[BEN-L]BEN # 421
Adolf Ceska
aceska at telus.net
Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:53:23 -0800
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No. 421 February 4, 2010
aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C.
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Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
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BIODIVERSITY 2010 AND BEYOND: SCIENCE AND COLLECTIONS=20
From: The 2010 SPNHC & CBA-ABC Joint Conference Local Organizing =
Committee
Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
For the first time, the Canadian Botanical Association (CBA/ABC) and the
international Society for the Preservation of Natural History =
Collections
(SPNHC) are holding a joint annual conference in Ottawa (May 31 to June =
5,
2010), hosted by the Canadian Museum of Nature. Fully synchronized =
programs
will allow participants from both organizations to attend any of the
concurrent sessions and participate in many joint conference activities. =
=20
With 2010 declared _The International Year of Biodiversity_ by the =
United
Nations, this gathering of botany specialists and natural history =
collection
professionals will offer many exciting opportunities for
=93cross-fertilization=94 of ideas and transfer of knowledge between
participants.=20
=20
Detailed information can be found on the conference website:
http://www.spnhc-cba2010.org/
We invite you to visit the site and register for the conference.
Come and join us!
BOTANY BC 2010 =96 MAY 27-30, 2010 TOFINO
From: Elizabeth.Easton@gov.bc.ca=20
Botany BC 2010 will be held in the stunningly beautiful Tofino area from =
the
evening of Thursday May 27th through the morning of Sunday May 30th =
2010.
Presentations and meeting activities will be held in the Tofino =
Community
Hall and the Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation/Clayoquot Field Station =
and
as usual, field trips to some very exciting areas of interest will also =
be
on the agenda. The primary organizers for this year's Botany BC are =
Andy
MacKinnon and Josie Osborne. =20
You can contact Elizabeth Easton at Elizabeth.Easton@gov.bc.ca if you =
are
interested in being added to a list to receive notification when the
website, with schedule and registration information, is available.
Registrants from the last 2 BBC conferences (Muncho Lake and Powell
River) are already included on this list.
DR. REID MORAN (1916-2010)
From: Originally posted on HERBARIA list by Sula Vanderplank
svanderplank@rsabg.org
Dr. Reid Moran was Curator of Botany at the San Diego Natural History =
Museum
from 1957 to 1982. Dr. Moran died January 21 at age 93 in Lake County,
California, where he had spent his final few years. He is survived by =
his
daughter, Jenna Moran.
=20
As an explorer of Baja California, he spent much of his time during the
1950s, 60s, and 70s traveling by truck, mule, and boat to the most =
remote
and obscure places of the peninsula and its waters. He kept meticulous =
and
often entertaining field notebooks documenting his travels and his =
botanical
collections. In addition to his research expeditions in the peninsula, =
Reid
gained a devoted following among museum members as a leader of field =
trips
throughout Baja California. Moran=92s field notes are available online =
at
http://bajaflora.org/MoranNotesSearch.aspx .
=20
Moran earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley in =
1951,
after serving as a navigator in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1946. =
His
research focused on the systematics of the Crassulaceae (Stonecrop =
Family),
and in the flora of the peninsula of Baja California. He continued to
produce significant scientific work for two decades after his official
retirement.
=20
In addition to his large body of technical research papers, he wrote the
_Flora of Guadalupe Island, Mexico_, and the treatment of the =
Crassulaceae
for the _Flora of North America_ (in Vol. 8, published in 2009), and =
also
co-authored (with Frank W. Gould--_Gould knew the grasses; I knew Baja_) =
the
_Grasses of Baja California, Mexico_, and (with Geoffrey A. Levin, his
successor as curator) the _Vascular Flora of Isla Socorro, Mexico_.
=20
Jane Goodall, in the internet supplement to her recent book _Hope for
Animals and Their World_, says he was =93for decades a sort of living =
myth in
botanical exploration in Baja California=94 and called him =93a truly =
dedicated
field biologist whose work led to the restoration of an island.=94
DR. RUDOLF (RUDI) WILLEM BECKING (1922-2009)
From: Adolf Ceska aceska@telus.net with the help of Rudi=92s family and
friends
Photo plates: http://bomi.ou.edu/ben/421/rudi_becking_appendix_1.pdf=20
Rudi=92s 1987 report from Russia:
http://bomi.ou.edu/ben/421/rudi_becking_appendix_2.pdf=20
Rudolf W. Becking, prominent botanist, forester and environmentalist, =
passed
away on October 13, 2009, in Sandy, Utah.=20
Rudi Becking was born on October 19, 1922, in Indonesia, where his =
father,
Dr. Johannes Hendrik Becking, was the Chief Forester of the Dutch West
Indies Forest Service. Rudi planned to follow in his father=92s steps, =
but the
Japanese invasion of Indonesia intervened. Rudi was captured by the =
Japanese
forces and ended up constructing airfields for the duration of the war.
