Leslie Holdridge
Leslie Holdridge | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leslie Rensselaer Holdridge September 29, 1907 |
| Died | June 19, 1999 (aged 91) |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | USA |
| Alma mater | H. B.S. in Forestry, University of Maine, 1931, postgrad., 1931-32 M.S. in Ecology, University of Michigan, 1946, Ph.D., 1947. |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Costa Rica Institute of Technology |
Leslie Ransselaer Holdridge (September 29, 1907 – June 19, 1999) was an American botanist and climatologist.
Career
Holdridge studied and worked at the University of Maine including as a Graduate Fellow in Botany.[1] Holdridge participated in the Cinchona Missions, a United States effort to search for natural sources of quinine during World War II.[2]
In his famous 1947 paper,[3] he defined "life zones" using three indicators:
- Mean annual biotemperature (average temperature, after data values below 0 °C or above 30 °C have been eliminated)
- Total annual precipitation
- The ratio of mean annual potential evapotranspiration to mean total annual precipitation.[3]
In 1954, Holdridge established the La Selva Biological Station for botanical experiments for the purpose of natural resource management.[4][5]
Personal life
He was the father of composer Lee Holdridge as well as the father of Leslie A. Holdridge, Lorena Holdridge, Marbella Holdridge, Marly Holdridge, Marisela Holdridge, Thania Holdridge, John Holdridge, Ida Holdridge, Reuseland Holdridge, Leythy J. Holdridge and youngest son Gregory Holdridge whom he fathered with Costa Rican Clara Luz Melendez.
See also
References
- ^ "Holdridge, Leslie R." DigitalCommons@UMaine. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
- ^ Steere, William Campbell (1945). "The Cinchona-Bark Industry of South America". The Scientific Monthly. 61 (2): 114–126. ISSN 0096-3771.
- ^ a b Holdridge, L.R. (1947). "Determination of world plant formations from simple climatic data". Science. 105 (2727): 367–8. Bibcode:1947Sci...105..367H. doi:10.1126/science.105.2727.367. PMID 17800882.
- ^ "La Selva Biological Station". Costa Rica Focus. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
- ^ Engelhaupt, Erika (2021-11-29). "A new book shows how animals are already coping with climate change". Science News. Retrieved 2025-07-04.