What discipline is the study of the geographical distribution of plants?

Question

Why are there forests some places, and deserts in others? What category would I look under to learn about this?

Answer 1

Very simplistically speaking, that would actually be covered by 2 main subtopics under geography - Biogeography ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogeography ) and pedology ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedology_%28soil_study%29 ).

But to fully comprehend the the study of soils and plant/life distribution, a thorough knowledge of "meteorology, climatology, ecology, biology, hydrology, geomorphology, geology and many other earth sciences and natural sciences" might be needed to fully understand the evolution of the ecosystem.

Answer 2

maybe it is under biomes

Scientists have developed the term Biome to describe areas on the earth with similar climate, plants, and animals.

There are many different kinds of plants and animals on the Earth, but only certain kinds are naturally found at any particular place. (We are not counting zoos here!) For example, cacti are found in the desert, polar bears are found in the Arctic, and elephants are found in central Africa and India. So, why don't people living in south Texas have to be on the lookout for snow leopards, or why don't kids in Minnesota have to worry about finding giant boa constrictors in their back yards? It is because these animals are not adapted to live in the average weather conditions found in Texas or Minnesota.

These average weather conditions, such as the range of temperature and rainfall that typically occur in a particular location like Minnesota, are called the climate of that location. Some climates are hot, some are cold, some are wet and some are dry. "Adapted" means that a plant or animal has inherited certain characteristics that enable it to live in one type of climate or another. For example, polar bears have a layer of fat under their skin and a heavy fur coat to help them withstand arctic cold. They would have a difficult time trying to survive in a hot climate.

Plants and animals don't live in isolation, but they live together with other plants and animals in an interdependent group called an ecological community. If you think about it for a moment, you will realize that all of the plants and animals in a particular ecological community must be adapted to the same climate so that they can all live in the same location.

Answer 3

A specialized form of botany.

Answer 4

That may fall under horticulture