Józef Konrad Paczoski was a Polish botanist, Professor at the Poznań University and a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Learning. He coined the term "phytosociology" and was one of the founders of this branch of botany. He is also known for his research on the flora of the Białowieża Forest.

Białowieża Forest is a forest on the border between Belarus and Poland. It is one of the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to 800 European bison, Europe's heaviest land animal. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme designated the Polish Biosphere Reserve Białowieża in 1976 and the Belarusian Biosphere Reserve Biełavieskaja pušča in 1993.