4 Viewpoint of Modern Ecology 



but, as soon as seedlings start to grow, relations of competition appear. 

 Every organism thus has other organisms as a necessary, or an un- 

 avoidable, part of its environment. Animals and plants compete 

 with each other, devour, or aid one another. Fellow inhabitants 

 cannot be disregarded as part of the environment, as is clearly ap- 

 parent in a thick stand of trees (Fig. 1.1) or in the slum conditions of 



U. S. Forest Service 



Fig. 1.1. Grove of giant redwoods near Crescent City, California, showing the 



intense competition of the trees with each other and their profound influence on 



the conditions beneath the forest canopy. 



