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Obituary – Peter Volz 1903–2002
Pedobiologia 47, 301, 2003 © Urban & Fischer Verlag http://www.urbanfischer.de/journals/pedo
Obituary Peter Volz 1903–2002
On March 5th. 2002 Dr. Peter Volz died at nearly 100 years of age. Unfortunately his death went barely noticed by the international soil zoology community. This, despite the fact that Peter Volz was an universally trained soil zoologist and a pioneer an in the classification of soil animal communities. In the period from 1948 to 1981 he published a number of fundamental papers in which he characterized soils by their inhabitants. His exceptionally detailed knowledge of soils and soil invertebrates led him to an integrated view of the below-ground system. He adopted the species view and by using the “physiognomic method”, had a community perspective with respect to soils. Furthermore, Peter Volz published on a wide range of taxonomic groups including thecamoebae, collembolans, dipterans, spiders and earthworms. Peter Volz was born in Breslau (Wroctaw) on June 15th. 1903. His interest in science was strongly influenced by his father, who was a professor of geography in Breslau and Erlangen. Peter Volz studied zoology, botany, geography and chemistry in Breslau, Marburg and especially Leipzig, where he did his PhD on soil thecamoebae. Conditions during the “Drittes Reich” prevented him to continue his university career. He predominantly worked in the chemical industry and in the field of marine biology, but also abroad to some extent. After World War II he held a position as a grammar school teacher in Landau (Pfalz), at which time he also followed up his soil zoological studies commenced in Leipzig 1927. Through pure dedication he conducted many studies in his apartment-turned-laboratory – all without any assistance. Although Peter Volz was generally unassuming and reserved, he stood up resolutely against criticism of his “system of soil animal communities” that predominated internationally at that time. Thanks to this dedication and conviction, we respect Peter Volz today as an inaugurator of the research on biological soil-classification. For a list of publications of Peter Volz see carolinea 60 (2002): 175–180. Wolfram Dunger, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz Ludig Beck, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe November 2002
0031-4056/03/47/04–301 $15.00/0
Obituary Peter Volz 1903–2002
On March 5th. 2002 Dr. Peter Volz died at nearly 100 years of age. Unfortunately his death went barely noticed by the international soil zoology community. This, despite the fact that Peter Volz was an universally trained soil zoologist and a pioneer an in the classification of soil animal communities. In the period from 1948 to 1981 he published a number of fundamental papers in which he characterized soils by their inhabitants. His exceptionally detailed knowledge of soils and soil invertebrates led him to an integrated view of the below-ground system. He adopted the species view and by using the “physiognomic method”, had a community perspective with respect to soils. Furthermore, Peter Volz published on a wide range of taxonomic groups including thecamoebae, collembolans, dipterans, spiders and earthworms. Peter Volz was born in Breslau (Wroctaw) on June 15th. 1903. His interest in science was strongly influenced by his father, who was a professor of geography in Breslau and Erlangen. Peter Volz studied zoology, botany, geography and chemistry in Breslau, Marburg and especially Leipzig, where he did his PhD on soil thecamoebae. Conditions during the “Drittes Reich” prevented him to continue his university career. He predominantly worked in the chemical industry and in the field of marine biology, but also abroad to some extent. After World War II he held a position as a grammar school teacher in Landau (Pfalz), at which time he also followed up his soil zoological studies commenced in Leipzig 1927. Through pure dedication he conducted many studies in his apartment-turned-laboratory – all without any assistance. Although Peter Volz was generally unassuming and reserved, he stood up resolutely against criticism of his “system of soil animal communities” that predominated internationally at that time. Thanks to this dedication and conviction, we respect Peter Volz today as an inaugurator of the research on biological soil-classification. For a list of publications of Peter Volz see carolinea 60 (2002): 175–180. Wolfram Dunger, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz Ludig Beck, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe November 2002
0031-4056/03/47/04–301 $15.00/0