- US botanist,
an early pioneer in recognizing the importance of plant ecology and
conservation. Her book Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America
1950 describes the evolution of forest communities and their survival
during periods of glaciation.
Born in Cincinnati, Braun studied geology and botany at the University
of Cincinnati. She remained in academic positions at the university
until 1948, becoming professor of plant ecology in 1946. She lived
with her sister Annette Braun (1884-1978), an entomologist, and continued
research work until the end of her life, the two setting up a home
laboratory and an experimental garden.
Braun's work in ecology concentrated on the vegetation of a selected
variety of habitats in Ohio and Kentucky. An early taxonomic study
provided a detailed catalogue of the flora of the Cincinnati region,
which she then compared with that of the same region a century earlier.
This approach became very influential for analysing regional changes
in flora over a period of time.
Braun also wrote and campaigned to save natural areas and to create
nature reserves.
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