Physical geography on the methodological fence: David Stoddart (1965) Geography and the ecological approach: The ecosystem as a geographic principle and method. Geography 50: 242–251

Abstract

The concept and use of ‘systems’ in geography has had a difficult history. While it is considered to be at the core of physical geography, systems thinking has never united the discipline. Stoddart’s (1965) exhortation reveals some of the reasons for both the allegiance to the concept and the difficulties in putting it into practice. In 1965 the fissures in geography separated the spatial from the chorological tradition and both from that of human-environment; Stoddart attempted to identify a methodology, with a clear role for physical geography, that could address such divisions. Stoddart’s thinking illustrates why it is so difficult for any single methodology to cover geography’s concerns. Moreover, it represents a particular moment in the history of geography that helps us understand the current position of physical geography in the discipline.