After he was released in Singapore, Rudi returned to the island of Java =
with
a group of about three hundred Dutch soldiers. Although outnumbered ten =
to
one, they managed, with only a single ship at their disposal, to =
recapture
the capital city of Djakarta.=20
Rudi did not remain long in Java. The plantation forests that had been
established before the war by Indonesian contract farmers, under the
supervision of the Dutch West Indies Forest Service, had suffered during =
the
years of fighting. The time of political chaos that followed the war =
also
affected the forests. With few prospects of a government career similar =
to
his father=92s, Rudi took the opportunity to advance his studies. In =
1946 he
left Java for Holland to begin a program at the Wageningen University. =
In
1952 Rudi received a Ir. Tr. M.S. in Tropical Forestry and a Ir. B. M.S. =
in
Temperate Forestry from the University.=20
In the year he graduated Rudi received a Fulbright Scholarship for =
further
study at the University of Washington in Seattle. He married his college
sweetheart, H. Louise Sheltema, and they left Holland and moved to =
Seattle,
where Rudi began a doctoral program in the Faculty of Forest Management. =
In
1954, Rudi received a Ph.D. from the University of Washington. His =
thesis
was _Site Indicators and Forest Types of the Douglas-fir Region of =
Western
Washington and Oregon._
Following a brief stint of employment with the Dutch Forest Service, =
Rudi
taught at universities in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Alabama. He =
then
joined the Forestry Department at Humboldt State College in Arcata,
California, and later became a faculty member in the Natural Resource
Planning and Interpretation Department. From 1960 until 1983 Rudi was
Associate Professor, then Professor, at Humboldt State University.
Besides his teaching and research commitments, Rudi was involved with
forestry consulting, working with both the redwood forests of the west =
coast
and with forests in tropical Indonesia. He was a specialist in the =
growth,
yield, and taxonomy of Southeast Asian trees in the Dipterocarpaceae =
family.
Rudi=92s interests were broad and included plant ecology, forestry, =
systematic
botany, environmental studies, and ornithology. Despite the breadth of =
his
interests, he involved himself deeply in whatever area his research =
interest
led him to.
=20
Rudi was a strong promoter of the Z=FCrich-Montpellier school of
phytosociology, a botanical method that originated in Central Europe =
with
the works of Josias Braun-Blanquet. Phytosociologists construct units of
vegetation classification that are based on floristic composition. =
Species
lists are obtained in the field from sampling plots. By combining the =
lists
into a table and sorting the rows and columns, a hierarchy of
phytosociological units with specific environmental parameters is =
eventually
built up. In North America the Z=FCrich-Montpellier school has had, =
besides
Rudi, only a limited number of followers, botanists such as Vera =
Komarkova,
Miroslav Grandtner, Hans Roemer, and Toby Spribille. Whenever you saw =
Rudi
in the field, he always had with him a notebook and pencil to record, in
good phytosociological fashion, the names of species growing on a site.
Rudi was also well known for his interest in serpentine endemics. He
described two new species of _Hastingsia_ that grew on serpentine soils =
and
authored the _Flora of North America_ treatment of this genus. Rudi was =
also
a strong proponent of Plenterung, a forest management system that =
involves a
careful selection of trees to be logged. This technique, if applied
consistently, results in sustainable timber production while maintaining =
the
natural composition and structure of the stands. Plenterung was =
developed by
K. Gayer at the end of the nineteenth century and has been successfully
applied for more than a hundred years in Switzerland and Slovenia. Rudi =
was
convinced that Plenterung was a suitable management practice for North
American temperate forests and he applied this technique to a 26-acre
forested parcel in the Albion-Little River District of Mendocino County.
