Abstract:
Biogeography is a major branch of geography, often considered a subdivision
of physical geography. This paper is a qualitative review of the
historical perspective of its development.
Although there is no conspicuous beginning to this subject it is clear that
ideas pertaining to the geography of biota have a history running back to
the pre-Christina era. This paper identifies five periods in the history of
emergence of biogeography; early historic period, classical period, late
modern to early modern period, modern period and the beginning of the
21" century.
In the earliest days the subject was not a distinct discipline, but had
gradually acquired a natural history tradition with accumulating
knowledge on the distribution of plants and animals. It was with the great
conditions of Alexander von Humboldt that biogeography became a clear
branch of geography. Since then, it grew based on evolutionary and
ecological theories.
Since the late-middle of the 20111 century, biogeography became prominent
within the main discipline of geography due advancements in geosciences
and the growing environmental awareness.
At the onset of the 21" century is has become a subject of immense breadth
and remains a strong branch of geography, ecology and earth sciences in
the developed countries. Although currently it is a minor sub-division of
geography in Sri Lanka, a growth in the subject can be expected in the
forthcom ing years due to the revival of geography in the curricula.
