From aceska@cue.bc.ca Mon Jun 7 22:16:07 1993 Date: Mon, 7 Jun 93 11:03:31 -0700 From: aceska@cue.bc.ca (Adolf Ceska) To: ben@cue.bc.ca Subject: BEN # 56 BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS No. 56 June 6, 1993 Address: aceska@cue.bc.ca Victoria, B.C. ---------------------------------------------------- PROF. DR. VLADIMIR J. KRAJINA Professor Vladimir Krajina died on May 31, 1993, at the age of 88, in Vancouver. Born on January 30, 1905 in Slavice near Trebic (now Czech Republic), he received his doctorate degree from Charles University in Prague in 1927. During his student days he described Pinguicula bohemica, a new species endemic to central Bohemia. In 1934 Krajina was appointed Associate Professor in Geobotany and Plant Systematics at Charles University in Prague. His habilitation work "Die Pflanzengesellschaften des Mlynica-Tales in den Vysoke Tatry .." was published in the Beihefte zum Botanischen Centralblatt in 1933 and 1934. "Though a product of a single scholar, this monograph excels in its (1) universal view of subalpine and alpine plant life, (2) balanced evaluation of both phanerogamic and cryptogamic plants, (3) year-round observations and measurements of climatic and soil factors, and (4) integrated phytosociological synthesis ... of plant com- munities in the territory under study" (Jenik, 1992). During the Second World War, universities in Bohemia and Moravia were closed and Krajina became one of the leaders of the Czech underground resistance movement. He was the first one to estab- lish radio contact with the Czech government in exile (based in England). During his underground activity he supplied the West- ern Allies with vital intelligence information. He was captured by the Nazi's in 1943 and barely escaped execution. After the war Krajina became a Full Professor at the Charles University in Prague and the Head of the Geobotany Department. He was also elected to the Czechoslovak parliament. As the General Secretary of the main opposition party he fought against the Communist Party and their intrigues. After the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in February 1948, Krajina had to flee Czechoslovakia and seek political refuge in Canada. The first note about the communist coup that was published in Time Magazine mentioned Vladimir Krajina and the note clearly il- lustrates the danger Krajina was facing: " Armed police raided and sacked headquarters of the National Socialist Party, seeking the party's secretary general, Vladimir Krajina. But Krajina, who still had parliamentary immunity, was not arrested just yet." [Time March 1, 1948] Krajina was sentenced (in absentia) to 25 years of imprisonment, and some of his close allies (most notably Dr. Milada Horakova) were executed. Dr. Krajina started to teach in the Department of Botany at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver as a Special Lec- turer in 1949, and became Assistant Professor in 1951, Associate Professor in 1954, and Full Professor in 1958. In 1973 he retired but as Professor Emeritus he continued his scientific work. Two main themes can characterize Krajina's broad and varied botanical interests in Canada: 1. botanical exploration of British Columbia, especially the study of plant communities and ecosystems, and 2. nature conservation in British Columbia. The first theme culminated in Krajina's system of biogeoclimatic zones. Krajina and his many students sampled and studied vegeta- tion and ecosystems all over British Columbia stressing the close tie between plants, soils and climate. The biogeoclimatic classification forms a framework for any regional natural his- tory study, and most importantly, a framework for improving forestry practises in British Columbia and putting forestry on a sound ecological base. In the second theme, nature conservation, Krajina combined his scientific background with political skills. Based on principles drawn by the International Biological Program, Krajina called for the practical application of conservation ideas and his effort resulted in the Ecological Reserves Act passed by the British Columbia Legislature in 1971. Using this act, a wide range of natural areas can be set aside and protected as ecological reserves. Krajina's goal was to protect at least one per cent of British Columbia's area in ecological reserves. At this moment, 134 ecological reserves have been created that protect about 160,000 ha (one third of which are marine waters). Yes, we still have a long way to go in order to fulfill Krajina's vision. In 1972 Krajina won the George Lawson Medal from the Canadian Botanical Association and in 1981 he received the Order of Canada. In 1990 Vladimir Krajina visited Czechoslovakia and was decorated with the "Order of the White Lion," the highest honour reserved for a foreign [!] citizen by the Czech government. At the same visit, Prof. Krajina was granted the "Foreign [!] Honorary Membership" in the Czech Botanical Society. One issue of the Czech Botanical Society journal Preslia was dedicated to Prof. Vladimir J. Krajina and both Krajina's biography and his botanical bibliography were published in that issue by Jan Jenik (Jenik, J. 1992. Professor Vladimir J. Krajina - Honorary Member of the Czechoslovak Botanical Society. Preslia, Praha 64:291- 311). Vladimir Krajina fought all his life to advance science and the quality of life of his fellow men and women. "We all thank him for inspiration and for setting an admirable example showing that a scientist's professional career can be linked with citizen's honourable life in which absolute values of democratic society get priority, regardless of personal risks" (Jenik, 1992). Adolf Ceska