California. Rudi proposed a maximum of 15% initial tree harvest with
successive harvests at seven-year intervals.=20
Rudi Becking was a fierce fighter for the protection of the West Coast
redwood forests. In the late 1960s he worked with environmentalists to
assemble the information that led to the establishment of Redwood =
National
Park. Later he and a group of dedicated students formed the Emerald =
Creek
Committee to press for an extension of Redwood National Park into the =
larger
Emerald Creek watershed, a goal they achieved in 1978. Rudi complained =
to
me, I remember, that on this issue he found himself at odds with other
professional foresters. He took advantage of the ecological =
consciousness of
the countercultural movement to energize the drive to protect this =
unique
ecosystem.
As an outgrowth of his interest in redwood forests, Rudi produced a =
guide to
the vascular plants of the redwood forests, using his own drawings to
illustrate the various species. He did not employ a pencil for the =
initial
drawings and ink them in later, as many artists do. He worked with a pen
using fast, precise strokes. When I watched Rudi do his drawings, I had =
the
impression that was transferring his mental image directly to paper. A
second product of Rudi=92s interest in redwood forests was his important =
work
with marbled murrelets (_Brachyramphus marmoratus_). Murrelets pass =
most of
their lives in a marine environment, but during the nesting season they =
fly
each night, sometimes many miles, to nesting sites deep in the coastal
forests. Rudi was one of the first people to realize that these rare
seabirds were building their nests high in old growth trees and he =
dedicated
himself to protecting these unusual birds. Rudi was partly responsible =
for
the 1992 recognition of murrelets under the U. S. Endangered Species =
Act.=20
I first met Rudi in 1984 at the _18th International Phytogeographic
Excursion_ in Japan. Many of the participants in this excursion were =
noted
experts in the Z=FCrich-Montpellier techniques. Rudi enjoyed meeting his
botanical soul mates on this trip. He initiated joint recording of =
relev=E9s
(vegetation samples), discussed sampling and classification techniques, =
and
was always ready, when the need arose, to act as an interpreter. The
ambiance on this trip was in marked contrast to his experience two years
later on trip to the Soviet Union. There the Z=FCrich-Montpellier school =
was
not officially recognized as a valid technique. The technique had a few
Russian supporters, but they were quite conscious that they were acting =
in
opposition to the official line and were careful not to make too many =
waves.
Rudi jumped into the fray on the side of the Z=FCrich-Montpellier =
method,
often to the irritation of the academic administrators that had invited =
him
to Russia. When you read Rudi=92s report of his USSR travels
(http://bomi.ou.edu/ben/421/rudi_becking_appendix_2.pdf) you can feel =
the
tension between Rudi and the official Soviet line on vegetation studies.
Rudi=92s wife Louise died a few months before Rudi, in May 2009. Louise =
and
Rudi were survived by two daughters and a son. =93Peace be with Rudi, =
his
spirit, his family and all we, Ruditarians, who see the world in a =
different
light thanks to him=94 (Dan Sealy of the National Park Service, from =
Rudi
Becking=92s memorial program).
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RUDOLF W. BECKING=92S PUBLICATIONS
Becking, R.W. 1954.=20
_Site Indicators and Forest Types of the Douglas-fir Region of
Western Washington and Oregon._ Ph.D. thesis. 8339, University of
Washington, Seattle. 133 p.
Becking, R.W. 1954.=20
Site Indicators and Forest Types of the Douglas-fir Region of
Western Washington and Oregon. _VIII. Int. Bot. Congr. Paris. Compt.
Rendues._
Becking, R.W. 1956.=20
Die nat=FCrlichen Douglasien-Waldgesellschaften Washingtons und
Oregons. _Allgem. Forst. u. Jagdz_. 127: 42-56.=20
Becking, R.W. 1957.=20
The Zurich-Montpellier School of Phytosociology and its application
to American vegetation. _The Botanical Review_ 23 (7): 411-488.
Becking, R.W. 1959. =20
Forestry Application of Aerial Color Photography. _Photogramm.
Engng_ XXV, 4, 559-564
Becking, R.W. 1960.=20
A summary of information on Aucoumea klaineana. _Forestry Abstracts_
21(1):1-6, 21(2): 168-172.
Becking, R.W. 1961.=20
Mathematical analysis of plant communities. _Rec. Adv. Bot._ 1961:
1346-1350.
Becking, R.W. 1962.
The fog belt rainforest of the Pacific Northwest (USA). _Proceedings
of the 9th Pacific Science Congress,_ 1962.
