Leonard Webb (academic)

Leonard James Webb AO (28 October 1920 – 25 November 2008) was a widely awarded Australian ecologist and ethnobotanist who was the author or joint-author of over 112 scientific papers throughout the course of his professional career. His pioneering work as Senior Principal Research Scientist alongside Geoff Tracey in the CSIRO Rainforest Ecology Research Unit in the 1950s led to the publication of the first systematic classification of Australian rainforest vegetation in the Journal of Ecology in 1959.[13][14][15][16]

Len Webb

AO
Webb circa 1950
Born
Leonard James Webb

(1920-10-28)28 October 1920
Rockhampton, Queensland
Died25 November 2008(2008-11-25) (aged 88)
Queensland
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of Queensland
Known for
  • CSIRO Rainforest Ecology Research Unit (1954-1980)
  • A Physiognomic Classification of Australian Rainforests (1959)[1]
  • The Identification and Conservation of Habitat Types in the Wet Tropical Lowlands of North Queensland (1965[2]
  • Australian Rainforests: Patterns and Change (1981)[3]
  • A Floristic Framework of Australian Rainforests (1984)[4]
SpouseDoris Webb
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsEcology, conservation
Institutions
ThesisEnvironmental studies in Australian rainforests (1956)

In the early '80s, after decades of ongoing research, Webb and Tracey had accumulated a large corpus of scientific evidence which confirmed that Australian tropical rainforests had evolved from Gondwana over 100 million years ago and were not, as previously believed, relatively recent arrivals from South East Asia. This discovery served to consolidate the scientific basis for a number of major conservation campaigns across Queensland and paved the way for the subsequent successful World Heritage nomination of the Wet Tropics of Queensland by Aila Keto in 1988.[17][18][19][20][21]

Early life

Len Webb was born in Rockhampton, Queensland on 28 October 1920. He grew up on a sheep station near Longreach, where his father worked as a horse-breaker and drover and his mother was a station cook. Webb left Rockhampton State High School when he was 15, moving to Brisbane in order to work as junior clerk and typist at the Queensland Herbarium whilst undertaking part-time study in order to complete his matriculation at the Queensland Teachers' College in Brisbane.[22]

He studied at the University of Queensland, gaining a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1947, a Masters of Science in 1948 and a Ph.D. in 1956.

Webb worked as a researcher for the CSIRO from the late 1940s, initially as a contributor to the Australian Phytochemical Survey which had commenced in 1946. The survey was a wide-ranging collaboration between the CSIRO and the universities with the aim of identifying alkaloids across a range of Australian ecosystems and plant species for the purpose of discovering new medicinal drugs. Webb’s interest in rainforests developed while surveying rainforest plants in North Queensland, often accompanied by Geoff Tracey who had taken on the position of laboratory and field assistant to Webb in December 1949.[23][24][25][26][27][28]

CSIRO Rainforest Ecology Research Unit

In 1952, as CSIRO’s interest in phytochemical research waned, Webb, with the direct support of CSIRO head Sir Otto Frankel, made the decision to move into the newly emerging scientific field of Ecology. Based upon the work which they were already conducting within Australian rainforests, funds were apportioned for Webb and Tracey to establish a CSIRO Rainforest Ecology research unit which was to complement the new research being carried out by Alec Costin (Snowy Mountains and Alpine flora) and Milton Moore (the woodlands of Australia) within the ecology section of the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry. This was to mark the commencement of a long and groundbreaking ecological research partnership between Webb and Tracey.[29][30][31][32]

Desmond Herbert, who at the time was Botany Professor at the University of Queensland initially provided a home for the Rainforest Ecology unit within the University’s Botany department. A few years later Harry Wharton, a researcher interested in malaria and tropical diseases, offered Webb & Tracey some modern rooms in a new building being built for the division of animal culture laboratory at Long Pocket in Brisbane. Wharton was enthusiastic about the work Tracey and Webb had been doing and required their help in establishing a rainforest on the grounds of Long Pocket to aid his research. The Long Pocket location represented a substantial increase in laboratory space for Webb and Tracey and was to become the home of the CSIRO Rainforest Ecology unit up until its closure in the early 1980s.[33][34][35]

