April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Organizations around the world have commemorated the occasion by participating in the global Earth Optimism movement — an initiative spearheaded by the Smithsonian to “turn the conservation conversation from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity”.

Throughout 2020, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and our partners are joining the movement by sharing conservation success stories from and made possible by the BHL collection. Follow our blog for conservation stories — past and present — and visit our website for more information and to explore our Earth Optimism book collection.

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The solitary sea squirt Ascidiella aspersa is native to the Northeastern Atlantic, from the Mediterranean Sea to Norway. Living in shallow sheltered sites and harbors, this species has a fast growth rate and is able to produce a large number of larvae.

These attributes have helped make it a successful colonizer of non-native environments, such as the Southwestern Atlantic, where it has become an invasive species introduced likely via ships.

Dr. Evangelina Schwindt, Head of the Grupo de Ecología en Ambientes Costeros from CONICET in Argentina, studies Ascidiella aspersa as part of her research as a marine invasive ecologist. Her work involves researching the interactions between invasive and native species, the patterns and processes occurring in biological invasions from the historical and present-day perspectives, the impact caused by invasive species, and the management strategies that can be applied.

Much of her research focuses on fouling communities living in artificial habitats such as ports, harbors, and ships. Species like Ascidiella aspersa are having a major impact on these communities, outcompeting and displacing native species and disrupting the ecological balance of the habitats they invade. As such, the management of invasive species is of vital importance to the successful conservation of native biodiversity and ecosystems.

“Invasive species are one of the five major drivers of biodiversity change, affecting also ecosystem services, food, health and economy,” asserts Schwindt. “The protection of native species and ecosystems in general improves overall quality of life and is an indicator of wellbeing and health.”

Research to support the management of invasive species requires an understanding of the species’ taxonomy, genetics, global distribution and the earliest record of introduction in different regions worldwide. Studies on marine invasive species can be particularly challenging, as marine biodiversity is less well-understood compared to species living in terrestrial or freshwater environments.

Not surprisingly, research on invasive species can be time consuming, and tracking down their spatial and temporal patterns and history is labor intensive. Unfortunately, in the face of today’s biodiversity crisis, time is not on our side. To understand the impact of invasives and integrate their management as part of a successful conservation strategy for an ecosystem or threatened species, researchers need tools to help improve the efficiency of their work.

Fortunately, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is just such a tool, providing researchers with free and open access to critical data to support conservation work.

“BHL provides free access to literature for researchers around the world that don’t have good libraries in their institutions,” lauds Schwindt. “Research is much faster and better when the bibliography needed to work is freely available.”

Schwindt first discovered BHL over ten years ago while conducting online searches for historic literature. Since then, it has become an invaluable asset for her research.

“My work requires historical literature and records from scientific expeditions in different languages,” explains Schwindt. “BHL is the best place to find the bibliography I need to reconstruct the past and present of marine species.”

For example, BHL was a particularly useful resource for Schwindt and her colleagues during the production of their book Especies Exóticas Marino-Costeras de Argentina (2018), the first book on exotic marine coastal species of Argentina. The book, which has been made freely available in BHL, describes 45 marine-coastal exotic species, with exotic species being defined as “those owing their presence in a given region to various human actions, deliberate or not, that allowed them to overcome biogeographical barriers impossible to cross on their own” (Schwindt et al. 2018).

“The vast archives of BHL were particularly significant for us during the elaboration of this book because it provided us with the historical first records and accounts associated with several exotic species detailed some centuries ago by early explorers, naturalists and scientists traveling along the Southwestern Atlantic,” explains Schwindt.

BHL is also a valuable asset for Schwindt’s work as the coordinating lead author of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES) Thematic Assessment of Invasive Alien Species and Their Control, which is intended to “assess the threat that invasive alien species pose to biodiversity, ecosystem services and livelihoods and the global status of and trends in impacts of invasive alien species” (IPBES 2020).

“I found BHL extremely helpful for my work on the IPBES Thematic Assessment,” shares Schwindt. “All literature cited in the assessment should be open access, and the fact that BHL’s archives are extremely complete and open access made it a reliable tool to share and to use.”

BHL also provided important information for Schwindt’s most recent paper on marine bioinvasions—”Past and Future of the Marine Bioinvasions Along the Southwestern Atlantic” (Schwindt et al. 2020). The Library provided the first record of several relevant introduced species.

For example, Agardh’s Species genera et ordines algarum (1876) documents the introduced macroalgae Lomentaria clavellosa, probably native to the NE Atlantic Ocean and recorded in the SW Atlantic around 1876. Similarly, Giambiagi’s Cuatro nuevos isópodos de la Argentina (1922) records the introduced isopod Synidotea laevidorsalis, probably native to Japan and China and found in the SW Atlantic in 1902. Fauvel’s Annélides polychètes des Iles Falkland recueillies par M. Rupert Vallentin Esqre (1902-1910) (1916) likewise documents the cryptogenic polychaete Procerastea halleziana, recorded from the region in 1902.

In total, the paper documents 129 introduced and 72 cryptogenic marine species for the Southwestern Atlantic, with 33 new invasions occurring since 2002—translating to one new invasion every 178 days. Ships were identified as the most likely vector for these introductions. By documenting the historic and persistent introductions in the region, this paper underscores the need to establish long-term assessment programs to generate ongoing baseline data and support efficient environmental management.

This paper also illustrates how legacy literature, like that provided through BHL, is a valuable source of historic baseline data, which researchers can use to assess the patterns and evolution of invasions over time.

As the authors write:

“We cannot make progress in our understanding of the impact of invaders if the scale of invasion diversity remains poorly assessed, and if the abundance and distribution of already established invaders remain uncertain. The most direct consequences of delays in recognizing invasions are delays in early detection of and rapid response to new invasions, and the hampering of the design of strong, effective management strategies to prevent future introductions” (Schwindt et al. 2020, 15).

Clearly, successful conservation strategies require not just an understanding of a specific threatened species, but also of the forces—such as invasive species—that affect their well-being. Researchers like Dr. Schwindt are working to strengthen our understanding of these forces and improve our ability to address them. Open access to the vital literature provided through the Biodiversity Heritage Library helps make this work possible, ensuring that researchers around the globe have the data and tools they need to help save biodiversity—and that is a very good reason to be optimistic as we celebrate Earth Optimism.

