International Phytogeographic Excursion

The International Phytogeographic Excursions was a series of international meetings in plant geography that significantly contributed to exchange of scientific ideas across national and linguistic barriers and also to the rise of Anglo-American plant ecology. The initiative was taken by the British botanist Arthur Tansley at the International Geographic Congress in Geneva in 1908. Tansley and another early key figure, Henry C. Cowles, were both much-inspired by the new 'ecological plant geography' introduced by Eugenius Warming and its quest for answering why-questions about plant distribution, as opposed to the traditional, merely descriptive 'floristic plant geography'.

The First International Phytogeographic Excursion was held in the British Isles in 1911. It was organized by Arthur Tansley and went through parts of England, Scotland and Ireland. The participants were:

Eduard Rübel, Switzerland Carl Schroeter, Switzerland Oscar Drude, Germany Paul Graebner, Germany C.A.M. Lindman, Sweden

G. Claridge Druce, England [1] Jean Massart, Belgium C.H. Ostenfeld, Denmark [2] Frederic Clements, U.S.A. Henry C. Cowles, U.S.A., who gave a brief report in Science in 1913.[3]

The Second International Phytogeographic Excursion was a travel across North America from July to September 1913.[4][5] It was hosted by a number of American ecologists led by Henry C. Cowles. The participants were:[6][7]

Henry C. Cowles, U.S.A. Frederic Clements, U.S.A. Edith S. Clements, U.S.A. Alfred Dachnowsky, U.S.A. George Fuller, U.S.A. George E. Nichols, U.S.A. Willis Linn Jepson, U.S.A. Heinrich Brockmann-Jerosch, Switzerland Marie Charlotte Brockmann-Jerosch, Switzerland

Ove Paulsen, Denmark Carl Skottsberg, Sweden Eduard Rübel, Switzerland Karl von Tubeuf, Germany Carl Schroeter, Switzerland Theodoor J. Stomps, Netherlands Arthur Tansley, England Adolf Engler, Germany Cecil Crampton, Scotland.

The Third International Phytogeographic Excursion was proposed in 1915, but postponed due to the First World War. It was finally carried through in 1923 in neutral Switzerland, and as noted by John William Harshberger is his report in Ecology, the participants from Germany, France and other nations recently at war, coexisted peacefully.[8] The organizers were the Swiss botanists Rübel, Schroeter and H. Brockmann-Jerosch. The participants were, among others:

Gustaf Einar Du Rietz, Sweden John William Harshberger, U.S.A. Jens Holmboe, Norway Huguet del Villar, Spain Kaarlo Linkola, Finland Hugo Osvald, Sweden Ove Paulsen, Denmark Robert Lloyd Praeger, Ireland Constantin von Regel, Lithuania

Edward Salisbury, England [9] Carl Skottsberg, Sweden Władysław Szafer, Poland Heinrich Brockmann-Jerosch, Switzerland Marie Charlotte Brockmann-Jerosch, Switzerland Eduard Rübel, Switzerland Carl Schroeter, Switzerland Josias Braun-Blanquet, Switzerland Paul Jaccard, Switzerland

The Fourth International Phytogeographic Excursion was held in Scandinavia in 1925 (July 2 to August 24). It formed as a trip through Sweden and Norway starting in Lund in southernmost Sweden, passing Stockholm, Uppsala and Abisko, going down through Norway, ending in Oslo. It was organized by G. Einar Du Rietz from Uppsala University.[10][11]

By this time, Warmings 'ecological plant geography' had developed into plant ecology and the excursion programme returned to 'floristic plant geography'. Through the 1930s and after the Second World War, the International Phytogeographic Excursions continued at regular intervals, but now outside the mainstream of ecology. At the same time, scientific exchange between plant ecologists had found other means.

The Fifth International Phytogeographic Excursion was held in Czechoslovakia in 1928. It was organized by Karel Domin.[12][13]

The Sixth International Phytogeographic Excursion was held in Romania in 1931.[14]

The Seventh International Phytogeographic Excursion was held in Italy in 1934.[15]

The Eighth International Phytogeographic Excursion went to Morocco and western Algeria in 1936.[16]

• 1949 Ireland (9th excursion) [17]
• 1953 Spain (10th excursion) [18][19]
• 1956 Eastern Alps (11th excursion) [20]
• 1958 Czechoslovakia (12th excursion) [21]
• 1961 Finland and North Norway
• 1966 French Alps, Switzerland, Eastern Pyrenees
• 1970 Western Alps (14th excursion) [22]
• 1971 mainland Greece and Crete (15th excursion) [23]
• 1978 U.S.A. (16th excursion) [24]
• 1983 Argentina (17th excursion) [25]
• 1984 Japan [26]
• 1989 Poland (19th excursion) [27]