The research work conducted by Webb, Tracey and other collaborators within the CSIRO Rainforest Ecology Unit led to the publication of a long series of pioneering research papers in the field, from the first systematic structural classification of Australian rainforest vegetation in the Journal of Ecology in 1959 to the first major framework for floristic classification of Australian rainforests in 1984 after Webb had retired from CSIRO.[36][37]

The Conservation of the Wet Tropics of Queensland

In November 1965 Webb, accompanied by Geoff Tracey, conducted a vegetation survey in the Wet Tropics which resulted in Webb putting forward a series of national park proposals in 1966 for the purpose of protecting the full range of the remaining habitats of the Wet Tropics. Entitled "The Identification and Conservation of Habitat Types in the Wet Tropical Lowlands of North Queensland",[38] Webb's report was the first report of its kind and contained the first reference in scientific literature to the international significance of the lowland rainforests of the Wet Tropics. The proposals in Webb's report were specifically confined to the lowlands because of the extreme development pressures which had been placed on the lowlands from around the mid-1950s onwards.[39][40][41]

In 1975, a year after Peter Stanton, of the Queensland National Parks Dept. published an extensive field review of the conservation status of the wet tropics confirming that "the areas Webb and Tracey had identified were still some of the highest priorities for conservation",[42][43][44][45] Webb and Tracey published a collection of 15 vegetation maps entitled "Vegetation of the Humid Tropical Region of North Queensland"[46] which were used extensively in support of a number of major conservation campaigns across Queensland. These events ultimately culminated in many of the areas within Webb's 1966 report, including the Cape Tribulation and Daintree regions, being gazetted as National Parks in 1981.[47][48][49][50]

In the early '80s after decades of ongoing research, Webb and Tracey had accumulated a large corpus of scientific evidence which confirmed that Australian tropical rainforests had evolved from Gondwana over 100 million years ago and were not, as previously believed, relatively recent arrivals from South East Asia.[51][52][53] This new understanding of the origins of Australian rainforests in addition to the publication of Geoff Tracey's 1982 paper "The Vegetation of the Humid Tropical Region of North Queensland" [54] significantly contributed to the scientific basis for the subsequent successful World Heritage nomination of the Wet Tropics of Queensland in 1988.[55][56][57]

Awards and honours

Webb was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia in the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours Ceremony "For service to conservation, particularly in the field of rainforest ecology"[58] He was also later awarded the Civilian Service Medal 1939–1945 in 1995[59] and the Australian Centenary Medal in 2001 for "For service to conservation and the environment in Queensland".[60]

