Herbet Sukopp, On the early history of urban ecology in Europe, Institute of Ecology, Technical University Berlin, 2002
Early investigations on the ecology of cities were in the tradition of natural history and focused on single biotopes. Of special interest were the plants and animals introduced into new areas directly or indirectly by man. In Central Europe, studies of anthropogenic plant migrations and cultural history were combined in a specific way, the so-called Thellungian paradigm. The succession of vegetation on ruins after the bombing during the Second World War was studied in many cities. Ecological studies on whole cities started in the 1970s with investigations on energy flow and nutrient cycling. Today the term urban ecology is used in two different ways: in developing programs for sustainable cities, and in investigation of living organisms in relation to their environment in towns and cities.
Herbet Sukopp is a retired Berlin ecologist who was a key figure in developing the discipline of ‘urban ecology’ in west Berlin precisely within the limits of the Berlin Wall. In his article On the early history of urban ecology in Europe [pdf], Sukopp gives an overview of the history of urban ecology in Europe particularly in relation to ruderal botany — plants which grow in places strongly ‘agitated’ by humans such as demolition sites, old agricultural fields, city pavements, walls, waysides or after war on bombed ruins. (The name for plants spread during war, on the other hand, is known as ‘polemobotany’ and was spread mainly through horse-fodder.)
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