6:37 a.m.
Dear IUFRO colleagues
it is with great sadness we have to inform you that Prof. William (Bill) J.
Manning (born on June 13, 1941), professor emeritus at the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst, USA, passed away on March 4th, 2023 in Boston,
following a 6-month illness. He received his B.S. in Horticulture from
Michigan State University, and M.S. in Plant Pathology and Ph.D. in Biology
from University of Delaware. Bill was a widely known and well-respected
scientist who pioneered research on the impacts of air pollution on plants.
His research focused on responses of plants to ozone and how ozone and
other air pollutants affect plants growing in forest and urban
environments. He promoted use of plants as bioindicators of various air
pollutants, summarized that idea in a widely-read book “Biomonitoring of
Air Pollution with Plants”. He worked for more than 10 years in Central
and Eastern Europe surveying forests of the Carpathian Mountain for in situ
bioindicators of ambient ozone. His long-term studies on loblolly pine
(Pinus taeda), bean cultivars, and clover clones by making foliar
applications of antioxidants (ethylenediurea) helped to clarify the complex
picture of sensitivity and tolerance of plants to ozone.
For over 30 years Prof. Manning was an Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious
Environmental Pollution journal. Scientists specializing in air pollution
and climate change impacts on plant ecosystems recognize Bill’s enormous
contribution to the development of this subject. He was also an
outstanding, generous, inspiring mentor for numerous young scientists all
over the world. He welcomed Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scientists into
his laboratory, and also mentored students met at various domestic and
international conferences.
Although he was not an IUFRO officeholder, he was a very good friend of
IUFRO and actively participated in the activities of the RG 8.04 (formerly
7.01) on air pollution and climate change impacts on forest ecosystems. For
instance, he gave an invited speech on this topic at the IUFRO 125th
anniversary in 2017. When he retired, the RG8.04 established ‘The Bill
Manning Award’ for the best poster presentation at its biennial
conferences, as a recognition of Bill’s mentoring role in forestry and
environmental sciences. During his retirement Bill continued to be
scientifically very active. In 2020 he published his last book entitled
‘Trees and Global Warming: The Role of Forests in Cooling and Warming the
Atmosphere’.
Professor W. J. Manning was sincerely admired and respected by his peers
for his integrity, passion, vision and love for science. The scientific
community has lost a prominent and outstandingly creative colleague. We
mourn Bill’s loss not only as a scientist, but particularly as a gentleman
colleague of a cheerful demeanor and with an exceptional sense of humor.
His loss is immense and he will be fondly remembered by many colleagues
around the world. We will miss him as a good friend and companion of many
experiments, travels and scientific expeditions. We offer our sincerest
condolences to his wife Arlene, and sons Stephen and Michael with their
families.
Elena Paoletti and Andrzej Bytnerowicz
on behalf of IUFRO colleagues and friends
Attached is a picture of the three of us in one of many happy moments
together – at the IUFRO World Congress in South Korea in 2010 (from right
to left – Bill Manning, Elena Paoletti and Andrzej Bytnerowicz)
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*Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET)*
*National Research Council*
* (CNR) *
Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy
Tel: +393298061717
https://www.cnr.it/people/elena.paoletti
