Abstract
Abstract. Christian Theodor Vaupell (1821–1862) was a Danish scholar with pioneering investigations particularly on the late Quaternary development of bog forests, but also microscopy of plant anatomy and vegetative reproduction. His studies contributed to the early scientific thinking of the Quaternary environmental changes. Before his academic efforts, he had already survived the war between Prussia and Denmark albeit he became severely wounded and his left arm was amputated. The drama of his academic efforts, on the other hand, lies in the more or less suspicious dispute of his first doctoral thesis and his dismissal from the academic world during the following years. At the same time, he earned praise for his first thesis (never accepted as thesis but published as a regular book) from abroad; he was also able to attract private foundations for financial support of his scientific work. Following the enthusiasm of his time, Vaupell became attracted to the pine megafossils known to have been preserved in the bogs in north-west Europe. The megafossils led him to study not only the life systems of the ancient and modern bog forests but also their associations with Earth processes. As an interesting detail of his research, Vaupell made compound interpretations on the occurrence of megafossil stumps and their tree-ring growth patterns. In the course of the 20th century, Vaupell's studies have been cited as a general reference of post-glacial vegetation change and plant succession rather than clearly pioneering investigations of palaeoecology, an angle that we would like put into a contrasting perspective. To do so, we provide a brief portrait of Christian Vaupell and his research career. In conclusion, we wish to emphasize the comprehensiveness of Vaupell's views on the late Quaternary vegetation changes and the role of plant succession in that development.
Highlights
By completing examen atrium in 1841, Vaupell qualified for admission to the university, where he became deeply interested in the societies of the antiquity and their relationship to the modern society, as well as theology
Following the enthusiasm of his time, Vaupell became attracted to the pine megafossils known to have been preserved in the bogs in north-west Europe
Vaupell (1851) summarized the main conclusions on tree distribution in bog deposits: (1) the beech (Fagus) is absent; (2) the birch (Betula alba var. glutinosa Wahlroth) is the most common tree, present both below and above the pine accumulation, and in the same relation it stands to oak; (3) the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L. and the bog pine Pinus sylvestris femsoensis Vaupell) grows in the deepest layers, as well as near the surface; and (4) the oak (Quercus robur pedunculata Ehrhart) grows not in a certain location, but typically the oak layer is above the pine layer
Summary
Christian Theodor Vaupell (1821–1862) was a Danish scholar with pioneering investigations on the late Quaternary development of bog forests, and microscopy of plant anatomy and vegetative. His studies contributed to the early scientific thinking of the Quaternary environmental changes. Before his academic efforts, he had already survived the war between Prussia and Denmark albeit he became severely wounded and his left arm was amputated. Vaupell took the examen philosophicum, and later received the academic degree candidatus theologiæ, from the University of Copenhagen in 1847 After, he continued with botany and obtained insights into the other natural sciences. Vaupell continued at the von Westens Institute (Copenhagen), where he was a teacher in natural history 1845–1855 (Fig. 1) He taught at Frøken Zahle’s Institute (Copenhagen)
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