Woody-herbaceous coexistence in a changing world: an introduction to a Virtual Issue.

Access the Virtual Issue at www.newphytologist.com/virtualissues.

This Editorial introduces the Virtual Issue ‘Marine macrophytes in a changing world: mechanisms underpinning responses and resilience to environmental stress’ that includes the following papers: Campbell et al. (2018), Collier et al. (2018), Ferreira et al. (2014), Jung et al. (2023), Konotchick et al. (2013), Litsi‐Mizan et al. (2023), McIntire & Fajardo (2014), Murúa et al. (2020), Pedersen et al. (2016), Saha et al. (2024), Schmidt & Saha (2021), Smale (2020), Viana et al. (2019). Access the Virtual Issue at www.newphytologist.com/virtualissues.

Of “multiple interlocking crises” and agendas for geographical research

If tradition can be based on just two or three instances, I am following the custom of my two predecessors in the Frontispiece to this sesquicentennial issue of The Photogrammetric Record. In the 50th issue, published under the editorship of Keith Atkinson in October 1977, the Frontispiece contained two black-and-white aerial photographs of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, UK. They were taken in 1949 and 1975 (reproduced as (f) and (g) in the Frontispiece of the present issue) and were also included on the cover of that issue, the only occasion on which the Record has had other than a plain cover. Keith Atkinson also published two Ordnance Survey photographs of the cathedral and its surroundings from 1969 and 1989 on the occasion of the 75th issue in April 1990. Paul Newby continued this practice in the 100th issue, published in October 2002, with colour photographs of St Paul's taken in 2000 and 2002 ((h) and (j) in our Frontispiece) as well as copies of the 1949 and 1975 photographs. Mr Newby's decision to increase the number of issues from two to four per annum from 2003 means that this 150th issue is under 13 years from the 100th issue, rather than the previous 25-year spacing. My own Frontispiece selection of St Paul's Cathedral comprises: (a) an early Aerofilms oblique aerial photograph from 1921 (now in the archives held by Historic England – formerly English Heritage); (b) a Blom digital aerial photograph (4 cm ground sample distance (GSD)) from 2007; (c) a WorldView-2 satellite image (50 cm GSD) from 2013; (d) a Blom airborne lidar image (50 cm GSD) from 2007; and (e) a terrestrial laser-scanner image taken from the National Geographic Channel's series Time Scanners which was broadcast in 2014 and demonstrated the value of laser-scanning technology to a wider audience. I have invited Editors Emeriti Keith Atkinson and Paul Newby to write their own contributions later in this editorial to complement their thoughts published in the 50th and 100th issues. My own observations were amply aired on the occasion of the Record's Diamond Jubilee (Granshaw, 2013). Furthermore, my last two editorials have indicated the development of photogrammetry over the past century. My December 2014 contribution noted that aerial photography itself was a fledgling activity at the commencement of the First World War, and the first Frontispiece photograph (a), taken by Aerofilms (formed by war veterans Wills and Graham-White), is all the more remarkable for its quality only three years after the end of that terrible conflict. My March 2015 editorial demonstrated that current interaction with the cognate discipline of computer vision still has a long way to go, notwithstanding the modern trend to increasingly incorporate concepts, software and nomenclature from that subject into photogrammetric applications. The past 50 issues of the Record have demonstrated an inexorable trend compared with the previous 100 when aerial photography was dominant. In the 100th issue, Paul Newby used Fig. 1(a) to illustrate the growth of close range photogrammetry in the period since the 50th issue. This tendency has continued over the last 50 issues, alongside the increasing importance of satellite imagery together with both airborne and terrestrial laser-scanner data (illustrated by images (c), (d) and (e) in our Frontispiece, and also Fig. 1(b)). As far as publishing the Record is concerned, the past 50 issues have demonstrated, in true British fashion, continuity allied to gradual change. In many ways our journal is very conservative; for example, we still maintain an Index (one of only two Wiley journals to do so). The format of the journal has barely altered over the years though the balance has changed, with more emphasis on reviewed papers and less on reports. The topic of peer review leads me to record the excellent work of our International Editorial Board, steered magnificently by Jim Chandler from 2002 to 2010, and then by Simon Buckley since that date. Both Coordinators have demonstrated exceptionally hard work and innovation. Moreover, Jim Chandler and Paul Newby oversaw, in 2006, the digitisation of all issues of the Record back to issue 1 in 1953; Simon Buckley has transformed the review process with the introduction, this year, of the ScholarOne Manuscript electronic review system. Some aspects of the Record's content have grown; others have waned. For example, issue 105 (March 2004) saw Spanish abstracts join their French and German counterparts; these