Renowned scientists and their contributions in the field of plant ecology (Part 2)
Jiang Gaoming
Lindeman R. L. American zoologist and one of the important contributors to ecosystem theory. In 1941, the biomass of peat lakes, the nutritional relationship of biomes, and the process of biomass flow were studied in Minnesota, USA. It is a demonstration of the specific experimental study of the connection between organisms and the environment, and the interrelationship between organisms. Supported by the results of a series of experiments he conducted, the theory of ecosystems was inherited and developed. Based on the results of the study, he proposed the "law of tenths", that is, a small part of the energy entering any group in nature can be used to maintain the group that depends on it for its livelihood, and the energy transmitted in the food chain is about 10% of the energy that enters the next level.
Li Jidong (1897-1961) was one of the founders of plant ecology in China. In the early days, the investigation of plant ecology was carried out in China, which played a pioneering and promoting role in promoting the establishment of the department of plant ecology in China. For example, the vegetation survey work carried out in Xishan and Xiaowutai Mountains in Beijing in the 1930s involved the relationship between plant growth and development, soil physicochemical traits and moisture. In the 1950s, Li held plant ecology workshops of different sizes throughout the country, introduced the theories and methods of different schools of international schools, and played a positive role in expanding the theoretical research foundation of plant ecology in China and cultivating talents. In 1958, he published the book "The Development of Plant Geography, Plant Ecology and Geobotany", all of which accelerated the formation and development of plant ecology and geobotany in China. Another of his major contributions, "Plant Climate Combination Theory", which comprehensively introduces the theories of Hiber, Womming, Lundgard and others, and combines the actual situation to make a more in-depth discussion of the plant community (climate combination) in China, which is the earliest attempt at plant regionalization in China.
Liu Shen'e (1895-1975) was one of the main founders and pioneers of plant taxonomy, geobotany, plant geography, historical botany and forest ecology in China. His main contribution to plant ecology in China is that the pioneering study of vegetation geography in northwest China from 1931 to 1933 provided the earliest batch of scientific data on plant species, vegetation geography and vegetation regionalization in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet, China. After 1950, he transferred to the study of plant geography and plant ecology in Northeast China, summarized the law of plant succession in the forest area of Northeast China, and used it to solve the problem of forestry production, and put forward the policy of "adapting to local conditions, adapting to forest conditions, adapting to tree conditions, adapting to time conditions, and adapting to type conditions" of forest harvesting. His research results, after popularization, have directly promoted the development of forestry. His major publications include Flora atlas of northern China (1931-1936), Introduction to The Botanical Geography of Northern and Western China (1934), Outline of Plant Geography of Southern and Southwest China (1936), Dynamic Botany (1962), and Historical Plant Geography (1963).
Liebig is a German plant physiologist and founder of the theory of mineral nutrition. On this basis, the law of the smallest factor in ecology is derived, that is, among the countless factors that can affect organisms, there is always a word that restricts the growth, survival or reproduction of plants, and this factor is made an indispensable factor or the minimum factor. Lee's theory has contributed greatly to the research and development of plant physiological ecology and experimental ecology.
Qian Chongshu (1883-1965) was one of the founders of modern Botany in China, who did a lot of pioneering work in plant taxonomy, plant ecology and geobotany, and plant physiology, and was also the founder of modern plant ecology. In 1926, he co-authored "Higher Botany" with Zou Bingwen (1893-1985) and Hu Xianhua (1894-1968), in which he introduced the emergence, development and research of plant ecology in the first chapter of the book; the tenth chapter discussed the "plant society", that is, the plant community, which is the most mentioned in China and defined and emphasized community ecology. In 1927, Qian published a special report on the study of plant ecology in Huangshan, Anhui, which has been called the beginning of plant ecology research in China.
Schimper A. F. W. (1856-1901) German plant ecologist, one of the founders of modern plant ecology. His book Physiology-Based Plant Geography (1898) and Varmin's contemporaries (cf. Varmin) laid the disciplinary framework for modern plant ecology. From the aspects of plant physiological function, morphological structure and vitality, Xin shi expounded the ecological adaptation of plants; from the perspective of comprehensive environmental factors, he elucidated the diversity of plant distribution; from the perspective of historical development, analyzed and studied the origin and development of plants and communities, thus opening up the research field of plant physiological ecology and evolutionary ecology.
Tansley A. G. (1871-1955) The famous British plant ecologist established his immortal status in the field of ecology with his concept of ecosystems. Tann's interests were extensive, and early in-depth research on plant ecology found that soil, climate and animals had a clear influence on the distribution and abundance of plants, resulting in the concept that animals and plants living in the same area were integrated with their environment, and that organisms and their specific systems constituted the basic unit of size and type on the earth's surface, which is the ecosystem. Tansler also had a systematic study of the vegetation geography of the British Isles, and wrote for the advancement of ecology, including The British Islands and Their Vegetation (1926), Practical Plant Ecology (1923), and Introduction to Plant Ecology) (1946) et al.
Warming E. (1845-1923) German plant ecologist, one of the founders of modern plant ecology. His book Distribution based on Plant Ecogeography (English translation titled Plant Ecology, 1909), published in 1895, and the publication of Sinber's monograph Physiology-Based Plant Geography (1898) three years later marked the birth of the discipline of plant ecology. These two classic works have made indelible contributions to the establishment of plant ecology. They laid the foundation for the study of the disciplinary framework of plant ecology, ecology, physiology and evolution.