Józef Konrad Paczoski (1864-1942) was an eminent Polish

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, who coined the term "

Phytosociology Phytosociology, also known as phytocoenology or simply plant sociology, is the study of groups of species of plant that are usually found together. Phytosociology aims to empirically describe the vegetative environment of a given territory. A speci ...

"Rabotnov TA. 1970-1979
Phytocoenology. In: The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd ed.
/ref> and was one of the founders of this branch of botany.Maycock PF. 196
''Ecology'' 48:1031-1034 "Jozef Paczoski: founder of the science of phytosociology".
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Early life and education

Paczoski was born on 8 December 1864 in Byalohorodka near

Iziaslav, Ukraine Iziaslav ( uk, Ізя́слав, ) or Zaslav ( uk, Заслав, links=no, ; pl, Zasław) is one of the oldest cities in Volhynia. Situated on the Horyn river ( uk, Горинь, links=no) in western Ukraine, the city dates back to the 11th cent ...

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

. From 1877 he studied

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

at faculty of Biological Science at

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

and

Kiev University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

under the guidance of Ivan Ivanovich Schmalhausen.

Career

He was an early pioneer of the science of

phytosociology Phytosociology, also known as phytocoenology or simply plant sociology, is the study of groups of species of plant that are usually found together. Phytosociology aims to empirically describe the vegetative environment of a given territory. A speci ...

, the study of natural plant communities. In 1896 he coined the term "phytosociology". In 1923 he became a scientific manager of the forest reserves in the

Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest; lt, Baltvyžių giria; pl, Puszcza Białowieska ; russian: Беловежская пуща, Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a forest on the border between Belarus and Poland. It is one of the last and largest remaining pa ...

. He did much of his research on the vegetation of the

Białowieża National Park '' , iucn_category = II , photo = Bialowieza National Park in Poland0029.JPG , photo_caption = Fallen tree in the Białowieża Forest Park logo with European bison , map = Poland , relief = 1 , map_caption = Location in Poland , location = ...

. From 1925 to 1931 he was Professor of Plant Systematics and Sociology at

Poznań University Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, where he established the first Institute of Plant Sociology in the world. He was a member of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scien ...

(''Polska Akademia Umiejętności''), the predecessor of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

Death

He died on 14 February 1942 in Sierosław near

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, Poland of a heart attack, when he heard that his grandson had been injured by the Gestapo as Poland was occupied at that time by Nazi Germany.

Plant species named after Jozef Paczoski

* ''Allium paczoskianum'' * ''Centaurea paczoskyi'' * ''Hieracium paczoskianum'' * ''Jurinea paczoskiana'' * ''Pyrethrum paczoskii'' * ''Tanacetum paczoskii'' * ''Carex paczoskii'' * ''Lamium paczoskianum'' * ''Chamaecytisus paczoskii'' (Krecz.) * ''Cytisus paczoskii'' * ''Onobrychis paczoskiana'' * ''Gagea paczoskii'' (Zapal.) * ''Corydalis paczoskii'' * ''Papaver paczoskii'' * ''Pistolochia paczoskii'' * ''Veronica paczoskiana''

Publications

* Paczoski J. 1927. Ranunculaceae. In: Szafer W (ed.) ''Flora polska : Rośliny naczyniowe Polski i ziem ościennych'' (Polish: Flora of Poland: Vascular plants of Poland and adjacent territories). Vol. III. Kraków: Polska Akademja Umiejętności * Paczoski J. 1928. ''La végétation de la Foret de Białowieża'' (French: The Vegetation of Białowieża Forest). Varsovie. * Paczoski J. 1928. ''Biologiczna struktura lasu'' (Polish : The Biological Structure of Forest). ''Sylwan'' 3: 193 - 221. * Paczoski J. 1929. ''Die Wälder Bosniens'' (German: The Forests of Bosnia). Lwów: Polskie Towarzystwo Leśne. * Paczoski J. 1930. ''Lasy Białowieży'' (Polish: The Forests of Białowieża). Monografje Naukowe 1. Warszawa: Państwowa Rada Ochrony Przyrody. * Paczoski J. 1933. ''Podstawowe zagadnienia geografji roślin'' (Polish: Basic concepts in plant geography). Biblioteka Botaniczna. Vol. III. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Polskiego Towarzystwa Botanicznego. * Paczoski J. 1935. ''Piętrowość lasu'' (Polish: Layers of forest vegetation). Biblioteka Botaniczna. Vol. IV. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Polskiego Towarzystwa Botanicznego.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paczoski, Jozef 20th-century Polish botanists 1864 births 1942 deaths 19th-century Polish botanists Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań faculty Jagiellonian University alumni Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni