Mencuccini M (2013). Paul Jarvis

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Paul Jarvis, FRS, FRSE: plant ecologist who showed the link between forests and the atmosphere

Citation for published version: Mencuccini, M 2013, 'Paul Jarvis, FRS, FRSE: plant ecologist who showed the link between forests and the atmosphere', Iforest-Biogeosciences and forestry, vol. 6, pp. 100-101. https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor0102-006

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3832/ifor0102-006

Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer

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Published In: Iforest-Biogeosciences and forestry

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national journals. He was President and Paul Jarvis, FRS, FRSE: plant ecologist who Council member of the Society for Experi- mental Biology, various Research Council showed the link between forests and the Boards, and he was a Commissioner of the Countryside Commission for Scotland; he atmosphere was on several Scientific Steering Commit- tees, including the IGBP and the John Muir Trust. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Maurizio Mencuccini Society, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, the Paul Gordon Jarvis (born Tunbridge Wells However, much of Paul’s career developed Royal Science Society of Uppsala, the Insti- 23/05/1935, died Aberfeldy 05/02/2013) was in the UK, first at Aberdeen from 1966 to tute of Chartered Foresters and the Institute a widely known and well respected plant 1975, and then at Edinburgh where he be- of Biology and was awarded the Gregorius J. ecologist and micro-meteorologist, who pio- came Professor of Forestry and Natural Re- Mendel Medal by the Academy of Science neered the scientific analysis of the exchange sources in 1975. He remained there until he of the Czech Republic for his services to of water and carbon dioxide between forests retired in 2001. During those 35 years, science of that country. and the atmosphere, and laid the foundations Paul’s career developed enormously, with Paul trained many PhD students and for decades of studies on the interplay ground-breaking studies on several aspects postdoctoral scientists in his laboratory, and between forests and the climate system. of the environmental physiology of forests, helped innumerable students who came to His father was a farmer in Hertfordshire, measuring the behaviour of stomata under visit him or whom he met at conferences, and a founder member of the Royal Air changing environmental conditions, the pen- generously giving his time to any student Force Regiment in World War II. He flew etration of light into forest canopies, water who demonstrated a real interest and a wil- Sopwith Camels. Paul’s mother had been a transport in trees and the micro-meteorolo- lingness to learn. secretary to the geneticist Karl Pearson at gical measurement of the fluxes of water va- He was vigorous and intense during scien- University College, London. Paul showed an pour and carbon dioxide above the canopy. tific debates at conferences and seminars. He early academic talent and went to Oxford to All these studies were characterised by a set the bar very high for his younger col- read Botany at Oriel College, where he met very innovative combination of strongly leagues and students, demanding the highest his future wife Margaret. They went on to physically-grounded principles, intelligent standards of intellectual rigour. He leaves a graduate studies at Sheffield, investigating construction of novel pieces of equipment huge scientific diaspora, extending across the growth and regeneration of oaks and the and a deep knowledge of the fundamental many countries of the world, setting similar limits to the distribution of other trees in the physiology of trees. He developed one of the high standards today. UK. first process-based models of forest function, He was a strong hill walker and marathon Thanks to two NATO scholarships, Mar- MAESTRO (later renamed MAESTRA by a runner, and even on the university campus garet and Paul moved to the Institute of female researcher), which has been em- he would leave his colleagues behind on the Plant Physiology in Uppsala (Sweden) at the ployed for various purposes for at least three journey from the Department to the refec- end of their PhDs. Here, they became espe- decades. With colleagues, he continued to tory! cially interested in the measurement and develop the micro-meteorological method state of water in plants. Paul gained a second for the measurement of gas fluxes from doctorate from Uppsala, while Margaret forests, which eventually lead to the eddy began working as scientific editor and trans- covariance approach currently employed lator, following the birth of their first son throughout the world. Eric. Beyond these technological advancements, Other alliances were forged when the Paul wrote several fundamental reviews in couple moved to Australia in 1964, where plant environmental physiology, on topics Paul took up a position as permanent visiting ranging from the modelling of stomatal func- scientist at CSIRO with Ralph Slatyer, an tion, plant water relations and hydraulics, the outstanding plant physiologist who later be- scaling of water vapour and carbon dioxide came Australia’s first Chief Scientist. fluxes from leaves to landscape and the ef- fects of elevated CO2 on terrestrial vegeta- tion. He took part in several high-profile in- ternational projects in different parts of the School of GeoSciences, University of world, from the boreal forests of Canada to Edinburgh, Crew Building, West Mains Road, the Sahel in Africa and became a leading EH9 3JN Edinburgh (UK) player in the EU-funded EUROFLUX pro- ject, the first multinational effort to tackle @ Maurizio Mencuccini the problem of the response of terrestrial ve- ([email protected]) getation to climate change. In Canada he Citation: Mencuccini M, 2013. Paul Jarvis, worked closely with Piers Sellers, an Edin- FRS, FRSE: plant ecologist who showed the burgh graduate who later became a NASA link between forests and the atmosphere. astronaut. iForest 6: 100-101 [online 2013-02-12] URL: Paul was a founding member of the journal http://www. sisef.it/iforest/contents/? Plant, Cell and Environment, now one of the id=ifor0102-006 leading journals in plant science, and served Fig. 1 - Paul Jarvis was associate editor in on the Review Board of several other inter- the editorial board of iForest - Biogeoscien- Communicated by: Marco Borghetti ces and Forestry.

After his retirement to Aberfeldy in 2001, small company concerned in part with the many barriers across countries, disciplines he continued to be very active scientifically sequestration of carbon by forests to meet and scientific groups. He is fondly re- and became involved in the restoration of the goals of the Kyoto Protocol. membered by many colleagues around the native woodlands on the over-browsed hills Paul was widely admired and universally world. Paul leaves his wife Margaret, son of Scotland. He became a Director of the Ed- respected in his field. His passion, intensity Eric and daughters Alice and Kathryn. inburgh Centre for Carbon Management, a and love for science allowed him to break