The Smith Brothers: Scottish pioneers of modern ecology

Abstract

Summary Robert Smith and his brother William (W.G.) were described by Tansley (1939) as ‘the original pioneers of modern Ecology in Britain’. However, rather few are aware of R. Smith's important role in a revolution of Botanical science in Britain just over 100 yearsago. Smith entered the University College of Dundee (now the University of Dundee) as a student in 1893 and came under the influence of Patrick Geddes, then Professor of Botany, who appointed him Demonstrator in Botany as soon as he had graduated. Geddes encouraged his interest in the newly emerging science of plant ecology and, in particular, his programme for mapping the vegetation of Scotland. To this end, he arranged for Smith to spend some months in Montpellier, where he was much influenced by Professor C. Flahault's approach to vegetation mapping on the basis of recognisable associations of plant species. On his return to Scotland , he developed this theme and applied it to making vegetation maps in various parts of Scotland, regarding this as a preliminary to understanding relationships between vegetation, climate, soil and human impacts. Thus, the first stirrings of practical ecology in Britain were influenced by the phytosociological outlook which was developing in Europe. Sadly, Robert Smith died prematurely in 1900, but his work was continued for a time by his brother, W.G. Smith, and others. It was the primary inspiration for the formation of a ‘Central Committee for the Survey and Study of British Vegetation’ in which other pioneers of plant ecology, including A.G. Tansley, participated. Although, for various reasons, their interests moved away from vegetation mapping towards plant-environment interactions, ecological processes, and vegetation dynamics, Smith's work had laid the foundations for a series of important studies of Scotland's plant communities, including thoseof E.L. Birse and J.S. Robertson, M.E.D. Poore, D. McVean and D. Ratcliffe. In 1964 J.H. Burnett revived the aim of comprehensive description of Scottish vegetation with his book The Vegetation of Scotland. R. Smith's work helped to bring a fresh approach into British botany, and launch plant ecology as a scientific study of vegetation.