References

IPBES. Thematic Assessment of Invasive Alien Species and Their Control. 2020. Work Programme. Accessed on 29 January 2020. https://ipbes.net/invasive-alien-species-assessment.

Schwindt et al. 2018 Especies Exóticas Marino-Costeras de Argentina. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Vazquez Mazzini Editores.

Schwindt et al. 2020. “Past and Future of the Marine Bioinvasions Along the Southwestern Atlantic.” Aquatic Invasions 15.

April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Organizations around the world have commemorated the occasion by participating in the global Earth Optimism movement — an initiative spearheaded by the Smithsonian to “turn the conservation conversation from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity”.

Throughout 2020, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and our partners are joining the movement by sharing conservation success stories from and made possible by the BHL collection. Follow our blog for conservation stories — past and present — and visit our website for more information and to explore our Earth Optimism book collection.

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Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was a man who believed all of nature was interconnected, and that by affecting one aspect of nature, other parts of nature would be affected, too—for good or ill. Humboldt believed that one’s own emotions and subjective views were necessary in order to completely experience nature. Simply taking measurements or classifying animals, plants, rocks and other forms of life would never allow one to fully experience the truth of nature.

Born to an aristocratic Prussian family in 1769, Humboldt grew up during the Age of Enlightenment, which emphasized intense observation paired with scientific information as the primary sources of knowledge. However, Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1781), which outlined the interplay of inner subjectivity and knowledge of external things, greatly influenced Humboldt’s view of nature as he grew older. According to Kant, when you look at a rock, for example, you are influenced by your own subjective beliefs. Thus, you cannot truly see the rock as a rock-in-itself, as you will always see the external world through a filter of internal senses and emotions. Humboldt likewise claimed that the external world only existed as we perceived it “within ourselves” (Humboldt in Wulf, p. 40).

Humboldt became the scientist of the Romantics, who believed man was unified with nature and that nature could only be comprehended by inward feelings. Poetry, art, and emotions were viewed as the perfect vehicles through which to share one’s experience of nature. Humboldt’s infusion of emotion and prose into his observations of the natural world can be seen in one of his earlier works, Views of Nature. With this book, Humboldt created a new genre of nature writing, which was both pleasurable to read and filled with facts. He made sure that this work was poetic enough to inspire emotional fulfillment and a love of nature in the layperson while also appealing to scientists through the inclusion of annotations with scientific facts and measurements at the end of every chapter.

After receiving a rather large inheritance following his mother’s death in 1796, Humboldt’s scientific pursuits became more determined and ambitious. He decided to attempt a research expedition, and in 1799, asked permission of King Carlos IV of Spain to explore the Spanish colonies in South America and the Philippines. While he was granted a Spanish passport by the king, Humboldt had to fund the trip himself and send the king plants and animals for the royal cabinet and garden.

It was very rare for a foreigner to be allowed into the Spanish territories, and Humboldt made the most of his travels, bringing many scientific instruments with which to make observations and take measurements. He spent five years exploring different areas in South America. He compared the environments to those in different parts of Europe, noting that similar plants existed in similar climates.

Humboldt’s time in Cumana, the capital of New Andalusia (an area now part of Venezuela), had a particularly profound impact on his personal and scientific views. His observations of the treatment of enslaved people in the slave market near his lodgings impelled Humboldt to become an avid abolitionist for the rest of his life. It was also in Cumana that Humboldt saw how colonialism destroyed native ecosystems, as colonists had felled so many trees that the land became dry and farming yielded less crops.

While visiting Lake Valencia, Humboldt first recorded his observation that humans could induce climate change and destroy ecosystems. He noted that when forests are destroyed, springs and riverbeds dry up, the forest floor—no longer protected by tree foliage—becomes oversaturated with rain and soil is loosened, and different types of plants and animal life die. Humboldt observed that all aspects of nature are interconnected— when one part of a natural environment is drastically altered, such as with deforestation, the rest of that environment will be impacted in various drastic ways as a result. Humboldt gave many written warnings about the importance of understanding the many reciprocal interactions in nature in order to prevent the devastation of ecosystems and biodiversity caused by humans’ interference with nature.

Climbing the Chimborazo volcano in what is now Ecuador was one of the most exciting events for Humboldt in South America. By pushing through altitude sickness, desertion by his porters at 15,600 feet, narrow and dangerous pathways that required crawling, and increasingly falling temperatures, Humboldt eventually made it to 19,413 feet—marking the first documented time that anyone had ever reached that height.

It was here that Humboldt came up with a name and a visual for his theory that all of nature was connected—not just as a living entity, but as a composite of ecosystems all over the world at different locations containing similar flora and fauna at similar geological heights and climates. The different vegetation zones of the volcano reminded Humboldt of the different vegetation zones in the wider world, going from hotter equatorial zones to colder polar zones, just as one went from the warmer base of the mountain toward its freezing summit.

Humboldt depicted his “Naturgemälde”, which in German means “painting of nature” but also “unification”, through a visualization published within Essai sur la géographie des plantes (1805). This illustration, with the unique name he gave it, showed Chimborazo as a cross-section in which different plants grew at different altitudes and temperatures. Next to the illustration was information about other mountains around the world and a description of how their plant and climate zones could be compared to those on Chimborazo at similar heights. The idea that one could visually illustrate and describe plant life based on climate and location was a completely unprecedented idea at the time, and one which still influences our scientific views today.

In 1827 in Berlin, Humboldt gave many lectures on his observations of the natural world during his travels. Humboldt’s ability to find an interconnection between the smallest bit of moss to the tallest mountain and beyond to the heavens captivated people, as did his observations on connections between similar climates, plants and animals in different geographic locations. Listeners were dazzled by this new way of thinking and lecturing in which Humboldt connected, and made meaning out of, so many seemingly disparate ideas.

Humboldt had only one other trip to a distant land in his life. Invited by Tsar Nicholas I to gather research on platinum, which had been found in the Ural Mountains, he traveled to Russia in 1829, hoping to gather more information on different climates and plant life. While disappointed by the trip and its focus on finding platinum as a source of possible Russian currency, Humboldt nevertheless returned to Berlin filled with ideas for his next, and most popular, work—a multi-volume opus called Cosmos (Kosmos in German).

Cosmos was an embodiment of Humboldt’s ideas on the interconnectedness of nature and being. It discussed celestial matters, earthly matters, and the inner, organic life of plants, animals and humans. Humboldt enlisted the help of experts in varying fields, including classicists and historians, once again unifying seemingly separate fields by creating a work connecting ideas from these fields to one another and to science.

