Leonty Ramensky
Encyclopedia
Leonty Grigoryevich Ramensky was a Russian
plant ecologist who conceived several important ideas that were overlooked in the West and later ’re-invented’ by western scientists.
He graduated from the Petrograd University
in 1916 and obtained a Ph.D. in biology in 1935. From 1911 to 1928 he worked in the Research Institute of the Voronezh
Gouvernement (now Voronezh State University
) and from 1928 in the State Grassland Institute (later All-union Scientific Research Institute of Forages dedicated to V.R.Williams).
Ramensky was a proponent of the view that biotic communities consist of species behaving individualistically (much like Henry Gleason
in the U.S.A.). This was in strong contrast to the prevailing view of communities as super-organisms, held by the powerful V.N.Sukachov and his consorts (much like Frederic Clements
in the U.S.A.). Hence, Ramensky was marginalized within the Russian scientific community and was only posthumously rehabilitated by Russian ecologists. Much later, the significance of his ideas was discovered by ecologists in the West.
In this work, Ramensky criticized the use of hierarchical classifications of plant communities and advocated ordination ("Ordnung") of communities (and other complex objects with multiple determining factors, such as soil profile and weather data) instead. He was explicit about assuming unimodal responses of species to underlying gradients in the environment. This was long before Correspondence analysis
was first used (1952), the now classic applications of ordination to plant communities by J. Roger Bray and John T. Curtis
and David W. Goodall
and the theoretical foundations of gradient analysis was developed by Whittaker and others (1970s onwards).
2.
In this work, Ramensky proposed fundamental plant life strategies towards stress and disturbance. This work is a precursor of Grime
's CSR strategy scheme.
3.
In this work, Ramensky and colleagues listed some 1,400 plant species from European Russia
with tabulated quantitative indicator values for their tolerances for soil moisture, nutrients, grazing etc. This work is a precursor of Ellenberg
’s widespread indicator values.
4.
This volume contains collected works of Ramensky.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
plant ecologist who conceived several important ideas that were overlooked in the West and later ’re-invented’ by western scientists.
He graduated from the Petrograd University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
in 1916 and obtained a Ph.D. in biology in 1935. From 1911 to 1928 he worked in the Research Institute of the Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
Gouvernement (now Voronezh State University
Voronezh State University
Voronezh State University is one of the main universities in Central Russia.The university was founded in 1918, when some staff, students and property from the University of Tartu were transferred by the Soviet government because of the German occupation of Estonia.The University has 17 departments...
) and from 1928 in the State Grassland Institute (later All-union Scientific Research Institute of Forages dedicated to V.R.Williams).
Ramensky was a proponent of the view that biotic communities consist of species behaving individualistically (much like Henry Gleason
Henry Gleason
Henry Allan Gleason was a noted American ecologist, botanist, and taxonomist, most recognized for his endorsement of the individualistic/open community concept of ecological succession.- Life and work :...
in the U.S.A.). This was in strong contrast to the prevailing view of communities as super-organisms, held by the powerful V.N.Sukachov and his consorts (much like Frederic Clements
Frederic Clements
Frederic Edward Clements was an American plant ecologist and pioneer in the study of vegetation succession.-Biography:...
in the U.S.A.). Hence, Ramensky was marginalized within the Russian scientific community and was only posthumously rehabilitated by Russian ecologists. Much later, the significance of his ideas was discovered by ecologists in the West.
Selected scientific works
1.- Translated to German and published 1930 as Zur Methodik der vergleichenden Bearbeitung und Ordnung von Pflanzenlisten und anderen Objekten, die durch mehrere verschiedenartig wirkende Faktoren bestimmt warden in: Emil AbderhaldenEmil AbderhaldenEmil Abderhalden was a Swiss biochemist and physiologist. His main findings, though disputed already in the 1920s, were not finally rejected until the late 1990s. Whether his misleading findings were based on fraud or simply the result of a lack of scientific rigor remains unclear...
's Beiträge zur Biologie der Pflanzen (Breslau) 18: 269-304.
In this work, Ramensky criticized the use of hierarchical classifications of plant communities and advocated ordination ("Ordnung") of communities (and other complex objects with multiple determining factors, such as soil profile and weather data) instead. He was explicit about assuming unimodal responses of species to underlying gradients in the environment. This was long before Correspondence analysis
Correspondence analysis
Correspondence analysis is a multivariate statistical technique proposed by Hirschfeld and later developed by Jean-Paul Benzécri. It is conceptually similar to principal component analysis, but applies to categorical rather than continuous data...
was first used (1952), the now classic applications of ordination to plant communities by J. Roger Bray and John T. Curtis
John Thomas Curtis
John Thomas Curtis was an American botanist and plant ecologist. He is particularly known for his lasting contribution to the development of numerical methods in ecology. Together with J...
and David W. Goodall
David W. Goodall
David William Goodall is an Australian botanist and ecologist. He was very influential in the early development of numerical methods in ecology, particularly the study of vegetation....
and the theoretical foundations of gradient analysis was developed by Whittaker and others (1970s onwards).
2.
In this work, Ramensky proposed fundamental plant life strategies towards stress and disturbance. This work is a precursor of Grime
J. Philip Grime
John Philip Grime is a prominent British ecologist and emeritus professor at the University of Sheffield. He is best known for his CSR theory on plant strategies, for the unimodal relationship between species richness and site productivity , for the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, for the DST...
's CSR strategy scheme.
3.
In this work, Ramensky and colleagues listed some 1,400 plant species from European Russia
European Russia
European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 square kilometres , larger in area than India, and spanning across 40% of Europe. Its eastern border is defined by the Ural Mountains and in the south it is defined by the border with...
with tabulated quantitative indicator values for their tolerances for soil moisture, nutrients, grazing etc. This work is a precursor of Ellenberg
Heinz Ellenberg
Heinz Ellenberg was a German biologist, botanist and ecologist. Ellenberg was an advocate of viewing ecological systems through holistic means.- Life :...
’s widespread indicator values.
4.
This volume contains collected works of Ramensky.