Carl Sprengel

thumb|right|Carl Sprengel '''Karl''' or '''Philipp Carl Sprengel''' (March 29, 1787 – April 19, 1859) was a German botanist from Schillerslage (now part of Burgdorf, Hanover).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ratzeburg |first1=Julius Theodor Christian |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.34151 |title=Die Waldverderber und ihre Feinde : ein handbuch für Forstmänner, Landwirthe, Gärtner und alle mit Waldbäumen Beschäftigte |last2=Judeich |first2=Johann Friedrich |date=1876 |publisher=Nicolaische Verlags-Buchhandlung |location=Berlin|doi=10.5962/bhl.title.34151 }}</ref>

Sprengel worked under Albrecht Thaer (1752–1828) in Celle. He then worked from 1804 to 1808 with Heinrich Einhof (1778–1808) in Möglin on agricultural studies. He travelled the world between 1810 and 1820, exploring agricultural ideas in Asia, Americas and Mesopotamia. Between 1821 and 1828, he studied natural sciences in Göttingen, where he eventually became professor. In the early 1830s, he moved to Regenwalde (Resko), where he accepted position of the Chairman of the ''Pomorskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne'' (Pomeranian Economic Society), which he held for the rest of his life. Having his financial needs satisfied, finally he could fulfil his dream and establish ''Regenwalde Akademie der Landwirtschaft'' (Academy of Agriculture in Resko),<ref>{{cite web|title=Resko: Stories of the old. The Genius of Agriculture |author=Sara Kubień |publisher=Kurier Szczeciński (online edition) |date=2012-10-26 |accessdate=2013-12-27 |page=l |url=http://www.24kurier.pl/Akcje-Kuriera/Szkolny-Pulitzer/OPOWIESC--Resko--Z-zakamarkow-naszego-domu--Genius |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228031008/http://www.24kurier.pl/Akcje-Kuriera/Szkolny-Pulitzer/OPOWIESC--Resko--Z-zakamarkow-naszego-domu--Genius |archivedate=2013-12-28 }}</ref> where he taught, studied and lived until his death in 1859.

Influenced by (one of the students at ''Regenwalde Akademie der Landwirtschaft'') Felicjan Sypniewski theories, Sprengel was the first to formulate the "theory of minimum" in agricultural chemistry, meaning that plant growth is limited by the essential nutrient at the lowest concentration.<ref>R. R. van der Ploeg, W. Böhm, M. B. Kirkham (1999) "On the origin of the theory of mineral nutrition of plants and the law of minimum", ''Soil Science Society of America Journal'' 63: 1055–1062</ref> This rule, often incorrectly attributed to Justus von Liebig as Liebig's law of the minimum, was instead only popularised later as a scientific concept by Liebig.

== Works == * 1839: ''Die Lehre vom Dünger oder Beschreibung aller bei der Landwirthschaft gebräuchlicher vegetablilischer, animalischer und mineralischer Düngermaterialien, nebst Erklärung ihrer Wirkungsart'', Leipzig * 1844: [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Q94MAAAAYAAJ Die Bodenkunde oder die Lehre von Boden, nebst einer volständigen Anleitung zur chemischen Analyse der Ackererden] via Internet Archive

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprengel, Carl Philipp}} Category:1787 births Category:1859 deaths Category:People from Hanover Region Category:19th-century German botanists Category:German agronomists Category:People from the Electorate of Hanover Category:University of Göttingen alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Category:19th-century agronomists