| Kap. 1 Luftens Sammensætning | |
| Kap. 2. Lyset | Ch. V. Light |
| Kap. 3. Varme | Ch. VI. Heat |
| Kap. 4. Luftfugtighed og Nedbør | Ch. VII. Atmospheric Humidity and Precipitations |
| Kap. 5. Luftbevægelserne | Ch. VIII. Movements of the Air |
| Kap. 6. Næringsbundens Beskaffenhed | Ch. IX. Nature of the Nutrient Substratum |
| Kap. 7. Jordbundens Bygning | Ch. X. Structure of the Soil |
| Kap. 8. Luften i Jordbunden | Ch. XI. Air in the Soil |
| Kap. 9. Vandet i Jordbunden | Ch. XII. Water in the Soil |
| Kap. 10. Jordbundens Varme | Ch. XIII. Temperature of Soil |
| Kap. 11. Jordbundens Mægtighed; Overgrund og Undergrund | Ch. XIV. Depth of the Soil. The upper layers of the soil and subsoil |
| Kap. 12. Næringen i Jordbunden | Ch. XV. Nutriment in Soil |
| Kap. 13. Arter af Jordbund | Ch. XVI. Kinds of Soil |
| Kap. 14. Ere Jordbundens kemiske eller fysiske Egenskaber de vigtigste? | Ch. XVII. Are the Chemical or the Physical Characters of Soil the more Important? |
| Kap. 15. Virkningen af et livløst Dække over Plantevæxten | Ch. XVIII. The Effect of a Non-Living Covering over Vegetation |
| Kap. 16. Virkningerne af et levende Plantedække paa Jordbunden | Ch. XIX. Effect of a Living Vegetable Covering on Soil |
| Kap. 17. Dyrs og Planters Virksomhed i Jordbunden | Ch. XX. The Activities of Plants and Animals in Soil |
| Kap. 18. Nogle orografiske o. a. Faktorer | Ch. XXI. Exposure. Orographic and other Factors |
| Andet Afsnit. Samliv og Samfund | Section II. Communal Life of Organisms |
| Kap. 1. Samliv mellem de levende Væsener | Ch. XXII. Reciprocal Relations among Organisms |
| Kap. 2. Menneskets Indgriben | Ch. XXIII. Interference by Man |
| Kap. 3. Samlivet med Dyrene | Ch. XXIV. Symbiosis of Plants with Animals |
| Kap. 4. Samliv mellem Planterne indbyrdes | Ch. XXV. Symbiosis of Plants with One Another. Mutualism |
| Kap. 5. Kommensalisme; Samfund | Ch. XXVI. Commensalism. Plant-communities |
| Kap. 6. Samfundsklasser- | |
| Section III. Adaptations of Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants. Oecological Classification | |
| Ch. XXVII. Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants | |
| Ch. XXVIII. Adaptations of Water-plants (Hydrophytes) | |
| Ch. XXIX. Adaptations of Land-plants | |
| Ch. XXX. Regulation of Transpiration in Land-plants | |
| Ch. XXXI. Absorption of Water by Land-plants | |
| Ch. XXXII. Storage of Water by Land-plants. Water Reservoirs | |
| Ch. XXXIII. Other Structural Characters and Growth-forms of Land-plants, and Especially of Xerophytes | |
| Ch. XXXIV. Oecological Classification | |
| Ch. XXXV. Physiognomy of Vegetation. Formations. Associations. Varieties of Associations | |
| Tredje Afsnit. Hydrofyt-Samfundene | Hydrophytes. Formations of Aquatic Plants |
| Kap.1. Økologiske Faktorer | Ch. XXXVI. Oecological Factors |
| Kap. 2. Morfologisk og anden Tilpasning | |
| Ch. XXXVII. Formations of Aquatic Plants | |
| Kap. 3. Svævet (Plankton) | Ch. XXXVIII. Plankton-formation |
| Kap. 4. Den glaciale Vegetation (Isens og Sneens) | Ch. XXXIX. Cryoplankton. Vegetation on Ice and Snow |
| Kap. 5. Saprofile Flagellaters Samfund | |
| Ch. XL. Hydrocharid-formation or Pleuston | |
| Kap. 7. Bund-Vegetationerne | |
| Kap. 8. Nereïdernes (de stenelskende Hydrofyters) Samfund | Ch. XLI. Lithophilous Benthos |
| Kap. 9. Samfund af Vandplanter paa løs Bund | Ch. XLII. Benthos of Loose Soil |
| Kap. 10. Enalidernes (Havgræssenes) Samfundsklasse | |
| Kap. 11. Limnæernes Samfundsklasse | |
| Kap. 12. Myxofyce-Samfund | |
| Helophytes. Marsh-plants | |
| Ch. XLIII. Adaptation. Formations | |
| Kap. 14. Rørsumpene | Ch. XLIV. Reed-swamp or Reed-formation |
New conceptual terms
In ‘Plantesamfund’, Warming coined the words hydrophyte, mesophyteMesophyte
Mesophytes are terrestrial plants which are adapted to neither a particularly dry nor particularly wet environment. An example of a mesophytic habitat would be a rural temperate meadow, which might contain Goldenrod, Clover, Oxeye Daisy, and Rosa multiflora.Mesophytes make up the largest ecological...
, xerophyte
Xerophyte
A xerophyte or xerophytic organism is a plant which has adapted to survive in an environment that lacks water, such as a desert. Xerophytic plants may have adapted shapes and forms or internal functions that reduce their water loss or store water during long periods of dryness...
and halophyte
Halophyte
A halophyte is a plant that grows where it is affected by salinity in the root area or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. An example of a halophyte is the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora . Relatively few plant species are...
.
- Hydrophyte - An aquatic plant; a plant which lives and grows in water.
- Mesophyte - A name given to plants which grow naturally in conditions of intermediate soil moisture.
- Xerophyte - A plant that is able to grow where the water supply is small. Xerophytes are plants that are able to control the loss of water from their aërial parts. Xerophytes employ many different tools to control the loss of water, such as; waxy deposits, varnish, or mineral crusts on the epidermis; reduction of air spaces; storage organs; thick-walled epidermis; and cork in woody plants. Some xerophytes are annual plants that grow quickly during the rainy season.
- Halophyte - A plant which grows in salt-impregnated soils.