All plant ecology papers published in the Proceedings from 1887 to 1973 were identified. On the average only 1.4 papers were published per year. An examination of the number of papers published in successive five-year intervals indicates that there were three distinct periods in the history of plant ecology in Iowa with three individuals dominating each period: 1887-1931 - L. H. Pammel, B. Shimek, and Ada Hayden; 1932-1951 - H. S. Conard, J. M. Aikman, and Ada Hayden; 1952-1971 - J. M. Aikman, R. F. Thorne, and R. Q. Landers. There have been very few active plant ecologists in Iowa, and more than 50 percent of all the papers published in the Proceedings were authored or co-authored by only 10 people. All the papers identified are also classified according to subject matter
