Resolution of Respect: George M. Woodwell (1928–2024)

In view of George M. Woodwell's many contributions to the Ecological Society of America, to the advancement of ecological science in general, and especially to the application of ecological insights to public affairs, we offer this Resolution of Respect (Photo 1).

George Masters Woodwell was born October 23, 1928, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and died June 18, 2024, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Boston Public Latin School and from Dartmouth College (AB 1950). He spent 3 years in the US Navy (1950–1953) before attending graduate school at Duke University, where he received an AM in 1956 and a Ph.D. in 1958, both in botany, working with Henry J. Oosting.

After leaving Duke, Dr. Woodwell taught for 3 years in the Department of Botany at the University of Maine before joining the staff of Brookhaven National Laboratory in the spring of 1961. In 1975, he moved to the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole to become the Director of The Ecosystems Center. In 1985, he founded and was director of the Woods Hole Research Center (now the Woodwell Climate Research Center). He also held an adjunct appointment at Yale University.

Dr. Woodwell's research focused on the structure and function of natural ecosystems and their role as building blocks of the biosphere. He is perhaps best known for his work with DDT, ionizing radiation, and climate, but his focus was ecosystem science. He demonstrated the persistence of DDT in soil and its amplification through food chains. He studied the effects of ionizing radiation on an oak–pine forest, but the work pertained to chronic disturbances of all kinds, the effects of which he labeled “biotic impoverishment.” His work on forests with R. H. Whittaker also led to the development of the production equations (gross and net primary production, autotrophic and ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem production), which categorized the functioning of ecosystems in terms of energy and carbon budgets. Dr. Woodwell's later work distinguished between direct and indirect anthropogenic effects (e.g., land-use change and climatic feedbacks, respectively) on the global carbon budget.

Dr. Woodwell was a member of the National Academy of Science and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the Heinz Environmental Prize in 1996, the John H. Chafee Excellence in Environmental Affairs Award in 2000, and the Volvo Environment Prize in 2001. He received an honorary doctorate from Duke in 1994.

Having worked at research centers, Dr. Woodwell did not have students, as such, but he did mentor a number of postdoctoral investigators and early-career scientists, including Henry Art, Daniel Botkin, Eric Davidson, Charles Hall, Richard Houghton, Robert Howarth, Jerry Melillo, Peter H. Rich, and David Whitney.

Dr. Woodwell was among the first scientists to recognize the threats to people and the planet of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. In 1972, he convened a conference, Carbon and the Biosphere, at Brookhaven National Laboratory, that was attended by a mix of climatologists, oceanographers, and biologists. It was the first international, multidisciplinary conference that linked the drivers and potential consequences of the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Dr. Woodwell summarized the urgency by recognizing that “…the change that man is making in the world carbon budget is among the most abrupt and fundamental changes that the biosphere has experienced in all of world history.” In the late 1970s and 1980s, Dr. Woodwell continued to partner with prominent climate scientists to bring attention to the emerging issue of human-induced climate change through reports of the National Academy of Sciences and the Council on Environmental Quality, and in Congressional testimony (https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/24/us/global-warming-has-begun-expert-tells-senate.html).

Dr. Woodwell was also a fierce advocate for international instruments for addressing climatic disruption. In the late 1980s and 1990, before the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change had been created, he helped organize and lead conferences in developing countries to ready scientists and leaders in those countries to address climate change. Conferences were held in Bangkok, Nairobi, New Delhi, and Sao Paulo.

During 1977–1978, Dr. Woodwell served as President of the Ecological Society of America. The September 1977 Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America contains a biosketch of ESA's newly elected President, Dr. George Woodwell. In addition to recognizing his contributions to science, it recognized his efforts to bring science into the decision process in government and in the private sector. The closing paragraph of the biosketch began as follows: “Woodwell's career thus combines, as effectively as that of anyone in our field, research accomplishment and contribution to environmental affairs.”

