Humboldt’sTableau Physiquerevisited

Significance Over the last decades, historical data have made significant contributions to assess the ecological effects of global warming. Alexander von Humboldt’s Tableau Physique (1807) is by far the oldest existing dataset on altitudinal ranges of tropical mountain vegetation and represents a unique data source to assess vegetation shift in response to climate change. Yet, we show here that this exercise is not straightforward, and that partnerships between historians and ecologists are needed to tease out the intermeshing and discrepancies of past and present biodiversity records. Our findings reveal a generalized misinterpretation of Humboldt’s most iconic work; provide new estimates of vegetation shifts for the tropical alpine Andes; and profoundly renew our understanding of Humboldt’s scientific thinking, methods, and modern relevance.