History of Forest Ecology 381 



ecology, and to turn from the hitherto narrow viewpoint of forest 

 ecology to the broader and modem conception of plant ecology. 

 In pursuing this method of study not only does forest ecology 

 become broader in its scope and meaning, but, in turn, it is a'ble 

 to render a greater service to silviculture. 



The science of forest ecology is rather difficult to treat his- 

 torically because it embraces research in two important fields, 

 namely, plant ecology and silviculture. The interrelation between 

 these two fields is a very intimate one. Forest ecology developed 

 long before plant ecology, but mostly along applied lines. For 

 example, in the study and measurement of habitat factors forest 

 ecology antedates plant ecology. Strange as it may seem the real 

 founder of forest ecology was a botanist and not a forester; and 

 even down to the present day both botanists and foresters are 

 working in this field. Foresters have worked out problems in 

 plant ecology because of their direct application to silvics or 

 silviculture. More than 50 years ago foresters studied the in- 

 fluence of the forest upon local climate by means of systematic 

 meteorological observations. On the other hand, plant ecologists 

 have contributed not a little to the field of forestry because plant 

 ecology in its principles and methods includes also the field of 

 forest ecology, and because the forest offers working material, 

 par excellence, for the plant ecologist. Plant geographers and 

 ecologists like Schimper and Warming have taken much of their 

 working material from the forest. Certain phases of plant ecology 

 like the study of plant succession have been studied largely in 

 the forest. In the determination of light values plant ecologists 

 and foresters have often worked together in the forest because 

 of the greater significance of the problem there than in smaller 

 vegetation. It is indeed striking to note what a large part of 

 the problems recently worked out by well-known plant ecologists, 

 both here and abroad, have a more or less direct bearing upon 

 silvics or silvicultural practice. On the other hand, foresters 

 have recently largely contributed to the field of plant ecology. 

 Many of the practical problems that are being worked out by 

 forest investigators are really problems of an advanced phyto- 

 ecological character, notably those investigated by van Scherm- 

 beek and Erdmann in Holland and Germany respectively. On 

 account of these intimate relations of the two fields it is desirable 

 for the proper development of this paper to briefly sketch the 