Over his distinguished career, Dr. Woodwell worked tirelessly and skillfully to help build some of the nation's and the world's most effective environmental advocacy organizations. He was a founding trustee and Vice-Chair of the Board of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a founder and honorary member of the Board of Trustees of the Environmental Defense Fund, a Founding trustee of the World Resources Institute, a board member (1970–1984) and Chair (1980–1984) of the Board of Directors and, later, a member of the National Council of the World Wildlife Fund. He was Chair of the 1982 Conference on the Long-Term Worldwide Biological Consequences of Nuclear War and Chair of the Ruth Mott Fund. He served as a member of the Boards of Trustees of the Ocean Conservancy, Sea Education Association, and the Grand Canyon National Park Foundation. He served on the Advisory Board of the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, and on the Boards of Trustees of the Woods Hole Research Center, the Amazon Institute of Environmental Research (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia; IPAM), and the World Media Foundation.

One of the reasons Dr. Woodwell was so effective was not just the quality of his science, but his ability to communicate. He was an exceptionally eloquent speaker and writer. He was also fearless, responsible (personally, administratively, scientifically), worried about the future of the biosphere, and always thinking, advocating, and challenging. As director at the Woods Hole Research Center, he oversaw the design and construction of a carbon-neutral (i.e., fossil-fuel- free) building, which was a handsome demonstration of what could be done with technology available in the early 2000s, including heat pumps, solar collectors, a wind turbine, and sustainably harvested wood products (2009).

Woodwell never slowed down. The last time one of us saw George, about a month before he died, he was thinking how to use his 140-acre family farm in Maine. What could he do with the farm that was not already well-understood and taught in agricultural colleges?

Despite his deep worries that humans were degrading the planet, George never articulated a need to control human population. He did, however, frequently emphasize the challenges that “a full world” presents for humanity: “Can we re-fit our swollen global human foot in the finite shoe that is the earthly biosphere?”

As another famous ecologist, Charles Darwin, once said, “A man who dares to waste one hour of his time has not discovered the value of life.” In that context, George knew the value of life. He never wasted time, although he enjoyed hearing about what others were up to in their lives, and he enjoyed telling others what his children and grandchildren were up to. He was interested in everyone and everything.

George leaves behind his wife Katharine, whom he met while they were both students at Duke University, four children, and four grandchildren.

For more than a half-century, Dr. Woodwell championed ideas and actions to promote a sustainable future. His final book encapsulates his assessment of the current ecological state of the planet and his vision for a more desirable future: A World to Live In: An Ecologist's Vision for a Plundered Planet (MIT Press, 2016). Invoking the sic utere fundamental principle of Roman law (to use your own property in such a way that you do not injure that of another), George eloquently restated the case, which he had made throughout his life, for policies in the public interest. Specifically, he called for governments, corporations, organizations, and individuals to take responsibility for their actions that cause serious harm to the well-being of others, actions contributing to such problems as biotic impoverishment and climate disruption. For so many of us, George was an enduring beacon of hope.

Woodwell, G. M. 1962. Effects of ionizing radiation on terrestrial ecosystems. Science 138: 572–577. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1710359

Woodwell, G. M. 1963. The ecological effects of radiation. Scientific American 208:40–49. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24936182

Woodwell, G. M., and F. T. Martin. 1964. Persistence of DDT in soils of heavily sprayed forest stands. Science 145:481–483. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1714580

Woodwell, G. M., and W. R. Dykeman. 1966. Respiration of a forest measured by carbon dioxide accumulation during temperature inversions. Science 154:1031–1034. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1719672

Woodwell, G. M. 1967. Radiation and the patterns of nature. Science 156:461–470. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1721219

Woodwell, G. M., C. F. Wurster, and P. A. Isaacson. 1967. DDT residues in an East Coast estuary: A case of biological concentration of a persistent insecticide. Science 156:821–824. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1722018

Woodwell, G. M. 1967. Toxic substances and ecological cycles. Scientific American 216:24–31. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24931430

Woodwell, G. M., and R. H. Whittaker. 1968. Primary production in terrestrial ecosystems. American Zoologist 8:19–30. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3881529

Whittaker, R. H., and G. M. Woodwell. 1969. Structure, production and diversity of the oak-pine forest at Brookhaven, New York. Journal of Ecology 57:155–174. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2258214

Woodwell, G. M. 1969. Effects of pollution on the structure and physiology of ecosystems. Science 168:429–433. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1729216

Woodwell, G. M. 1970. The energy cycle of the biosphere. Scientific American 223:64–74. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24925894

Woodwell, G. M., P. Craig, and H. A. Johnson. 1971. DDT in the biosphere: where does it go? Science 144:1101–1107. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1733440

Woodwell, G. M., R. A. Houghton, and N. R. Tempel. 1973. Atmosphere CO₂ at Brookhaven, Long Island, New York: Patterns of variation up to 125 meters. Journal of Geophysical Research 78:932–940.

