The Importance of Plants on Planet Earth
Plants As We See Them
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Plants are all around us, renowned for their aesthetic appeal; their
colours and structures lend themselves to decoration. Plants are used
in celebrations and commiseration's and are often celebrated in their
own right- the annual Michigan potato festival being a good example.
Plants are associated with national identity. The Scottish thistle;
Irish Shamrock; Welsh leeks and daffodils. Many national flags feature
plants, the Cedar tree on the Lebanese flag, and the Maple leaf on the
Canadian flag. However all of these commendations can not begin to
celebrate the real importance of plants on planet earth. In this essay
I will explore the biological and physical importance of plants and
the issues surrounding them.
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The Real Importance
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For millions of years the chemical needs of the biosphere have run on
solar energy. Plants (along with some bacteria and green algae) are
autotrophs that have the ability to convert this solar energy into
chemical energy by a process called photosynthesis. This chemical
energy, stored in plants is the fuel that sustains life.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS: The Light Reaction.
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Photosynthesis takes place in the leaves of plants. There are two
stages; the light-dependant or light reaction and the
light-independent or dark reaction. In photosynthesis the light
reaction, for which the presence of chlorophyll (the green pigment
found in the chloroplasts) is essential, begins with the...
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...resent viewed as the big new
thing. For centuries people relied on plants and their various
properties to cure illness and maintain good health, until they were
shunned in favour of 'conventional medicine'
In Conclusion
Plants are all around us. Medicinally we are turning to plants
(again!) to provide remedies for the stresses and strains of modern
living. Plants provide income and food. Yet few of us stop to consider
their real importance. Seen mainly as decorative organisms, not often
given credit for providing oxygen and food without which there would
be no life on earth. Genetic modification would appear to be a
positive step. Plants, as wonderful as they are, need to keep up with
the times; we demand more from our flora. Providing oxygen for us to
breathe and food for us to eat simply isn't enough anymore.
Photosynthesis happens in leaves so this experiment was conducted with foliage. Foliage is just another way of saying leaves. These leaves have been group together and they also have roots in the soil. The height of the plant above the soil was about 4 inches tall. All of the plants weighed 3 oz. the five plants had differences on their leaves. Plant A had solid green leaves. Plant B was green but it was lighter in the middle of the leaf. Plant C had a red stem and there was a red thick band on the edge.
Biodiversity is the diversity of all living things: plants, animals living in a particular region or area. Many think Biodiversity is just about animals and wildlife we see every day, but a big part of it is microscopic bacteria. Biodiversity is known to many as a totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a region. There are three types of Biodiversity, genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity. Genetic diversity is the number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It is used to distinguish one animal or specie from another as they are all genetically different. Species diversity is the number of species and amount of each specie in a particular area. This can also be called Species Richness.
Kandeler R (2009). Symbolism of Plants: Examples from European-Mediterranean Culture Presented with Biology and History of Art: July: Lotus. Journal of Experimental Botany. Vol. 60, No. 9, 2461-2464.
Organisms require food resources to obtain energy for survival and reproduction. From the food that organisms consume they acquire energy needed for metabolic processes such as respiration, growth, and reproduction. Some organisms have the ability to get food resources better than others. The amount of food availability in a specific habitat is limited, therefore organisms that are not able to get the food resources most likely will go to a unfilled niche to get their food resources. Because there is no competition and there are a lot of unfilled niches, organisms that are not adapted to these niches can exploit them. Organisms that are able to adapt to these new niches, will eventually develop mutations that will help them exploit these niches and give them a big advantage over other organisms. Individual species that are able to adapt to a new environment have a higher chance of surviving because the competition is lower and more resource is available. So organism such as animals and plants rely on adaptive radiation mechanism to ensure they survive and pass on their genes to their offspring.