In 1845, the first volume of Cosmos was published in Germany. It was an instant success and was translated into various other languages. The introduction explained Humboldt’s view that all of nature was connected and formed a living whole. Humboldt was the first to describe the climate as an interaction between landmasses, the oceans and the atmosphere. He described a breath of life that came from the earth—not from divinity—and was intrinsic in all living things. Humboldt became one of the most celebrated scientists in the world after the distribution of this work not only throughout Europe, but in America as well.

Even though Humboldt expressed many dire warnings about human-induced climate change, his belief that nature was a unified whole meant that if destroying one part of an ecosystem destroyed the rest of it, then rebuilding different parts of an ecosystem could aid in its complete restoration. He encouraged everyone to experience nature by immersing themselves within it, by taking walks and going outdoors. Humboldt also believed in sharing scientific information, both within scientific circles and across other disciplines. By using this method of information sharing, we have a chance, as a world community—as a part of that living organism called “nature”—to combat climate change, to counter humans’ negative impact on nature, and to rebuild and restore different habitats and the biodiversity contained within them.

Humboldt at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

You can learn more about Humboldt’s legacy and his impact on American perceptions of nature and the environment through the exhibit Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM).

As the SAAM website articulates, “This exhibition will be the first to examine Humboldt’s impact on five spheres of American cultural development: the visual arts, sciences, literature, politics, and exploration, between 1804 and 1903. It centers on the fine arts as a lens through which to understand how deeply intertwined Humboldt’s ideas were with America’s emerging identity. The exhibition includes more than 100 paintings, sculptures, maps, and artifacts as well as a video introduction to Humboldt and his connections to the Smithsonian through an array of current projects and initiatives.”

The exhibit is on display from 18 September 2020 – 3 January 2021. Learn more.

Interesting Facts

Humboldt had an intense fear of ghosts, and especially feared the ghost of his mother after she died. It was rumored that he participated in several seances after her death in hopes of contacting her.

In 1804, Thomas Jefferson, then-President of the United States, invited Humboldt to the capital to discuss Humboldt’s scientific findings in the Spanish colonies. Humboldt even let Jefferson have a sizable number of pages of his research to translate, not knowing that Jefferson considered all of this information to be valuable intelligence about the Spanish territories that bordered Jefferson’s recently acquired Louisiana Purchase.

Charles Darwin, who determined that all animals evolve through natural selection, was a huge admirer of Humboldt and kept a copy of Humboldt’s Views of Nature onboard the Beagle as he sailed around the world observing animal and plant life. Humboldt did not get involved in the debate over how certain plants and animals seemed to be present only in some climates and geographies but not always in other similar ones, writing that his study of plants and animals was not about “the investigation of the origin of beings” (Wulf, p. 275)—a phrase which Darwin underlined. Darwin took up the challenge in his Origin of the Species (1859).

Humboldt called black coffee “concentrated sunshine” (Wulf, p. 283).

References

Berg, A., & Humboldt, A. (1854). Physiognomy of tropical vegetation in South America; a series of views illustrating the primeval forests on the river Magdalena, and in the Andes of New Grenada. London: Paul and Dominic Colnaghi and Co., Publishers to Her Majesty. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.119819

Bonpland, A., & Humboldt, A. (1805). Essai sur la géographie des plantes: Accompagné d’un tableau physique des régions équinoxiales, fondé sur des mesures exécutées, depuis le dixième degré de latitude boréale jusqu’au dixième degré de latitude australe, pendant les années 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802 et 1803. Paris: Levrault, Schoell et Compagnie, Libraires. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.9309

Bonpland, A., & Humboldt, A. (1833). Monographie des melastomacées, comprenant toutes les plantes de cet ordre récueillies jusqu’à ce jour, et notamment au Mèxique, dans l’Ile de Cuba, dans les provinces de Caracas, de Cumana, et de Barcèlone, aux Andes de la Nouvelle-Grenade, de Quito et du Pérou, et sur les bords du Rio-Negro, de l’Orénoque et de la rivière des Amazones. London: Gide. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.162868

Bonpland, A. & Humboldt, A. (1826). Personal narrative of travels to the equinoctial regions of the New Continent, during the years 1799-1804, by Alexander de Humboldt, and Aimé Bonpland. Vol. 6. (H.M. Williams, Trans.). London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.87622

Darwin, C. (1859). On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or, The preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London: John Murray. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.68064

Humboldt, A. (1849). Aspects of nature, in different lands and climates; with scientific elucidations. Vol. 1. (E.J. Sabine, Trans). London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.151955

Humboldt, A. (1871). Cosmos: A sketch of a physical description of the universe. Vol. 3. (E.C. Otté, Trans.). London: Bell & Daldy. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.27525

Humboldt, A. (1893). Cosmos: A sketch of a physical description of the universe. Vol. 1. (E.C. Otté, Trans.). London: George Bell & Sons. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.29831

Humboldt, A. (1849). Cosmos: Sketch of a physical description of the universe. Vol. 2. (E. Sabine & E. Sabine, Trans.). London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.29892

Humboldt, A. (1850). Views of nature, or, Contemplations on the sublime phenomena of creation: With scientific illustrations. (E.C. Otté, & H.G. Bohn, Trans.). London: Henry G. Bohn. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.4802

Magee, J. (2019). Alexander von Humboldt: A vision of the unity of Nature. In R. Huxley (Ed.), The Great Naturalists, (n.p., Kindle edition). London: Thames & Hudson.

Meinhardt, M. (2019). Alexander von Humboldt: How the most famous scientist of the Romantic Age found the soul of nature. Katonah, N.Y.: BlueBridge.

Wulf, A. (2015). The invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s new world. New York: Vintage Books.

April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Organizations around the world have commemorated the occasion by participating in the global Earth Optimism movement — an initiative spearheaded by the Smithsonian to “turn the conservation conversation from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity”.

Throughout 2020, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and our partners are joining the movement by sharing conservation success stories from and made possible by the BHL collection. Follow our blog for conservation stories — past and present — and visit our website for more information and to explore our Earth Optimism book collection.

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Little Lake Valley, located in northern California’s Eel River watershed, is home to several thousand acres of wet meadows and riparian woodlands that are habitat for diverse plants and wildlife, including tule elk, many bird species, and gorgeous spring wildflower displays. A landscape formed when sediments from several creeks filled an intermountain valley bounded by faults, the Valley is also home to two rare plants: the North Coast semaphore grass (state-listed as Threatened) and Baker’s meadowfoam (state-listed as Rare).