were further augmented by Chinese abstracts from issue 146 (June 2014). September 2008 (issue 123) saw the first special issue, devoted to the ISPRS Hannover Workshop 2007; further special issues constituted Nos. 124, 131, 136 and 137. Single-topic virtual issues were placed on the Wiley Online Library in 2012 (environmental applications) and 2014 (image matching). On the other hand, the advertising that had assisted the journal's finances eventually ended (other than for publishers' own publicity) in issue 127 (September 2009); Fig. 3(d) illustrates one of the last three photogrammetric advertisements, which were an integral part of a print era but sit less happily among the pop-up promotions of the Internet. The future holds many unknowns, both for our journal and the discipline of photogrammetry itself. The Photogrammetric Record remains the primary photogrammetric portal of the UK's Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc). There will undoubtedly be changes, perhaps sooner rather than later, in online-only distribution (with print restricted to on-demand) and open-access developments. These changes need to be viewed in a positive light rather than with a Luddite mentality: both the current page and colour budgets (480 and 256 pages, respectively, per year), that are limiting financial features in a print issue, essentially disappear in a solely electronic issue. As Jim Chandler and Hans-Gerd Maas have noted in the Sesquicentennial Congratulations that follow this editorial, the Record is now the only international journal dedicated exclusively to photogrammetry, but its own financial health in the rapidly changing publishing industry needs to be carefully monitored. There are current fiscal issues which I am hopeful will be resolved, due in no small part to the supportive efforts of Pauline Miller, the chair of RSPSoc's Publications Committee, and Tina Thomson, the Society's treasurer. Photogrammetry itself has enjoyed a recent resurgence. Non-geomatics personnel in both academe and industry are now well aware of modern photogrammetry. They may be under the impression that our subject is a new discipline and believe that laser scanning (lidar) is waning. This is essentially due to the cost of data collection: it is much cheaper to acquire a camera than a laser scanner. Photogrammetric software has become extremely easy to use, handling large sets of images automatically. There is a danger here: with essentially no consideration of network geometry nor of the size of datasets, accuracy may be compromised and processing times can become excessive. The challenge for those with geomatic and photogrammetric backgrounds is to ensure that we remain relevant when it is so easy and inexpensive for non-specialists to achieve acceptable results. Aerial survey companies are also moving from lidar back to the traditional realm of photogrammetry. I am therefore hopeful that, despite these various challenges, a revival in photogrammetry means we will reach our 200th issue, and do so in good health. Furthermore, this will be achieved by embracing essential modifications yet respecting our tradition, embedded in every one of our 150 issues, of quality dissemination of photogrammetric research and practice. The annual RSPSoc Thompson Award is presented to the authors of the best paper in the Record (Fig. 2). I feel sure that E. H. Thompson would appreciate the hard work and dedication of the current editorial team and that we are maintaining the standards that he and his predecessors set, along with those of our two Editors Emeriti whose contributions now follow. January 2015 In the years since the first issue of The Photogrammetric Record was published in March 1953, six Editors have been responsible for its publication: P. G. Mott (1953–54); H. A. L. Shewell (1954–62); E. H. Thompson (1962–76); K. B. Atkinson (1976–99); P. R. T. Newby (1999–2011); and S. I. Granshaw (from 2011). All of them have adhered to the founding concepts of the journal so that the 150th issue of June 2015 still bears some similarities with the inaugural edition of 62 years earlier. Mott (1977) related the influence of The Polar Record (to which he was a regular contributor) in both name and presentation to the first volume of our own journal, praising its combination of clarity, boldness and artistic merit. The Geographical Journal was also reflected in The Photogrammetric Record's original style and content. The first issue of the Record contained three articles, all substantial contributions written by heavyweights of the photogrammetric firmament – G. C. Brock, J. A. Eden and E. H. Thompson. They set a standard of content which successive editors strove to maintain. By the time of the 50th issue in 1977, the Record had become well established. A typical issue would carry an editorial article (some of those by Thompson were classics of their kind and are still quoted from time to time); scientific and technical articles and shorter contributions; Photogrammetry Round the World (a collection of abstracts of current periodical literature); numerous book reviews; notes; correspondence; and obituaries. Foreign language abstracts of articles were only provided in French and German. The Photogrammetric Society's Technical Committee