Sir Arthur Tansley’s paper written in 1917, while good for its time, differs from scientific papers written in today’s society. Although the paper follows the same template as a modern paper, elaborating on his hypothesis and explaining his experimental methodology, it is evident that there are stylistic distinctions. Before we contrast modern day articles with the one drafted by Tansley, we must first get a better understanding of what his work entailed.
Tansley paper explains the competitive effects of closely related plant species (Galium saxatile and Galium sylvestre, later referred to as G. saxatile and G. sylvestre respectively) when placed in different soils. It was shown that G. sylvestre grew best on calcareous soils and the least on acid peats. G.saxatile showed opposing results, having the most efficient growth on acid peats and the least efficient on calcareous soils. As such, it was concluded that competition directly suppresses one of the species, consequently amplifying the growth of the organism as it resides on its soil of preference. Thus, the fall of one of the species from being outcompeted helps the other rise depending on which soil they are growing in.
By today’s standards, Tansley’s paper is lackluster. Looking at the data presented in the paper shows us already that the paper is outdated as the recorded growth is not presented in a detailed manner. Although, this is fair, as the discipline of statistics was not as developed as it is today. Also, the mention of Captain Marsh and his implications in the work is not something that would be explained in that manner in today’s scientific writing. Lastly, a scientific paper should relay its methodology in a way that another individual or group of individuals could replicate the study in question. Tansley does not present the methods portion with enough detail and efficacy to do so. Keep in mind that the field of ecology is a continuously growing discipline, as such, the way we experiment and explain our field work is continuously evolving as well.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 