Selected works

References
  1. Webb, Len (1 October 1959). "A Physiognomic Classification of Australian Rain Forests". Journal of Ecology. British Ecological Society : Journal of Ecology Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 551-570. 47 (3): 551–570. doi:10.2307/2257290. JSTOR 2257290.
  2. Webb, Leonard (1966). "The Identification and Conservation of Habitat Types in the Wet Tropical Lowlands of North Queensland". Proceedings of Royal Society of Queensland. 78: 59–86.
  3. Webb, L. J. (Leonard James), 1920-2008; Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey), 1920-2004 (1981), Australian Rainforests: Patterns and Change (Ecological Biogeography of Australia, vol. 1 p. 605-694), The Hague: W. Junk, hdl:102.100.100/292256{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Webb, L. J.; Tracey, J. G.; Williams, W.T. (1984), Floristic framework of Australian rainforests. Australian Journal of Ecology. Vol. 13 pp. 269-276, Australian Journal of Ecology 13:269-276., hdl:102.100.100/277738
  5. "ESA Gold Medal Past Winners". The Ecological Society of Australia. 1983.
  6. "Mueller Medal (1904 - 2006)". The Encyclopaedia of Australian Science. 1983.
  7. "Webb, Leonard James (1928 - 2008)". The Encyclopaedia of Australian Science. 1983.
  8. "Dr Leonard James Webb". Australian Honours Search Facility: Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  9. "Dr Leonard James Webb Collection". 6 June 2022.
  10. "Mr Leonard James Webb". Australian Honours Search Facility: Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  11. "Dr Leonard WEBB". Australian Honours Search Facility: Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  12. "Wet Tropics Management Authority Honour Roll" – via Wet Tropics Management Authority.
  13. "Webb, Leonard James (1920 - 2008)". Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, Australian National Herbarium. 27 January 2016 – via Australian National Botanic Gardens.
  14. Borschmann, Gregg (1999). The People's Forest - The Field Botanist (John Geoffrey Tracey). The People's Forest Press. pp. 218–221. ISBN 0-646-36939-3.
  15. Webb, Len (1 October 1959). "A Physiognomic Classification of Australian Rain Forests" (PDF). Journal of Ecology. British Ecological Society : Journal of Ecology Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 551-570. 47 (3): 551–570. doi:10.2307/2257290. JSTOR 2257290. S2CID 87194512. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2020.
  16. Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation (1972). Biographical dictionary of botanists represented in the Hunt Institute portrait collection. G. K. Hall. p. 444.
  17. Borschmann, Gregg (1999). The People's Forest - The Field Botanist (John Geoffrey Tracey). The People's Forest Press. pp. 218–221. ISBN 0-646-36939-3.
  18. Hutton, Drew; Connors, Libby (1999). History of the Australian Environmental Movement. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0521456869.
  19. Webb, L. J. (Leonard James), 1920-2008; Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey), 1920-2004 (1981), Australian Rainforests: Patterns and Change (Ecological Biogeography of Australia, vol. 1 p. 605-694), The Hague: W. Junk, hdl:102.100.100/292256{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. Webb, L. J.; Tracey, J. G.; Williams, W.T. (1984), Floristic framework of Australian rainforests. Australian Journal of Ecology. Vol. 13 pp. 269-276, Australian Journal of Ecology 13:269-276., hdl:102.100.100/277738
  21. Sanderson, Rachel (1 May 2008). "Re-writing the History of Australian Tropical Rainforests: 'Alien Invasives' or 'Ancient Indigenes'?". Environment and History. 14 (2): 165–185. doi:10.3197/096734008X303719. JSTOR 20723663.
  22. Kikkawa, Jiro (September 2009), Len Webb (Eulogy) Bulletin of the Ecological Society of Australia 39 3, The Ecological Society of Australia, pp. 16, 17, 18
  23. Price, J. R.; Lamberton, J. A.; Culvenor, C.C.J (1992), "The Australian Phytochemical Survey: historical aspects of the CSIRO search for new drugs in Australian plants. Historical Records of Australian Science, 9(4), 335–356", Historical Records of Australian Science, Australian Academy of Science, 9 (4): 335, 336, doi:10.1071/hr9930940335
  24. Price, J. R.; Lamberton, J. A.; Culvenor, C.C.J (1992), "The Australian Phytochemical Survey: historical aspects of the CSIRO search for new drugs in Australian plants. Historical Records of Australian Science, 9(4), 335–356", Historical Records of Australian Science, Australian Academy of Science, 9 (4): 354, 355, doi:10.1071/hr9930940335
  25. Collins, D.J.; Culvenor, C.C.J; Lamberton, J. A. (January 1992), Plants for Medicines: A Chemical and Pharmacological Survey of Plants in the Australian Region, vol. 31, CSIRO (published 1990), pp. 107–108, doi:10.1002/anie.199201072
  26. Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 9, 10, 11, retrieved 22 February 2021 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. Borschmann, Gregg (1999). The People's Forest - The Field Botanist (John Geoffrey Tracey). The People's Forest Press. p. 219. ISBN 0-646-36939-3.
  28. Kikkawa, Jiro (September 2009), Len Webb (Eulogy) Bulletin of the Ecological Society of Australia 39 3, The Ecological Society of Australia, pp. 16, 17, 18
  29. Borschmann, Gregg (1999). The People's Forest - The Field Botanist (John Geoffrey Tracey). The People's Forest Press. p. 220,221. ISBN 0-646-36939-3.
