探讨了植物生理生态学的起源及其发展问题。植物生理生态学是植物生态学的一个分支，它主要是用生理的观点和方法来分析生态学现象。从现有的资料看，该门学科的创始人当为德国学者辛泊尔(A. F. W. Schimper)；但近代最早建议将植物生理生态学作为独立的学科的为比林斯(W. D. Billings)；拉夏埃尔(W. Larcher)为该门学科在国际上的传播起到了非常重要的作用。在中国，近代植物生理生态学的发展应归功于李继侗先生；然而，李博先生对拉夏埃尔《植物生理生态学》的翻译出版促进了该门学科在中国的传播。植物生理生态学目前在国内外发展十分迅速，由于它能够对一些生态学现象以及资源的可持续利用给以机理上的解释，因此越来越受到研究者的重视。
The origin and development of ecological plant physiology is discussed. An important subject of plant ecology, ecological plant physiology probes the mechanisms of an ecological phenomenon through physiological theory and technology. According to the available historical information, A. F. W. Schimper, a German sophist, can be regarded as the father of this subject. However, the person who suggested that ecological plant physiology be treated as an independent field of ecology was W. D. Billings. Professor W. Larcher has contributed greatly to the promulgation of the subject throughout the world. In China, the modern development of ecological plant physiology was due to Professor T. T. Li. However, the translation and promulgation of Larcher‘s works was done by Professor B. Li, who popularized this subject in the ecological field of China. Nowadays, the study of ecological plant physiology has expanded rapidly both overseas and in China, largely owing to the fact that it can explain ecological processes on the basis of eco-physiological mechanisms and help guide the sustainable use of natural resources. For Chinese researchers, hot topics such as the response of plants to environmental stresses that grow on the Tibetan Plateau, the response of plants to CO2 enriched environments, and plant responses to restoration efforts of human degraded ecosystems should be of particular interest.