References

1. Claridge Druce, G. (1912) The International Phytogeographical Excursion in the British Isles. X. Additional Floristic Notes. New Phytologist 11 (9): 354-363.
2. Ostenfeld, C. E. H. 1912. Some remarks on the International Phytogeographic Excursion in the British Isles. New Phytologist, 11: 114-127.
3. Science 37 (949): 377, 1913
4. The Library of Congress - Ecology and the American Environment
5. "Carl Schroeter photo album". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
6. Dachnowski, A. (1914) The International Phytogeographic Excursion of 1913 and its Significance to Ecology in America. Journal of Ecology 2 (4): 237-245.
7. ESA History
8. Harshberger, J. W. (1924) The Third International Phytogeographic Excursion. Ecology 5 (3): 287-289.
9. Salisbury, E.J. (1925) Some Impressions of the International Phytogeographical Excursion in Switzerland, 1923. Journal of Ecology 13 (1): 161-164
10. Raber, Oran (1925) The Fourth International Phytogeographic Excursion. Science 62 (1607): 344-345
11. Rübel, E. (ed.) (1927) Ergebnisse der internationalen pflanzengeographischen Exkursion durch Schweden und Norwegen 1925. Veröffentlichungen des geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 4
12. Domin, K. (1928) Introductory Remarks to the Fifth International Phytogeographic Excursion (I.P.E.) through Czechoslovakia. Acta Botanica Bohemica 6-7: 3-76
13. Rübel, E. (ed.) (1930) Ergebnisse der internationalen Pflanzengeographischen Exkursion durch die Tschechoslowakei und Polen 1928. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 6
14. Rübel, E. (ed.) (1933) Ergebnisse der Internationalen Pflanzengeographischen Exursion durch Rumänien 1931. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 10
15. Rübel, E. (ed.) (1936) Ergebnisse der Internationalen Pflanzengeographischen Exkursion durch Mittelitalien 1934. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 12
16. Rübel, E. & Lüdi, W. (eds) (1936) Ergebnisse der Internationalen pflanzengeographischen Exkursion durch Marokko und Westalgerien 1936. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 14
17. Lüdi, Werner (ed.) (1952) Die Pflanzenwelt Irlands (The flora and vegetation of Ireland): Ergebnisse der 9. Internationalen Pflanzengeographischen Exkursion durch Irland 1949. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 25
18. Richards, P.W. (1953) Tenth International Phytogeographical Excursion. Nature 172 (4378): 566-568
19. Lüdi, Werner, Tüxen, Reinhold & Oberdorfer, Erich (ed.) (1956-1958) Die Pflanzenwelt Spaniens: Ergebnisse der 10. Internationalen Pflanzengeographischen Exkursion (IPE) durch Spanien 1953, vol. 1-2. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 31-32
20. Lüdi, Werner (ed.)Ergebnisse der Internationalen pflanzengeographischen Exkursion durch die Ostalpen 1956. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 35
21. Lüdi, Werner (ed.) (1961) Die Pflanzenwelt der Tschechoslowakei : Ergebnisse der 12. Internationalen Pflanzengeographischen Exkursion (IPE) durch die Tschechoslowakei 1958. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes der ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich 36.
22. Ozenda, P. & Landolt, E. (eds) (1970) Zur Vegetation und Flora der Westalpen : Ergebnisse der 14. Internationalen pflanzengeographischen Exkursion (IPE) durch die Westalpen. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes der ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich, 43
23. Dafis, Sp. & Landolt, E. (eds) (1975-1976) Zur Vegetation und Flora von Griechenland : Ergebnisse der 15. Internationalen Pflanzengeographischen Exkursion (IPE) durch Griechenland 1971, vol. 1-2. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes der ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich, 55-56
24. Lieth, H., Landolt, E. & Peet, R.K. (eds) (1979-1981) Contributions to the knowledge of flora and vegetation in the Carolinas: proceedings of the 16th International phytogeographical excursion (IPE), 1978, through the SE United States, vol. 1-2. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes der ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich 68-69 + 77
25. Eskuche, U. & Landolt, E. (eds) (1986) Contributions to the knowledge of flora and vegetation of northern Argentina: proceedings of the 17th International Phytogeographic Excursion (IPE), 1983, through northern Argentina. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes der ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich, 91
26. Miyawaki, A. & Landolt, E. (eds) (1988) Contributions to the knowledge of flora and vegetation of Japan: proceedings of the 18th International Phytogeographic Excursion (IPE), 1984, through central Japan. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes der ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich, 98.
27. Zarzycki, K., Landolt, E. & Wojcicki, J.J. (eds) (1991-1992) Contributions to the knowledge of flora and vegetation of Poland: proceedings of the 19th International Phytogeographic Excursion (IPE), 1989, through Poland, vol. 1-2. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes der ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich, 106-107