influenced the content of the Record over many years; its tone was set from the birth of the Society with E. H. Thompson as the very first chairman of the Committee. I found it vital to be a member of the Committee while also Editor. One volume of the Record comprised six issues published over three years and concluded with an Index of the content of that volume. The cost of publication was supported by the inclusion of paid advertisements, usually running to many pages in each issue (Fig. 3). For example, the 50th issue contained 27 pages of advertisements, including five pages from Wild Heerbrugg, four pages from Zeiss (Oberkochen) and three pages from Zeiss (Jena) (reminding us of the divided Germany after the Second World War). An article published in the same 50th issue sets out some of the details which fashioned the content and appearance of the Record (Atkinson, 1977). Although there are distinct similarities with the journal of today, it is the differences which are more significant. Fig. 1 in Atkinson (1977) illustrates in graph form the numbers of published articles originating from UK authors and from foreign authors. The former dominate. That situation changed many years ago and was in part responsible for the addition, in 1998, of the subtitle An International Journal of Photogrammetry, together with the establishment of an International Editorial Board. As was pointed out at the time, Volume 15 (published in 1995–97) contained 70 articles of which 30 originated in 15 different countries outside the UK. It has now become a rarity to read articles from British authors; there were two such papers in issue 148, none in issue 149 and just one co-author from the UK in the current issue. In 1977, the Record was then one of several periodicals which catered solely for articles on photogrammetry. Other contemporary titles included Bildmessung und Luftbildwesen, Bulletin de la Société Française de Photogrammétrie, Photogrammetria, Photogrammetric Engineering, Photogrammétrie and The South African Journal of Photogrammetry. Some titles have survived and changed with the inclusion of remote sensing or geomatics content while others have fallen by the wayside. Another marked contrast lies in author employment. The same Fig. 1 (Atkinson, 1977) shows that, in the 1970s, academic authors were outnumbered by others from commercial, industrial, government and military employment. For example, issue 46 (October 1975) contained nine articles, only three of which originated in universities whereas, in March 2015, issue 149 carried six articles which all originated in academic institutions. But what was the burning photogrammetric issue of the mid-1970s? There is no doubt that the birth of the analytical plotter was most significant with the International Congress of Photogrammetry at Helsinki in 1976 (Petrie, 1977) witnessing, for the first time, the introduction or announcement of new analytical plotters from eight instrument manufacturers. Their names constitute something of a trip down memory lane. The instruments actually on display at Helsinki were the Zeiss (Oberkochen) Planicomp C 100 (Fig. 3(b)), the Ottico Meccanica Italiana (OMI) AP/C-4 and the Officine Galileo Digital Stereocartograph, while there were prototype instruments from Matra (Traster 77), Instronics (Anaplot) and Zeiss (Jena) (Stereodicomat). In this context, it is also of interest to read a Note from The Photogrammetric Record, 9(49) (page 119). "A large number of members of The Photogrammetric Society gathered in the rooms of the Linnean Society on Tuesday, 14th December, 1976 to debate the motion that this house considers that the day of the analogue instrument is over." Following details of chairman and speakers, "serious argument and good humour were equally prevalent during the debate which resulted in the defeat of the motion by a substantial majority". February 2015 As the Editor who succeeded Keith Atkinson, I was very well aware of the legacy of excellence left for me in 1999 by Keith himself and by Veronica Brown, his loyal Assistant Editor, who stayed on to help me in my early years in the post. The first issue of The Photogrammetric Record which I received whilst a student at University College London (UCL) was No. 40 (October 1972). By happy chance this contained an article (Fagan, 1972) about photogrammetry at the Ordnance Survey to which I would be posted after my year at UCL, as well as an editorial which discussed the UK's relationship with the International Society for Photogrammetry (ISP) which, as ISPRS, became a prime focus of my attention many years later. By the time of the 50th issue in 1977 The Photogrammetric Record was clearly in business for the long term and, apart from the illustrated cover of that issue, seemed destined to remain unchanging in a changing world, despite the death of E. H. Thompson and the accession of K. B. Atkinson to the Editor's chair. The Photogrammetric Society's skilfully arranged winter programme of interesting lectures provided a steady stream of worthy contributions to the Record. Once every two years a distinguished overseas speaker was invited; although these would frequently be from Europe our network of contacts and therefore of invitees extended as far as North America, Australasia