  30. "Tracey, John Geoffrey (1930 - 2004)" – via ABNG.
  31. Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 12, 13, 14, 17, retrieved 22 February 2021 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. Kikkawa, Jiro (September 2009), Len Webb (Eulogy) Bulletin of the Ecological Society of Australia 39 3, The Ecological Society of Australia, pp. 16, 17, 18
  33. Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 12, 13, 14, 17, retrieved 22 February 2021 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  34. Borschmann, Gregg (1999). The People's Forest - The Field Botanist (John Geoffrey Tracey). The People's Forest Press. p. 220,221. ISBN 0-646-36939-3.
  35. "Tracey, John Geoffrey (1930 - 2004)" – via ABNG.
  36. Webb, Len (1 October 1959). "A Physiognomic Classification of Australian Rain Forests". Journal of Ecology. British Ecological Society : Journal of Ecology Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 551-570. 47 (3): 551–570. doi:10.2307/2257290. JSTOR 2257290.
  37. Webb, L. J.; Tracey, J. G.; Williams, W.T. (1984), Floristic framework of Australian rainforests. Australian Journal of Ecology. Vol. 13 pp. 269-276, Australian Journal of Ecology 13:269-276., hdl:102.100.100/277738
  38. Webb, Leonard (1966). "The Identification and Conservation of Habitat Types in the Wet Tropical Lowlands of North Queensland". Proceedings of Royal Society of Queensland. 78: 59–86.
  39. "State of the Wet Tropics Report 2017-18" (PDF). The Wet Tropics Management Authority. 1 December 2018. p. 46 – via Federal Dept. Environment.
  40. Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, p. 111, retrieved 3 September 2020 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  41. Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 44, 52, retrieved 22 February 2021 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  42. "State of the Wet Tropics Report 2017-18" (PDF). The Wet Tropics Management Authority. 1 December 2018. p. 46 – via Federal Dept. Environment.
  43. Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, p. 111, retrieved 3 September 2020 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  44. Stanton, J.P. (27 April 1974). "A report on the Daintree River - Cooktown region". Queensland Department of Forestry – via Trove.
  45. Stanton, J.P. (27 April 1974). "A proposed system of national parks for Queensland coastal areas (Bundaberg to the Daintree River)". Queensland Department of Forestry – via Trove.
  46. Tracey, J.G.; Webb, L.J. (27 April 1975). "Vegetation of the humid tropical region of North Queensland" – via National Library of Australia.
  47. Hutton, Drew; Connors, Libby (1999). History of the Australian Environmental Movement. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0521456869.
  48. Borschmann, Gregg (1999). The People's Forest - The Field Botanist (John Geoffrey Tracey). The People's Forest Press. pp. 218–221. ISBN 0-646-36939-3.
  49. Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, pp. 44, 52, retrieved 22 February 2021 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  50. Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), Peter Stanton interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the Environmental awareness in Australia oral history project, p. 111, retrieved 3 September 2020 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  51. Webb, L. J. (Leonard James), 1920-2008; Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey), 1920-2004 (1981), Australian Rainforests: Patterns and Change (Ecological Biogeography of Australia, vol. 1 p. 605-694), The Hague: W. Junk, hdl:102.100.100/292256{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  52. Webb, L. J.; Tracey, J. G.; Williams, W.T. (1984), Floristic framework of Australian rainforests. Australian Journal of Ecology. Vol. 13 pp. 269-276, Australian Journal of Ecology 13:269-276., hdl:102.100.100/277738
  53. Sanderson, Rachel (1 May 2008). "Re-writing the History of Australian Tropical Rainforests: 'Alien Invasives' or 'Ancient Indigenes'?". Environment and History. 14 (2): 165–185. doi:10.3197/096734008X303719. JSTOR 20723663.
  54. Tracey, J.G. (27 April 1982). "The vegetation of the humid tropical region of North Queensland" – via National Library of Australia.
  55. Hutton, Drew; Connors, Libby (1999). History of the Australian Environmental Movement. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0521456869.
  56. Borschmann, Gregg (1999). The People's Forest - The Field Botanist (John Geoffrey Tracey). The People's Forest Press. pp. 218–221. ISBN 0-646-36939-3.
  57. Tracey, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Borschmann, Gregg (Gregg John), 1955- (Interviewer) (1994), John Tracey interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in the People's forest oral history project, p. 65, retrieved 22 February 2021 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  58. "Dr Leonard James Webb". Australian Honours Search Facility: Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  59. "Mr Leonard James Webb". Australian Honours Search Facility: Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  60. "Dr Leonard WEBB". Australian Honours Search Facility: Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
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