“The large lowland wetland ecosystem found in the Little Lake Valley, if not unique, is quite rare,” asserts Dr. Robert E. Preston, a Senior Biologist in the Sacramento office of ICF, an international consulting firm. “Most or all of the small interior valleys of California’s North Coast Ranges were long ago converted to agriculture or were hydrologically altered. Moreover, it supports almost half of the known occurrences of Baker’s meadowfoam, including the largest and most extensive population.”

In November 2016, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) completed construction of the Willits Bypass Project, a 5.9-mile long bypass of US Highway 101 in Mendocino County. First proposed in 1957, the controversial project, which crosses a corner of Little Lake Valley, raised a variety of environmental concerns due to its impact on endangered species and state and federally regulated resources [1].

Preston served as the lead botanist for the team that prepared the Project’s Mitigation and Monitoring Plan, which was developed and is being implemented by Caltrans to offset the bypass’ impacts on wetlands and rare plants.

“For the past several years, I have spent six to eight weeks each spring collecting data on Baker’s meadowfoam and sampling the vegetation to document progress towards meeting the Project’s habitat restoration and enhancement goals,” explains Preston. “It has been one of my most satisfying projects, because impacts of the Willits Bypass led to the preservation, restoration, and management of large parts of the Little Lake Valley ecosystem.”

Preston has been an avid student of California flora for nearly 40 years. It has been the focus of his floristic and taxonomic research and career as a consulting botanist. As suggested by his work on the Willits Bypass Project, much of his research focuses on the conservation of rare plants in the state.

“My position as Senior Biologist with ICF provides me with opportunities to travel throughout California to help clients comply with laws and regulations that help conserve rare plants and wetlands,” shares Preston. “This work includes field-oriented studies such as floristic inventories, rare plant surveys, wetlands delineations, and mitigation monitoring. An important aspect of my work is to convey the results of these studies to clients, resource agencies, and the public through many types of environmental documents, including survey reports, Habitat Conservation Plans, Environmental Impact Reports, and other planning documents.”

Preston’s work involves a great deal of taxonomic research, which has led to the discovery and description of several new rare species. For example, he has worked extensively with the genus Brodiaea, commonly known as cluster-lilies, which consists of about 19 species growing mostly in California.

“About half of the species are rare, and several species are state or federally listed as threatened or endangered,” states Preston. “One species I described, Brodiaea matsonii (named for its discoverer, Gary Matson), is known only from two small populations near Redding, California, and is currently being reviewed for state listing as endangered.”

As Preston explains, taxonomy and conservation go hand-in-hand.

“To preserve biological diversity, species must be identified and named,” asserts Preston. “Since publication of the first edition of The Jepson Manual, the ultimate catalog of the California flora, over six new species per year have been added to the flora, and the rate of new species discovery does not appear to be slowing. Not surprisingly, many of these new species are rare and face various types of threat.”

Taxonomic research, in turn, is dependent on access to historic literature. In order to name, describe, and classify organisms, scientists must understand the scope of biodiversity that has already been described. This is documented within the published record of scientific literature.

Not long ago, however, it was often difficult for scientists to access the literature required for such taxonomic research. Many of the necessary publications were available in only a few libraries globally, requiring expensive and time-consuming trips to holding libraries or weeks to sometimes months of delay waiting on interlibrary loans—if the publication could be shared at all. This was a major impediment to the efficiency of scientific research, greatly hampering progress at a time when the biodiversity and climate crises demand greater speed and efficiency in scientific outputs to inform conservation.

Fortunately, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) has tackled this challenge head-on and transformed scientific research globally by providing free and open access to this essential literature. Preston has experienced the benefits of BHL’s collections first-hand with his own taxonomic research.

“When I’m conducting a status review for a rare plant, I often find it useful to check the original species description,” shares Preston. “I use BHL primarily to find historic documents with these descriptions.”

Preston first discovered BHL in 2010, while investigating a disagreement over the name of a species that required consultation of the original species description.

“I had been able to find some documents using other sources (Botanicus, Google), but BHL provided a much broader availability of historical resources,” affirms Preston.

Since discovering the Library, Preston has used BHL regularly to support his taxonomic research, including his work on the Brodiaea. For example, in order to determine the correct name for Brodiaea minor, which is endemic to California, Preston needed to confirm the collection location of the type specimen, which had been collected by Theodor Hartweg in 1846. Through BHL, Preston was able to access Hartweg’s account of his collecting trip, published in the Journal of the Horticultural Society of London as “Journal of a Mission to California in Search of Plants.”

“Hartweg recorded the wildflowers, trees, and shrubs associated with his collection, from which I was able to deduce the plant community and pinpoint the collection location to within a few miles,” shares Preston.

While researching the names of other Brodiaea species, Preston discovered that there was confusion over several names arising from a rivalry between two early 19th century English botanists. Materials accessed through BHL helped him unravel this taxonomic mystery.

“In researching the history of this rivalry for my article on ‘How the Brodiaeas Got Their Name,’ published in the journal Fremontia, I found a number of historic sources of information through BHL,” recalls Preston. “Among these was the ‘Monthly Botanical Report,’ a regular feature in the The Monthly Magazine, which chronicled newly described species and horticultural introductions by the botanical community along with snippets of gossip about the botanists themselves.”

Free and open access to biodiversity literature has transformed taxonomic research, which, as Preston’s testimonial demonstrates, is essential to the conservation process.

“‘Species’ and ‘ecosystems’ are constructs that we use to describe and organize the world around us, and taxonomy is how we name and organize those constructs,” asserts Preston. “Names are important, and in fact, a species must be named before it can be legally protected as threatened or endangered.”

The identity conveyed in a species name extends well beyond a simple binomial. It also articulates an organisms’ context within its wider ecosystem and its relationship to other species. Understanding this context is vital to the creation of any holistic conservation strategy.

“A species name is also an hypothesis, and our concept of a species can change depending on the data we use to interpret it,” explains Preston. “Because many plant species were described and named in the 18th and 19th centuries, it can be difficult to discern the original author’s concept of the species. We can’t call or email them to find out what they were thinking or how they came to a particular conclusion. The historic literature is the only way we can communicate with our colleagues of the past.”