Even though plants produce oxygen, they produced more or less oxygen due to their placement on the tree. The experiment investigated the different CO2 intake by the Pittosporum due to how much sunlight they are able to obtain. It was to discover if placement of leaves on the tree had any affect on how the tree intakes CO2. The Pittosporum leaves were obtained from the middle, outer and inner part of the tree and then put into a chamber to collect the amount of CO2 intake. Each leaf was put into light and then dark to test how they reacted to light vs. dark. The GPP was the same in each location.The p-values for the experiment were 0.052151,0.45045, and 0.063187. The experiment suggests that the more sunlight a plant obtains the faster
In order to build a successful civilization, one will need accessible nutritious plants. For example,
Forests are important in maintaining biodiversity. Forests take a big role on the air circulation, maintaining water quality, and providing basic human needs and contribute to the culture and recreation. However, there are many problems that could make forest disappeared. The problem for many forests in the world is human. Humans are dangerous for forests because they destroyed forests in such ways as cutting down the trees that provide the ecosystem in their forest, illegal logging that using the timber for factories, farming for provide human food supply, and for agriculture as well. Furthermore, reason for most of cutting down the trees or deforestation is money. Many economists and environmentalists still have different opinions between how they can manage the forests in the future. Economists would think we have enough natural resources or forests that we can use for anything. On the other hand, environmentalists think using too much forests or natural resources for any demands or commodities will impact native animals and plants life. Animals and plants habitat will be extinct soon if we still do cutting off the trees space in the world.
The occurrence of photosynthesis is very important to us as humans, because it provides us with the oxygen we need to breathe and plants are at the bottom of every food-chain and so without them, I would collapse.
To the farmer, soil is where crops grow. To the engineer, soil is a foundation upon which to build. To the ecologist, soil supports communities of living things. To the archaeologist, soil holds clues to past cultures. To the city dweller, soil nurtures grass and gardens. To the scientist, soil is all of these things. Soil has been called “the skin of the earth” because it is the thin outermost layer of the Earth’s crust. Like our own skin, we can’t live without soil (“Story of Soil”).
Photosynthesis is a key contributor to all living things; photosynthesis provides the oxygen, food, and nutrients that help all living things stay healthy and alive. Photosynthesis converts solar energy into the chemical energy of a carbohydrate. Photosynthetic organisms, including land plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, which are called autotroph...
Tropical rainforest covers only a relatively small proportion of our planet, and yet it is considered to be one of the most significant ecosystems, and its loss through deforestation and burning is considered to be of global importance. Explain why.
Plants only need a few elements to thrive, which are water, air, nutrients, and sunlight. Sunlight is beneficial to a plant’s health because it gives off different types of UV rays that help a plant prosper. These UV rays can be either beneficial or harmful to plants. The intensity of these rays are dependent on 6 different elements: geography, altitude, time of year, time of day, weather conditions, and reflection. These components contribute to the amount of UV rays that are being absorbed by the plants. These factors vary how well a plant can grow while artificial light sources give a more controlled set of UV rays that are being transmitted to the plant. Some artificial light sources that are used are incandescent, fluorescent, LED, and
Photosynthesis is so important that, without it, there wouldn’t be life on Earth. Photosynthesis is the process in which light energy is transformed into chemical energy. During photosynthesis, the chemical energy is used to obtain organic compounds from carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide and water are the raw materials. The main energy source is the sunlight absorbed by the plant. Then oxygen and glucose are produced. This is what facilitates cellular respiration in humans. During that process, water is used and then O2 is released into the atmosphere. These organic compounds are important to plant life because it is what helps a plant grow and fully develop. Plants are photoautotrophs meaning they feed of themselves using the sun. Plants aren’t the only ones that benefit from this magnificent process. Animals benefit from this because they consume the plants and then all the molecules obtained are then converted into their own organic molecules. These organic molecules are the main energy source for the animals.
Plants play a very important part in our lives. From time immemorial, mankind has been reliant
Nowadays, government is playing a good role in tree plantation.Government has brought various schemes as follows: