States and transitions: The trajectory of an idea, 1970-2010

State-and-transition language for ecosystem dynamics was articulated in a 1989 paper written by Imanuel Noy-Meir in collaboration with Westoby and Walker. That paper has been surprisingly influential considering that the publication it appeared in, Journal of Range Management, serves a relatively small community of researchers. Here we trace the wider history within which the paper sits, both the context that led up to its being written and its influence subsequently. Our aim is to explain Noy-Meir's distinctive and constructive role, at several points in the history.