BHL ensures that anyone, anywhere—from the curator in a major natural history museum to the scientist in a developing country without access to a robust research library or the botanist working from home—has easy access to the information they need to study and conserve life on Earth.

At BHL, we’re Earth Optimists because we know that open access to biodiversity literature empowers scientific research and conservation—and that is a reason to be optimistic.

References

[1] Oakes, Harry and Maureen Doyle. “Willits Bypass Project (US Highway 101) – The Long and Winding Road of Planning, Permitting & Mitigation Implementation and Monitoring.” International Conference on Ecology & Transportation. September 22-26, 2019. Accessed on December 12, 2019. https://icoet.net/program/presentations/60.

April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Organizations around the world have commemorated the occasion by participating in the global Earth Optimism movement — an initiative spearheaded by the Smithsonian to “turn the conservation conversation from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity”.

Throughout 2020, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and our partners are joining the movement by sharing conservation success stories from and made possible by the BHL collection. Follow our blog for conservation stories — past and present — and visit our website for more information and to explore our Earth Optimism book collection.

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George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) was a talented linguist, scholar, and diplomat. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont’s 3rd district from 1843-1849, and, in 1850, went on to become United States Minister to the Ottoman Empire. In 1861 he was appointed by President Lincoln as the first Ambassador to the Kingdom of Italy, where he served until his death at Vallombrosa in 1882. A Vermonter raised close to the forests of the Adirondack Mountains, Marsh is remembered today chiefly for his role as an early and influential pioneer of the conservation movement in the United States. His book Man and Nature:Or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action, published in 1864, is recognized for his early recognition of the interdependency of the natural world, the effects that human actions can have upon it, and the responsibilities that humans bear for those actions.

“The importance of the restoration of disturbed harmonies…” (Preface)

The publication of Marsh’s book followed a celebrated lecture which he gave before the Agricultural Society of Rutland County, Vermont in 1847. This lecture is often pointed to as a remarkably early warning about humankind’s ability to affect the climate of the Earth. What stands out in Marsh’s book is his argument that human activities can have far-reaching effects far beyond what is immediately observable. Felling a forest, far beyond just cutting trees, can disturb an entire ecosystem. In his Preface, Marsh advocates for the “restoration of disturbed harmonies” through a combination of wilderness preservation and enlightened practices for forest management.

“But man is everywhere a disturbing agent. Wherever he plants his foot, the harmonies of nature are turned to discords…” (pg. 36)

Man and Nature looks at various ways man has transformed the environment, affecting both major and minor components of the earth’s overall systems in comprehensive and unforeseen ways. Forests, rivers and waterways, sand dunes and soil are all interconnected in a greater ecological system that supports life on the Earth. Marsh paints a picture of overall interconnection between living things: trees, scrub, sea cows, worms, wild trout and “minute organisms.”

Still, it should be noted that Marsh was not categorically opposed to human actions that produce change. Rather, he was a pioneering advocate for sustainable development and of well-considered improvements based on observation and scientific knowledge. His chapter on Geographical Changes expresses mixed admiration for some engineering feats such as the Suez Canal, but in general his assessments of the long-term effects of human improvements to nature carried out in Europe, and even in the Ancient World, are mixed.

“I have spoken of the needs of agriculture as a principal cause of the destruction of the forest…” (pg. 325)

Marsh also discusses agricultural cattle and the ways in which “the extent of cleared ground required for agriculture use depends very much on the number and kinds of cattle bred.” When heritage cattle, traditionally foragers able to survive in rugged environments, are replaced with less robust hybrids that must be sheltered and fed with cultivated cereal grasses, there is a heavy toll on the environment. In addition, large-scale agricultural operations were already in place in Marsh’s time, with cotton, tobacco and feed grains for cattle taking up large swathes of cleared and tilled land. This monocropping trend continued into the 20^th century; by 1950, the number of farms was the smallest ever enumerated by the Census, while the acreage was the largest on record.

“With the disappearance of the forest, all is changed” (pg. 214)

Marsh also looks to the influence of the forest on water systems and the many ways in which forests regulate natural springs and waterways. Cleared land, he writes, especially arable land, is prone to flooding and erosion – events that would naturally be controlled by forest management. Forests control flooding naturally: “the surface of a forest in its natural condition can never pour forth such deluges of water as flow from cultivated soil.” Flooding, soil compaction, aridity, runoff, erosion: all are deleterious effects of deforestation and interference with natural processes.

He also discusses the influence of the forest on temperature; cleared land is warmer than forest and “we must conclude that the forests in Northern America exert a refrigerating influence”. Forests are made up not only of trees, but of mosses and fungi, among other organisms, as well as animals, soil and water, and these all play a role in regulating moisture and temperature.

“It is time for some abatement in the restless love of change which characterizes us, and makes us almost a nomadic rather than a sedentary people. We have now felled forest enough everywhere, in many districts far too much. Let us restore this one element of material life to its normal proportions, and devise means for maintaining the permanence of its relations to the fields, the meadows, and the pastures, to the rain and the dews of heaven, to the springs and rivulets with which it waters the earth.” (pg. 328)

This impassioned plea, central to the chapter titled Instability of American Life, and to the entire book itself, follows a lengthy, sometimes rambling but painstakingly detailed, investigation of the interconnectedness of life on Earth. Marsh’s chief message is his repeated call for humans to accept their responsibilities as stewards of the Earth, and especially as stewards of the forests. He calls for humans to re-examine their relationship with nature and their too-often destructive actions.

Marsh’s advocacy for a new understanding of forestry systems and implementation of human responsibility in forest management practices resulted in Marsh’s work contributing greatly to the conservation movement and the creation of one of the earliest forest preserves in America, Adirondack Park. His book ends with the statement that there is nothing small in nature:

“…in the vocabulary of nature little and great are terms of comparison only; she knows no trifles, and her laws are as inflexible in dealing with an atom as with a continent or planet.” (pg. 548)

More information

George Perkins Marsh correspondence, 1851. LCCN: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79005905.

William Slade correspondence, 1845-1848, LCCN: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79001310.

Report made under authority of the legislature of Vermont, on the artificial propagation of fish, by George P. Marsh. LCCN: https://lccn.loc.gov/06012522. BHL: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/34497.

April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Organizations around the world have commemorated the occasion by participating in the global Earth Optimism movement — an initiative spearheaded by the Smithsonian to “turn the conservation conversation from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity”.

