Concept in Definition ABC

Botany is a discipline natural sciences and focuses on the study of organisms vegetables. With the prefix geo, which means land, we form the concept of geobotany, a specific area of botany whose objective is the knowledge of plant species in a natural habitat determined.

As an area of ​​knowledge, some scientists consider geobotany to be an independent science, while others understand that it is a specific branch of botany.

Main study topics

- Preparation of vegetation maps in a territory or mapping of the vegetal mantle.

- Relationship between species and their environment.

- Structure and anatomy of the vegetation, as well as its classification.

- The study of plants in the territories is carried out in a hierarchical way, from the individual to the general (individual, population, species, community, landscape and biogeographic units).

Applications of geobotany and its different areas

This area of ​​knowledge has close relationships with other disciplines, such as ecology, climatology, soil science or agronomy. On the other hand, the data obtained provide relevant information for the study of the

meteorology or for the pharmaceutical sector. From an educational point of view, it makes it possible to relate the plant world with the geographical reality of the territories. Do not forget that the natural environment must also be managed and for this there are already so-called geobotanical reserves.

In geobotany investigations, the reasons for the distribution of species are analyzed plants and soil properties (this knowledge is called chorology and areography respectively). At the same time, researchers in this discipline carry out analyzes on the historical reasons associated with the evolution of plant species (paleogeography). The study of the adaptation to the environment of each plant species is phytoecology.

The study of botany presents very different perspectives

Apart from the relationships between plants and their geographic environment, botany requires taxonomic studies to order the plant with scientific criteria. diversity of species. There are botanists who focus their research on fossil remains and this knowledge is known as paleobotany. In applied botany, the interaction of plants with ecosystems is established. In short, the knowledge of plants encompasses multiple areas and sub-areas.

The history of botany as a science dates back to the 13th century BC. C

The Greek Theophrastus, who studied at Plato's Academy and was a close collaborator of Aristotle, is considered the first researcher to focus on the knowledge of plants.

Photos: Fotolia - Galyna Andrushko / VVVita

Topics in Geobotany