{{More footnotes|date=December 2021}} The '''International Biological Program''' ('''IBP''') was an effort between 1964 and 1974 to coordinate large-scale ecological and environmental studies. Organized in the wake of the successful [[International Geophysical Year]] (IGY) of 1957–1958, the International Biological Program was an attempt to apply the methods of [[big science]] to [[ecosystem ecology]] and pressing environmental issues.
The IBP was organized under the leadership of [[C. H. Waddington]] beginning in 1962 and officially started in 1964, with the goal of exploring "The Biological Basis of Productivity and Human Welfare". In its early years, Canadian and European ecologists were the main participants; by 1968, the United States also became heavily involved. However, unlike other more successful applications of the big science model of scientific research, the IBP lacked a clear, socially and scientifically pressing goal. Many biologists, particularly [[molecular biology|molecular biologists]] and [[evolutionary ecology|evolutionary ecologists]], were sharply critical of the IBP, which they viewed as throwing money at ill-defined or relatively unimportant problems and reducing the freedom of scientists to choose their own research projects.<ref>Hagen, ''An Entangled Bank'', pp. 164-172</ref>
The main results of the IBP were five [[biome]] studies, the largest of which were the [[Grassland Biome]] project and the [[Eastern Deciduous Forest Biome]] project (both of which had ties to [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]], which provided [[isotopic tracer|tracer isotopes]] for nutrient- and energy-flow experiments). Though the impact of these studies was modest, the IBP marked a dramatic increase in the scale of funding for ecosystem ecology, which remained high (relative to earlier levels) even after the conclusion of the program in June 1974. Far more influential than any of the IBP biome studies was contemporary [[Hubbard Brook]] ecosystem study of 1963–1968, which—lacking the hierarchical organization of IBP projects—grew gradually according to individual scientists' interest and involved more informal collaboration.<ref>Hagen, ''An Entangled Bank'', pp. 175-186</ref>
One of the most influential IBP projects in Europe was the [[Solling Project]] in [[Lower Saxony]] (Germany), led by [[Heinz Ellenberg]]. Evidence from here proved decisive in the 1980s to track down [[acid rain]] as a major cause of [[forest decline]].
In tropical areas, the LAMTO project held by French professor {{ill|Maxime Lamotte|fr}} in Ivory Coast provided a thorough analysis of the savannah energy budget and a profound knowledge of almost all biodiversity present in this savannah.
==See also== * Human Adaptability * [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] *[[United States Marine Mammal Program]]
==Notes== {{reflist|2}}
==References== *Hagen, Joel B. ''An Entangled Bank: The Origins of Ecosystem Ecology''. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1992. *{{ill|Maxime Lamotte|lt=Lamotte, Maxime|fr}} "The Structure and Function of a Tropical Savannah Ecosystem". In : ''[https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783642885358 Tropical Ecological Systems: Trends in Terrestrial and Aquatic Research]''. Ed. F. Golley, New York, Springer, {{ISBN|978-3-642-88535-8}}, (1975). *''International Biological Programme Synthesis Series Vols 1-24'', [http://www.cambridge.org/de/knowledge/series/series_display/item3937509/?site_locale=de_DE recently republished]
==External links== * [http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/history/archives/collections/ibp-1964-1974-1.html The International Biological Program (IBP), 1964-1974] - Description of the IBP in The National Academies online archives
[[Category:History of Earth science]] [[Category:History of biology]] [[Category:1974 disestablishments]] [[Category:Research projects]] [[Category:Projects established in 1964]]