Throughout 2020, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and our partners are joining the movement by sharing conservation success stories from and made possible by the BHL collection. Follow our blog for conservation stories — past and present — and visit our website for more information and to explore our Earth Optimism book collection.

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The conservation movement today encompasses more than the physical management of habitat to preserve plants and animals. Richard Evans Schultes (1915-2001) epitomized the modern conservationist by coupling his taxonomic work on plants with research on the botanical knowledge and culture of local people. Known as the “father of ethnobotany”, Schultes spent almost fourteen years deep within the rainforests of the Amazon learning from multiple Indigenous tribes about their languages, medicines, and relationships to plants.

“Richard Evans Schultes was an extraordinary ethnobotanist who devoted a large part of his professional life to studying the flora of the Amazon as well as of Asia and Europe,” says Felipe Cárdenas-Arroyo, a Colombian archaeologist researching Schultes. “For him, forests are like great libraries where knowledge is stored and available for those willing to read it. He admired and respected the Amazonian Natives because they know how to read in this library and have been its keepers for centuries. Burning down the Amazon rainforest to make room for cattle is like burning down a library to make room for a parking lot, and Schultes feared that with today’s rate of destruction ‘climax forests will turn into scrub vegetation,’ never to regain their original state” [1].

Schultes was inspired as a youth to pursue botanical research in remote areas by the book Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon & Andes by the botanist Richard Spruce.

Schultes’s early research focused on peyote in the American Southwest and intoxicating mushrooms in southern Mexico. He collected specimens, identified species, and recorded local knowledge of medicinal uses and experiences.

After receiving his doctorate from Harvard University in 1941, Schultes began research on curare in the Amazon with the help of a 10-month travel grant from the National Research Council. He took the opportunity to collect specimens of many plants and discuss local uses with Indigenous communities.

He was in the field when the United States entered World War II and immediately joined the war effort. He was told to remain in the Amazon to try to find sources of much-needed rubber for the Allied Forces. He continued to work for the United States Department of Agriculture for the next twelve years, collecting approximately 3,500 specimens of the Hevea rubber tree. During his career in the Amazon, Schultes would collect over 24,000 botanical specimens.

Schultes returned to New England in 1953 and became the curator of the Oakes Ames Orchid Herbarium at Harvard University. He continued to travel extensively to the Amazon while holding a number of positions at the Harvard University Botanical Museum and was a Harvard faculty member until his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 1985.

Schultes himself defined ethnobotany as “the complete registration of the uses of and concepts about plant life in primitive societies… comprising aspects of botany, anthropology, archeology, plant chemistry, pharmacology, history, geography, and sundry other tangential fields of the sciences and arts” (Kahn, 1992). His notebooks demonstrate his commitment to documenting knowledge beyond biology. Indigenous languages are captured on the pages, including place names and common words.

Schultes’s maps, lists, and recipes are a trove of information about difficult to access areas.

Throughout his travels, Schultes documented the local medicinal uses of hundreds of plants.

Schultes was well known for being respectful of Indigenous communities. He immersed himself in the cultures, eating what was offered and participating in rituals.

“I have tried several of the Indian hallucinogens, in part because the Indians consider them sacred plants and it would have been an unpardonable rudeness to refuse them when the Indians were kind enough to offer them to me during a ceremony” (Schultes, 1994).

Schultes advocated for the conservation of habitat, species, and Indigenous knowledge but he also understood the practical and economic aspects. He encouraged research into the chemistry and uses of plants as pharmaceuticals, recognizing that the vast habitat destruction and cultural loss occurring in the Amazon could delay the development of important medicines. (An overview of the many medicinal uses of plants is central to Schultes’s 1986 paper “The Reason for Ethnobotanical Conservation”.)

In a 1994 article, he writes:

“…in many regions of the Amazon Basin, native plant and animal species are being destroyed faster than can be recorded, classified and studied…Why not regard the Indians in the Amazon Basin as a kind of phytochemical rapid-assessment team already on the ground, which could help locate the most promising plants for chemical and pharmacological evaluation?…The Indians’ botanical knowledge is disappearing even faster than the plants themselves” (Schultes 1994).

Schultes is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the international conservation movement, having advocated for conservation in developing areas since the 1940s. He mentored many graduate students, infusing them with the same respect and concern for the preservation of natural environments and local knowledge.

Schultes contributed to over 350 publications and served on editorial boards for several scientific periodicals. He also wrote and spoke to lay audiences on many occasions, always emphasizing the need to study and preserve Indigenous botanical knowledge, concluding:

“It is therefore our responsibility – nay, our duty – to put ourselves in the forefront of ethnobotanical conservation. We cannot allow such precious funds of knowledge to become extinct” (Schultes 1988b).

“Unless strong conservation measures are strictly enforced, many species and even some genera may become extinct. It is vitally important to preserve as many sources of germplasm as possible for the benefit of future generations” (Schultes 1990).

Schultes was the recipient of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and the World Wildlife Fund Gold Medal in 1984, and the Harvard Medal and the Linnean Medal in 1992. Three genera and over 120 species bear his name. In 1986, the government of Colombia designated a 2.2 million acre protected area as “Sector Schultes” in his honor.

“Richard Evans Schultes, the great 20^th century ethnobotanist, was deeply concerned with the fate of the tropical forests of the Earth,” states Felipe Cárdenas-Arroyo. “His work in search of medicinal plants was an important contribution to humanity. But in order for this work to continue, he knew that forests and the Natives who inhabit them need to be protected. Well aware that conserving both would guarantee a healthy planet for all of us, he voiced his concern for the future of the tropical forests and its people” [1].

Additional Information

The Richard Evans Schultes papers, containing Schultes’s field notes, photographs and botanical records, are held by the Botany Libraries in the Harvard University Herbaria.

Contained within the digitized materials in BHL are published articles and papers, field notebooks, lists of collected and identified plants, maps, and photographic materials. The Harvard University Herbaria contains many of the specimens collected by Schultes from North and South America.

For an interactive geospatial exhibit of Schultes’s work in Mexico and the Amazon, see The Amazonian Travels of Richard Evans Schultes.

References

Amazon Conservation Team. The Amazonian Travels of Richard Evans Schultes. https://www.banrepcultural.org/schultes/

Kahn, E. J. “Jungle Botanist [Richard Evans Schultes]”. The New Yorker. v. 68: pp. 35-58. 1992.

Sequeira, Luis. “Richard Evans Schultes : January 12, 1915-April 10, 2001”. National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Biographical Memoirs ; v. 88. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2006.

