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§ The system of biological sciences | 17 and the continuous interrelations, of the two groups of organisms, plants and animals. Plant sociology, as well as zoocoenology, includes a series of sub-fields of research. These are: synphysiology, the physiological links of the groups of organisms, and, based on these relationships; syngenetics, the formation and developmental history of associations; and synmorphology, the structure, composition, and organisation. On this basis, syntaxonomy represents the system of associational categories. Given this understanding, synchorology deals with the distribution of these associations and, finally, synchronology examines the history of the associations. In the system presented, we followed Dudich (1938), except that synecology is missing; synecology is removed from its subordinate position and, due to being the “problem” discipline of these relationships, is now placed above all other branches of synbiology (see Plate I). We were forced to do this because, according to our vision, the first fundamental question we meet when identifying an association is a synecological one. Whilst we can study either morphological, or material aspects, it is unavoidable that we start our work with an a priori synecological view; because all coexistence is a synecological problem, and we can only establish the categorical rank of the unity from the realised morphological and material realities. As soon as we consider the semaphoront as the basis of a community that, by necessity, belongs to a given community, we unavoidably meet the united reality of the plant cover + animal community (the animal “fillers”; “Tierfuellung”, Schwenke, 1953).
