Natural history

Natural history is a field of inquiry that studies organisms in their natural environment, including animals, fungi, and plants, with an emphasis on observational rather than experimental methods of investigation. A naturalist or natural historian is a person who is interested in the study of natural history.

However, natural history does not just include scientific study; it is not restricted to it. A systematic study of any category of natural objects or organisms is included in this field of study. As a result, while natural history can trace its origins back to studies in the ancient Greco-Roman world and the mediaeval Arabic world, as well as European Renaissance naturalists working in relative isolation, today's natural history is a cross-disciplinary umbrella that encompasses many specialty sciences; for example, geobiology is highly multidisciplinary in nature.