Becking, R.W. 1963.=20
Quantitative evaluation of plant communities and the IBM
codification of phytosociological data. _Tropical Ecology_ 4(1):21-28.
Becking, R.W. 1967.=20
_The ecology of the coastal redwood forest and the impact of the
1964 floods upon redwood vegetation._ Final Report, National Science
Foundation. Grant GB 3468. Jan. 16, 1967. 90 p.
Becking, R.W. 1968.=20
_The ecology of the coast redwood forest._. Final Rept., Nat. Sci.
Found. Grant 4690. 187 p.
Becking, R.W. & L.O. Belletto. 1968.=20
_Vegetative propagation of coastal redwood: rooting of redwood
cuttings._ Supplement to final report of NSF Grant #4690. 23 p.
Becking, R.W. 1968.=20
Vegetational response to change in environmental and change in
species tolerance with time. _Plant Ecology_ 16: 135-168.
Becking, R.W. 1969.=20
Reinhold T=FCxen: a personal tribute. _Plant Ecology_ 18:1-3.
Becking, R.W. 1971. =20
Fasciation of coastal redwoods. _Madrono_ 20(1970): 382-383.=20
Becking, R.W. 1971.=20
_The ecology of the coastal redwood forest of northern California
and the impact of the 1964 flood upon redwood vegetation._ Unpublished =
Final
Report. NSF Grant GB No. 6310; 158 p.
Becking, R. W. & J.S. Olson. 1978.=20
_Remeasurement of Permanent Vegetation Plots in the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA, and the Implications of =
Climatic
Changes on Vegetation._ ORNL/TM-6083, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
Oak Ridge, Tenn.=20
Becking, R.W., J.M. Lenihan, & E.H. Muldavin. 1979.=20
_The forest communities of the Bug Bute/Shinbone region of northern
California=92s Yolla Bolly Mtns._ Freestone Wilderness Inst. Covello, =
CA. 47
p.
Becking, R.W. 1982.=20
_Pocket Flora of the Redwood Forest._ Island Press, Covelo, CA.
Island Press. 237 p.
Becking, R.W., J.A. Lenihan, & E. Muldavin. 1982. =20
Schoenolirion bracteosum, _ecological investigations._ Final report.
Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portlans, OR. 17 p.
Becking, R.W. 1984.=20
_Brush control or vegetation management._ Proceedings... annual
Forest Vegetation Management=20
Becking, R.W. 1986.=20
_Hastingsia atropurpurea_ (Liliaceae:Asphodeleae): A new species
from southwestern Oregon. _Madrono_ 33:175-181.
Becking, R.W. 1989.=20
Segregation of _Hastingsia serpentinicola_ sp. nov. from _Hastingsia
alba_ (Liliaceae:Asphodeleae). _Madrono_ 36: 208-216.
Sherman, H.L.& R.W. Becking. 1991.=20
The generic distinctiveness of _Schoenolirion_ and _Hastingsia._
_Madrono_ 38: 130-138.
Becking, R.W. 1991.=20
Eggshell fragments of the Marbled Murrrelet (_Brachyramphus
marmoratus_) in San Mateo County, California. _Northwestern Naturalist_
72(2): 74-76.
Becking, R.W. 1995.=20
Plenterung, an age-old paradigm for sustainability. _BEN # 89_ -
January 15, 1995 http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben089.html=20
Becking, R.W. 1996.=20
Seed germinative capacity and seedling survival of the coast redwood
(_Sequoia sempervirens_). Pp. 69-71 In: _Proceedings for the conference =
on
Coast Redwood Ecology and Mgt._ Humboldt State Univ., Arcata. Univ. of =
CA
Coop. Ext., For. June 18-20, 1996.
Becking, R. W. 1997.=20
The _Darlingtonia_ bog communities of the Klamath Mountains: NW
California=97SW Oregon. P. 1-7. In Beigel, J. K., E. S. Jules, & B. =
Snitkin,
editors. _Proceedings of the first conference on Siskiyou ecology.
May 30=96June 1, 1997. Kerby and Cave Junction, OR._ The Siskiyou =
Regional
Education Project. Portland, OR.
Becking, R.W. 2007.=20
_Hastingsia_ . Pp. 20, 21, 58, 303, 310 In: FNA Editorial Committee:
_Flora of North America Vol. 26._ Oxford University Press.
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