and, on one occasion, Japan. The members of the Technical Committee who designed the programme and invited the speakers, and of the Editorial team who cajoled them into becoming authors working to a publication deadline, put great voluntary effort into ensuring that the process worked smoothly and efficiently. The influence of the Technical Committee on the balance of the content of the Record has perhaps been underestimated, although both Keith Atkinson and I have commented over the years on the shift in our authorship from practitioners towards a preponderance of academics and researchers. The custom of recording and transcribing the lengthy discussions which followed the presentation of every paper demanded extra effort but was thoroughly worthwhile. This reasonably continuous flow of contributions was augmented every two years (or four issues) by a large proportion of the proceedings of each of the regular series of weekend Society Symposia, held then in Birmingham University under the aegis of R. G. Bird. In 1977 this became the Thompson Memorial Symposium. The subsequent series of Thompson Symposia on April weekends continued until soon after the merger with the Remote Sensing Society, when they were subsumed into the Annual Conferences of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc). Another regular input has been the series of multi-authored papers reporting on ISP, then ISPRS, Congresses which take place every four years. Our efforts to present a truly independent analysis of these very large meetings have continued to be appreciated by readers around the world. Without extensive statistical analysis it is impossible to pin down the moment when the emphasis shifted from papers invited for presentation at Society meetings to unsolicited contributions from authors both in the UK and overseas who simply wished to publish the results of their work. Perhaps there was no specific moment, just an inexorable but gradual change. Keith Atkinson had long operated a peer review process, but this was purely informal and was based on taking advice from his private army of experts among his friends and colleagues. Along with the increasingly cutthroat world in which academics are obliged to publish in formally peer-reviewed journals in order to flourish, the shift to a global contribution base must have been one of the main factors which persuaded him to establish the International Editorial Board (IEB) in 1998, shortly before his retirement. The other momentous change in that same year was our first experiment in electronic publishing, a compact disc containing the whole of volume 15 (1995–97), instigated by Jim Chandler (who from No. 100 would also become Coordinator of the IEB and therefore of the peer review process); this CD was the true forerunner of the simultaneous online publication which we take for granted today. After the formation of RSPSoc in 2001, support for photogrammetric technical meetings was dwindling and the lecture programme became unsustainable. From early in the new century, the Record would have to rely entirely on a combination of external contributions and, a major new effort this, the collected proceedings of occasional technical symposia organised by members of our Society or friends of our journal. When I took over from Keith Atkinson immediately after the publication of his No. 94 in 1999, it was his boast, and his encouragement to me, that The Photogrammetric Record had never experienced a copy shortage and, despite the occasional vagaries of the British printing industry, had always appeared on schedule. Even in the global publishing and printing world which we now inhabit, that proud record has been maintained with very few exceptions; any occasional worries about a shortage of available copy have been replaced by the constant concern about the page budget set by our co-publishers, Wiley-Blackwell. That, however, is to anticipate the momentous change brought about in 2003: to secure the future of the Record it was decided, soon after the merger of the Photogrammetric Society with the Remote Sensing Society, to enter into a co-publishing agreement with a scientific publisher in the open market. After much investigation and negotiation, we selected Blackwell Publishing Ltd of Oxford. The hundredth issue (October 2002) became the last of the old, weighty numbers published half-yearly by the Society alone, and No. 101, March 2003, would bring in the new era of slim quarterly issues co-published by RSPSoc and Blackwell (eventually Wiley-Blackwell). Sadly No. 100 was also the last to include Veronica Brown's regular feature Photogrammetry Round the World in which, for over 25 years, she had faithfully provided abstracts from photogrammetric publications worldwide. Although in the days of easy access to the World Wide Web it could be argued that the need for this feature had become less pressing, it was a matter of regret that no volunteer came forward to continue her work. In all other respects we strove to maintain the style and content of the Record while taking advantage of the increased flexibility and immediacy offered by quarterly publication in both paper and online form. That was the future, forward from No. 101 to another milestone with the current issue, No. 150. March 2015