Schultes, Richard. “Burning the Library of Amazonia.” Sciences 34, no. 2, pp. 24. 1994.

Schultes, Richard Evans. “Ethnopharmacological Conservation: A Key to Progress in Medicine.” Acta Amazonica, vol. 18, no. suppl. 1-2, pp. 393–406. 1988a.

Schultes, Richard Evans. “Gifts of the Amazon Flora to the World”. Arnoldia, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 21-33. 1990.

Schultes, Richard Evans. “Primitive Plant Lore & Modern Conservation”. Orion Nature Quarterly ; v. 7, No. 3, Summer 1988. New York, NY: Myrin Institute, 1988b.

Schultes, Richard Evans. The Reason for Ethnobotanical Conservation. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India, v. 28, no.1-4, 1986, pp. 203-224. Calcutta, India: Director, Botanical Survey of India, 1986.

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. https://tylerprize.org/laureates/past-laureates/1987-tyler-laureates/

[1] Cárdenas-Arroyo, Felipe. January and February 2020. Email exchange with Diane Rielinger.

April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Organizations around the world have commemorated the occasion by participating in the global Earth Optimism movement — an initiative spearheaded by the Smithsonian to “turn the conservation conversation from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity”.

Throughout 2020, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and our partners are joining the movement by sharing conservation success stories from and made possible by the BHL collection. Follow our blog for conservation stories — past and present — and visit our website for more information and to explore our Earth Optimism book collection.

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Anna Botsford Comstock (1854-1930) held a significant role as a proponent of nature education at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, at the turn of the 20th century. Comstock was born in New York State, the only child to Quaker parents at the edge of the pioneer era. The doctrine of her parents, Marvin and Phoebe Botsford, was one of appreciating a higher creation in all things natural. It is in this philosophy in which a young Comstock was raised, and it was her mother who particularly influenced her child’s curiosity, and knowledge, of the surrounding natural wonders of the world.

Comstock was a voracious reader and was deeply influenced by the romanticism writings popular in her youth. Her own nature writing mirrors the technical and collective philosophical influences of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), James Russel Lowell (1819-1891), and William Wordsworth (1770-1850) (she always carried Wordsworth’s Prelude (1850) in her travels). However, it was Comstock’s admiration of the writing of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), with his detailed notes, language, and observations, which guided Comstock’s hand in the nature lessons she wrote and the nature literature courses she lectured.

The conservationism of Anna Botsford Comstock lies not in one particular focus of activism to preserve a particular aspect of our natural world.  She shared in inspiring the collective belief of her time that it was crucial our imprint as humans on our wild and natural landscapes be understood. Instilling this love and appreciation of the natural world around us, and to know that we also play a crucial part as participants, is the capstone achievement of Comstock’s work.

Comstock’s “Nature is full of surprises” approach appealed to children directly, as it did with her contemporaries. She believed that “future citizens” should be set on inheriting our Earth by learning of its environments, and of the interactions of the living systems therein. She shared with her peers that earthly care was a moral responsibility to be built upon with each successive generation. Comstock emphasized that children should discover their environment through the use of their five senses and careful observation. Through their own individual investigations, the child could thereby cultivate a sense of connection and responsibility for our Earth. Comstock expressed, “It is a great asset to the conservation of our natural resources to have the children of our land be interested in the wild life in such a chummy and intimate manner.”

Early in her career, Comstock captured the range of plant life with dozens of Cornell Rural School curricula leaflets (in active publication from 1896 to 1956) through The New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University. The topics in her botanical leaflets included seeds, wildflower study, cultivated and flowerless plants, and trees. Additionally, through her artistic association with the entomological research and writings of her husband, John Henry Comstock (1849-1931), founder of the department of entomology at Cornell University, Comstock broadened her educational base to include insects.

Penning her detailed nature articles and lesson plans, Comstock was systematically inclusive of earthborne, waterborne, and airborne species, emphasizing humanity’s connection to microbes, insects, plants, animals, earth, and sky. Comstock’s work kept to principles of observation and trusting one’s senses. Comstock’s pedagogy encouraged the development of a child’s curiosity by “opening one’s eyes to our natural surroundings.” Her appeal to the parents and teachers of these progeniture was in helping these adults foster their childrens’ awareness of, and interactions with, nature. This was a shared advocacy of many conservationists of Comstock’s time including, but not exclusive to, John Muir (1838-1914), John Burroughs (1839-1921), and Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1948).

To encourage children to become explorers, Comstock worked closely with other nature educators at Cornell University for several years and ultimately compiled her collective work and publications into her inspiring The Handbook of Nature Study (1911). Still in print today and in its 24th edition, this notable book is used throughout the world and has preserved the work of these early nature study initiatives. In this tome of natural life, Comstock wrote about diverse topics of the earth with her modules “Stone and Minerals”, “Soil”, and “Water” (in all its forms). Practical instruction of the sky includes the seasons, weather, and astronomy. Lessons geared towards small mammals, birds and their habitats, invertebrates, and fish are also included within the gigantic book. Her lessons are timeless and poignant still today as The Handbook of Nature Study continues to inspire new generations of nature lovers.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) has access to several of the earliest issues of The Handbook of Nature Study and other notable works by both Comstock and her husband, John Henry Comstock, whose entomological writings she helped to illustrate. Included in the BHL collections are most of Comstock’s scientific writing, and of particular interest for budding naturalists is her Syllabus of Lecture Series: Nature Study (1900).

Pre-dating her magnum opus, the Lecture Series lessons helped pave the way for Comstock to communicate directly with the educators of her time and listen to what they demanded for their students. This small book lends itself as a great portable field-book for those wanting to take their classes, or their family, out-of-doors. Supplementing the Lecture Series notebook with the larger Handbook of Nature Study as a reference tool combines two wonderful pieces of nature literature that are as timeless and relevant to conservation appreciation today as they were over one hundred years ago.

Comstock carries the voices of nature study educators, along with her own, to inspire all generations to learn about and appreciate their immediate natural surroundings. These are the voices that remind us to be mindful of our own conservational impact on the environment, and like Comstock, to think beyond our own sphere of home, fields, or woods towards a collective fellowship and world community. Her’s is a voice that transcends time with her appreciation for our Nature resources and lends towards our conservationist efforts into the 21st century.

