Shaping Ecology (PDF)

Sir Arthur Tansley was the leading figure in ecology for the first
half of the 20th century, founding the field, and forming its first
professional societies. He was the first President of the British
Ecological Society and the first chair of the Field Studies
Council. His work as a botanist is considered seminal and he is
recognized as one of the giants of ecology throughout the world.

Ecology underpins the principles and practices of modern
conservation and the maintenance of biodiversity. It explains the
causes of, and offers solutions to, problems of climate change. Yet
ecology is a young science, barely 100 years old. Its origins lie
in phytogeography, the naming and mapping of plants.

Shaping Ecology is a book about a multi-faceted man whose
friends included Bertrand Russell, Marie Stopes, Julian Huxley, GM
Trevelyan, and Solly Zuckerman. Historical context is provided by
Tansley's family for his parents moved in the Fabian-socialist
world of John Ruskin and Octavia Hill, both instrumental in the
foundation of the National Trust. While Britain was relatively slow
to protect its green spaces and wildlife, it did establish in 1913
the first professional Ecological Society in the world. Tansley was
its President. Organising the British Vegetation Committee and
initiating a series of International Phytogeographic Excursions, he
changed phytogeography into ecology.