Nostalgic View into the Future

When I returned to civilization from many weeks of heavy ecophysiological field work in the tropics at the Caribbean coast of Venezuela on 10 April 1986, a letter from the president of the German Botanical Society, Wilhelm Nultsch, was waiting for me, asking if I would be willing to take over as Editor-in-Chief of the Society's new journal BOTANICA ACTA. My situation was relaxed and with a given affinity, which I always had to the printed word, I wrote to Wilhelm Nultsch on the same day that I accepted.

In the following most satisfying years I served for 11 volumes of BOTANICA ACTA and 4 volumes of PLANT BIOLOGY as Editor-in-Chief. The many problems that came up again and again always were challenging and could be solved eventually. A most critical moment arose when we were sitting together on the evening of 27 August 1996 with some wonderful wine at a “Thieme-night”, where we were the guests of Dr. Günther Hauff and his wife Margrit Hauff-Tischendorf. Kees Blom, the then president of the Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands, to whom we already had cordial relations, suddenly suggested to amalgamate the two journals ACTA BOTANICA NEERLANDICA and BOTANICA ACTA. The idea fascinated. Sober considerations after the happiness of the wine-drinking showed that this would much help managing financial problems. This was an essential side effect. However, above all it was important to strengthen the dedication of both societies, the German Botanical Society and the Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands, to the field of plant biology as a whole and to demonstrate that this can be depicted in a journal. In our age of growing specialization our two societies possibly remained the only ones committed to the entire area of plant biology.

Naturally, we hoped for success. Thanks to the many active Section Editors of our international editorial board the journal is running very well. However, success needs to be quantified. This is done by the “impact factor”. Authors, editors, publishers, administrators, finance departments and politics of science consider it of utmost importance. Most attentively over each year all are waiting for the new numbers. It appears that contents are barely of interest anymore, what really counts is where and with which impact factor a study is published. You can easily imagine that a given paper without having been read is considered of quite different value depending on whether it is said that is was published in a journal of either a high or a low impact factor. Measured quantity does not count the exchange of ideas between few and does not weigh the intellectual pleasure of the lonely reader. He, however, may be critical about the unit of quantity.

The first impact factor which the new journal PLANT BIOLOGY could have was at the end of 2000 at 1.215. This was not discouraging after only two years, inasmuch as we already left well established traditional journals behind us. After the third year, at the end of 2001, it now is 1.828. We are happy about that. We hope for further increase, and the editorial team shall work hard on that. Naturally, impact factors always fluctuate and may go down again. Since we consider them critically, we then should not be too sorry. However, while obviously moving ahead, we can be in good spirits. We demonstrate, that the devotion to the whole area of plant biology of our two societies in their journal PLANT BIOLOGY has a promising future. We need the best papers from all subfields of plant biology as covered by the peers of our editorial board. Then we can further develop originality vis à vis specialization.

At the end of this year I shall retire as Editor-in-Chief. This has become a good timing, now as PLANT BIOLOGY is on such a promising track. One always should say farewell when things are most pleasant. This saves the best memories. The change in leadership of the journal can go smoothly and without any ado. My Co-Editor for many years, Heinz Rennenberg, is ready to take over and Birgit Piechulla will be the new Co-Editor. This even strengthens the covering of PLANT BIOLOGY in breadth since the professional areas of Heinz Rennenberg and Birgit Piechulla are more distant than it was so far between myself and Heinz Rennenberg.

My greatest thanks are due to the presidents of the German Botanical Society, Wilhelm Nultsch and Erwin Beck, the treasurers Adolf Kuhl and Hans Peter Haschke, my Co-Editors Eberhard Schnepf and Heinz Rennenberg, my secretary Renate Filip, Thieme-publishers, especially Günther Hauff, who had to pass away so early, and Margrit Hauff-Tischendorf; and finally but most heartily the friends in the Netherlands, above all the Dutch Editor-in-Chief Rens Voesenek. It is the greatest reward if shared work and cooperation leads to personal friendship. In this vein, our partnership between German and Dutch plant biologists for me is an experience of great affection.

Delivered at the Congress of the German Botanical Society, Freiburg im Breisgau, September 2002

Ulrich Lüttge