John Stanley Beard
Encyclopedia
John Stanley Beard was a British
-born forester
and ecologist
who resided in Australia
. While working with the Forestry Division in Trinidad and Tobago
during the 1940s, Beard developed a system of forest classification for Tropical America
and described the forests of Trinidad
, Tobago
, and the Lesser Antilles
; these descriptions remain standard references on the topics.
After leaving Trinidad, Beard moved to South Africa
and then to Australia
, where he produced an extensive series of vegetation maps covering much of the country.
His extensive surveys of Western Australia
set standards for understanding regional floristic zones and biogeographical
areas for the whole state. He was the main author of the 1974-1981 explanatory notes to the mapping project of the Vegetation Survey of Western Australia
. He was also Director of the Kings Park and Botanic Garden for some time.
Beard received an OAM in 2003. He died in February 2011 at the age of 95.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born forester
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
and ecologist
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
who resided in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. While working with the Forestry Division in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
during the 1940s, Beard developed a system of forest classification for Tropical America
Neotropic
In biogeography, the Neotropic or Neotropical zone is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones. This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexican lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups.It is sometimes used...
and described the forests of Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
, and the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
; these descriptions remain standard references on the topics.
After leaving Trinidad, Beard moved to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and then to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where he produced an extensive series of vegetation maps covering much of the country.
His extensive surveys of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
set standards for understanding regional floristic zones and biogeographical
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
areas for the whole state. He was the main author of the 1974-1981 explanatory notes to the mapping project of the Vegetation Survey of Western Australia
Vegetation Survey of Western Australia
The Vegetation Survey of Western Australia commenced as a project of the Department of Geography of the University of Western Australia to provide vegetation maps for the state on the scales of 1:250,000 and 1:1,000,000...
. He was also Director of the Kings Park and Botanic Garden for some time.
Beard received an OAM in 2003. He died in February 2011 at the age of 95.
Interview
- Interview with Alice Smith in 1986 - Held in Battye Library 3rd Floor Oral History OH1735 A/r 2 sound cassettes.with Transcript (typescript, 22 p.) Director of Kings Park. Talks about establishment of and highlights of his time there 1961-1970. Includes personal background. http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b1794327~S2 .
See also
- Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for AustraliaInterim Biogeographic Regionalisation for AustraliaThe Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts...
- Ecoregions in AustraliaEcoregions in AustraliaEcoregions in Australia are geographically distinct plant and animal communities, defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature based on geology, soils, climate, and predominant vegetation....