Woodwell, G. M. and E. V. Pecan. 1973. Carbon and the Biosphere. Proceedings of the 24^th Brookhaven Symposium in Biology, Upton, New York, May 16–18, 1972. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/4036

Woodwell, G. M. and R. A. Houghton. 1977. Biotic influences on the world carbon budget. Pages 61–72 in W. Stumm, editor. Global chemical cycles and their alterations by man. Report of the Dahlem Workshop, Berlin, 15–19 November 1976, Abakon Verlagsgesellschaft, Berlin.

Woodwell, G. M., D. E. Whitney, C. A. S. Hall and R. A. Houghton. 1977. The Flax Pond ecosystem study: Exchanges of carbon in water between a salt marsh and Long Island Sound. Limnology and Oceanography 22:833–838. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2834921

Woodwell, G. M., R. H. Whittaker, W. A. Reiners, G. E. Likens, C. C. Delwiche, and D. B. Botkin. 1978. The Biota and the World Carbon Budget: The terrestrial biomass appears to be a net source of carbon dioxide for the atmosphere. Science 199:141–146. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1745134

Woodwell, G. M. 1978. The carbon dioxide question. Scientific American 238:34–43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24955612

Woodwell, G. M., G. J. MacDonald, R. Revelle, and C. D. Keeling. 1979. The carbon dioxide problem: implications for policy in the management of energy and other resources: A report to the council on environmental quality. https://static01.nyt.com/packages/pdf/science/woodwellreport.pdf

Woodwell, G. M. 1983. Biotic effects on the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide; a review and projection. Pages 216–241 in W. A. Nierenberg, P. G. Brewer, L. Machta, W. D. Nordhaus, R. R. Revelle, T. C. Schelling, J. Smagorinsky, P. B. Waggoner, and G. M. Woodwell, editors. Changing climate. NAS Press, Washington, DC, USA.

Woodwell, G. M., J. E. Hobbie, R. A. Houghton, J. M. Melillo, B. Moore, B. J. Peterson and G. R. Shaver. 1983. Global deforestation: Contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide. Science 222:1081–1086. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1690888

Houghton, R. A., and G. M. Woodwell. 1989. Global climatic change. Scientific American 260:36–44. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24987210

Woodwell, G. M. 1990. The earth in transition: patterns and processes of biotic impoverishment. Cambridge University Press, New York, New York, USA.

Ramakrishna, K., and G. M. Woodwell. 1993. World forests for the future: their use and conservation. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Woodwell, G. M. and F. T. Mackenzie, editors. 1995. Biotic feedbacks in the global climatic system: will the warming feed the warming? Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA.

Woodwell, G. M., F. T. Mackenzie, R. A. Houghton, M. Apps, E. Gorham, and E. Davidson. 1998. Biotic feedbacks in the warming of the earth. Climatic Change 40:495–518. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005345429236

Woodwell, G. M. 2001. Forests in a full world. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Chapin, F. S., G. M Woodwell, J. T. Randerson, E. B. Rastetter, G. M. Lovett, D. D. Baldocchi, D. A. Clark, M. E. Harmon, D. S. Schimel, R. Valentini, C. Wirth, J. D. Aber, J. J. Cole, M. L. Goulden, J. W. Harden, M. Heimann, R. W. Howarth, P. A. Matson, A. D. McGuire, J. M. Melillo, H. A. Mooney, J. C. Neff, R. A., Houghton, M. L. Pace, M. G. Ryan, S. W. Running, O. E. Sala, W. H. Schlesinger, and E.-D. Schulze. 2006. Reconciling carbon-cycle concepts, terminology, and methods. Ecosystems 9:1041–1050. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25470403

Woodwell, G. M. 2009. The nature of a house: building a world that works. Island Press, Washington, DC, USA.

Woodwell, G. M., R. A. Houghton, E. A. Davidson, and D. C. Nepstad. 2011. The first principles for climatic stabilization. Carbon Management 2:605–606. https://doi.org/10.4155/cmt.11.66

Woodwell, G. M. 2016. A world to live in: an ecologist's vision for a plundered planet. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.