Botanists are scientists who study plants and their relationships with the environment and other forms of life. They can also be called plant scientists, plant biologists, or phytologists. Botanists have a broad range of career and study opportunities available to them because the field is so vast. Some of the things that botanists do include:
- Plant ecology: Studying how plants relate to their living and non-living environment.
- Field research and monitoring: Collecting data on plants and other living and non-living aspects of the environment. This can include identifying plants in the field or collected from the field, conducting vegetation surveys, habitat assessments, and/or monitoring, carrying out inventories for threatened, rare, and special-status species, mapping in the field, recording, inputting, analyzing, and/or summarizing field data, and coordinating with landowners.
- Studying plant structure: Some botanists study the structure of plants. They may work in the field, concentrating on the pattern of the whole plant. Others use microscopes to study the most detailed fine structure of individual cells.
- Conducting experiments: Many botanists do experiments to determine how plants convert simple chemical compounds into more complex chemicals. They may even study how genetic information in DNA controls plant development.
- Conservation: Botanists use their knowledge to help manage parks, forests, rangelands, and wilderness areas. They also work to save endangered plant species.
- Teaching and research: Some botanists work as teachers or researchers at colleges and universities.
- Working in botanical gardens, zoos, or greenhouses: Botanists can also be hired by science labs, medicine companies, or government agencies.
To become a botanist, one typically needs a bachelors degree in botany, biology, or a related field. More employment and advancement opportunities are available with a masters or doctorate degree. Field experience may also be required.