To learn more about Anna Botsford Comstock, a woman who was an artist, philosopher, educator, naturalist and conservationist, explore The Handbook of Nature Study  (1911), Syllabus of Lecture Series: Nature Study (1900), and her other notable works, within the auspices of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Author’s Note: Dedicated to Dr. Betty Jean McKnight (1928-2020, Cornell ’65) who was a pioneer in her own right. Betty was an educator, naturalist, and conservationist in the best sense of each. Above all, Betty was my friend and mentor who never failed to sparkle with my stories of Mrs. Comstock during my doctoral research. You will be missed.

April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Organizations around the world have commemorated the occasion by participating in the global Earth Optimism movement — an initiative spearheaded by the Smithsonian to “turn the conservation conversation from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity”.

Throughout 2020, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and our partners are joining the movement by sharing conservation success stories from and made possible by the BHL collection. Follow our blog for conservation stories — past and present — and visit our website for more information and to explore our Earth Optimism book collection.

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Wilhelm Philip Daniel Schlich (also known as William Schlich) was born on 28 February 1840 to a German pastor’s family. In 1859, he decided to study forestry, having previously studied mechanical engineering and mathematics. The change may have been inspired by Gustav Heyer, who taught forestry at the University of Giessen and under whom Schlich studied. After graduating in 1862, Schlich joined the Hesse forestry service, but unfortunately in 1866, he lost his employment due to territorial shifts after Prussia’s brief war against Austria.

At the same time, Dr. Dietrich Brandis, Inspector General of Forestry in the central government of British Raj, was looking for foresters to establish a technically competent forest administration service in India. Brandis is today considered the founder of tropical forestry.

India and Sustainable Forestry

Schlich followed Brandis to India, where he was employed at the focal points of the subcontinent’s forestry development: In 1867, he came to Burma as Special Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), where he was promoted to Deputy Conservator (DCF) after only six months. Schlich drew up personnel and economic plans and designed the further development possibilities for greater economic efficiency and higher profits. In 1870, he was transferred to the contrasting semi-desert climate of Sindh (Pakistan), where his success depended on the blessings of a regulated forestry industry for the population and the government revenue that the province would continue to receive.

His success led to his promotion in 1872 to the Conservator of Forests of Bengal. There he aroused the interest of the provincial governor Sir Richard Temple, who from then on strongly supported forestry. In 1873, the preparations for the founding of a forestry training centre in India were drafted, which led to the establishment of the Forest Ranger School in Dehradun in 1878—where Schlich himself headed the forestry department.

Schlich was also involved in the revision of the Forest Act of 1878, which divided the Indian forests into three groups: I. reserved forest (completely government controlled and protected), II. protected forest (partly government controlled) and III. village forests (controlled by abutting community). The majority of Indian forests were assigned to the first category and controlled first by the colonial government and then by the Government of India following Indian independence.

During this time, Schlich held landmark lectures at the Indian Forest Conference in Allahabad. He not only referred to the economic aspects of forestry, but also emphasized that forests “… increase the artistic beauty of a country, may, under certain conditions, increase its healthiness, and at any rate have a beneficial effect upon the human mind” (Schlich’s Manual of Forestry, 22).

Another result of this conference was the founding of the first forestry journal in the English-speaking world—the Indian Forester—with Schlich as its editor (until 1879).

In 1880, Schlich was assigned Conservator of Forests of Punjab, and by the end of 1881, he was appointed to the central government as Officiating Inspector General of Forests.

“It is not too much to say that the development of economic forestry in the British Empire generally has come through India. It is that country which has set the example. There can be no doubt that the development of systematic economic forest management in British India is something to be proud of” (Schlich’s Manual of Forestry, 118).

Great Britain & the Acknowledgement of Forestry as a Science

In 1885, Schlich left India for an appointment as Professor of Forestry at the Royal Indian Engineering College at Cooper’s Hill and was thus under the direct influence of the junior staff of the higher forestry service in India. Now he began to pursue his second major goal: The recognition of forestry studies as a scientific discipline at an English university.

In his lessons, Schlich always emphasized the importance of preserving the productive power of the soil as a silvicultural objective and thus created an understanding of sustainable forestry among his approximately 200 students, who passed this on to their later positions in science and administration.

The Manual of Forestry

During his teaching activities, Schlich produced the 5-volume Manual of Forestry (first published between 1889–96) in which he concentrated his knowledge and designed it as a textbook for his students.

1. Forest Policy in the British Empire
2. Formation and Tending of Woods or Practical Sylviculture
3. Forest Management
4. Forest Protection (by W. R. Fisher, BA.) , English Adaption of „Der Forstschutz“ von Richard Heß
5. Forest Utilization (by W. R. Fisher, BA.) , English Adaption of „Die Forstbenutzung“ von Karl Gayer

In this work, Schlich takes a holistic view of forestry work and addresses the climatological, pedological and plant-physiological factors that have an impact. Schlich’s principles pay attention to the balance of forest treatment without neglecting economic efficiency. The manual introduces the teaching of sustainable forest use in forestry studies and has become a standard textbook in the USA, among other countries.

In 1911, the University of Oxford offered Schlich a lectureship as professor of forestry. However, the lectureship was neither secured by a permanent chair nor by financial means, and forestry studies was by no means considered equal to the other scientific studies at that time. However, Schlich stuck to his goal, and when the lecture halls reopened in 1919 after WWI, students flocked to his lectures. The professorship was established by Oxford University as a permanent chair and financially secured. At the end of the year, Schlich ended his university teaching and ceded the chair to R. S. Troup.

Although retired, Schlich dedicated himself to the conservation of the forests in England and became involved in the Royal English Arboricultural to further develop the newly awakened interest in forestry. He remarked, however, that the societies and commissions talked too much and took too little actions.

Schlich died on 28 September 1925 in Oxford.

In recognition of his life’s work, Schlich became, in some cases posthumously, an honorary member of various forestry interest groups. In his honour, the Society of American Foresters awards the Sir William Schlich Memorial Medal, which was presented among others to Franklin D. Roosevelt, then President of the USA, for his services to forest conservation in the USA by founding and promoting the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Sources and Literature

Titles by Sir Wilhelm Schlich in the Biodiversity Heritage Library: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/creator/13760

Knopf, H. E. (1992). Forstliche Leitbilder: Leben und Werk von Philipp Engel von Klipstein, Richard Alexander Hess, Sir William Schlich. Göttingen: Vereinigung d. Freunde d. Fachbereichs Forstwirtschaft. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/46119866.