Peter J. Grubb is a British ecologist and emeritus professor of botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

 at Cambridge University. He took his Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 at Cambridge University in 1960 supervised by G.E. Briggs

George Edward Briggs

George Edward Briggs was a British botanist.He was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, the eldest son of Walker Thomas and Susan Briggs....

. He subsequently joined the staff of Magdalene College

Magdalene College, Cambridge

Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...

, later becoming a full professor (retired in 2001). His early work was mentored by E.J.H. Corner and A.S. Watt

Alexander Watt

Alexander Stuart Watt was a Scottish botanist and plant ecologist.-Life:Watt was born on an Aberdeenshire farm and went to school at Turriff Secondary School and Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen. He graduated as M.A. and B.Sc. from the University of Aberdeen in 1913...

, and especially influenced by the latter. He has written a very lively account on his becoming a plant ecologist.

Grubb has worked on diverse botanical and ecological subjects, from physiology

Physiology

Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

 to biome

Biome

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...

s and from chalk grassland to tropical rain forest. His name is particularly associated with the concept of regeneration niche

Ecological niche

In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food...

.

Peter Grubb was president of the British Ecological Society

British Ecological Society

The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It was the first ecological society in the world. The society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest sense" and this remains the central theme guiding...

 in 1992 and is now honorary member of the society. He co-edited the Journal of Ecology

Journal of Ecology

The Journal of Ecology is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of the ecology of plants. It was established in 1913 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Ecological Society....

1972–1977.