Its focal areas are:

(a) comparative vegetation studies,
(b) patterns and processes in vegetation,
(c) links between systematics and vegetation science,
(d) experimental taxonomy.

The journal publishes both observational and experimental papers; papers are required to adopt the comparative approach. Even long papers are considered, provided they contain monographical treatment difficult to publish elsewhere. It also regularly publishes reviews of books in botany and plant ecology.

Folia Geobotanica was founded (under the name Folia Geobotanica & Phytotaxonomica) in 1966 by Slavomil Hejny and Jaroslav Moravec, then at the Botanical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Science. It has rapidly found its place in the world of botany and vegetation science and was particularly attractive to vegetation scientists working in badly known regions such as Central Asia and Southern America. Its international editorial board and developed review procedure guarantees high quality of the papers published. The journal is included in Current Contents and Science Citation Index of the Institute of Scientific Information.

Folia Geobotanica also publishes Special Features on topical issues in plant ecology and systematics; usually making up the proceedings of international conferences. They also appear in the OPULUS PRESS series Special Features in Vegetation Science and Special Features in Biosystematics and Biodiversity.