Importance of plants

Importance of plants

Plants and plant communities (places where a variety of plants live together) are very important to humans and their environment. Here are some of the important things plants provide.

Aesthetics

Plants have great "aesthetic" value which means they add to the beauty of the places that we live. How many of us would be want to live without the plants around us, including the forests, woodlands, and grasslands surrounding our towns and cities? Native grasses and wildflowers provide use with a link to our history.



Medicine

Throughout history plants have been of great importance to medicine. Eighty percent of all medicinal drugs originate in wild plants. In fact, 25 percent of all prescriptions written annually in the United States contain chemicals from plants.



In spite of all the medical advances, only 2 percent of the world's plant species have ever been tested for their medical potential. That means there are many important drugs yet to be discovered.



Food

Although some 3,000 species of plants have been used as food by humans, 90 percent of the world's food comes from only 20 plant species. Three species of grasses--rice, wheat, and corn-are the most important food plants.



Industrial Products

Plants are also very important for the goods they provide. Fibers from plants provide clothing. Wood used to build our homes depends on plants. Some fuel products are made from plants, like ethanol made from corn and soy diesel made from soybeans.



Recreation

Plant communities form the basis for many important recreational activities, including hiking, fishing, hunting, and nature observation.



Air Quality

The oxygen in the air we breathe comes from the photosynthesis of plants. The quality of the air can be greatly influenced by plants. Plants can stop the movement of dust and pollutants. Through the intake of carbon dioxide, plants can also lessen the greenhouse effect caused from the burning of fossil fuels like coal.



Water Quality

Plants are extremely important to the quality of the water we use. A diverse cover of plants aids in maintaining healthy watersheds, streams, and lakes by holding soil in place, controlling stream flows, and filtering sediments from water.



Erosion Control

The delicate wildflowers that dot the roadsides in Iowa during the spring, summer and fall, protect the soil from erosion caused by heavy rains. Without enough plant cover, wind or water erodes the thin layer of soil that we depend on.



Climate

Regional climates are impacted by the amount and type of plant cover. Forest and marshes, for example, can cool local climates. Natural disasters, such as drought, have been blamed on the destruction of forests and other critically important plant communities.



Fish and Wildlife Habitat

Plants and plant communities provide the necessary habitat (a place to live) for wildlife and fish populations.



Ecosystem

The word "ecosystem" means the way in which humans, plants and animals all live together supporting each other. Every species serves an important role or purpose in their community.

Plants Are Our Life (Machines making oxygen)

Plants Are Our Life (Machines making oxygen)
How many plants required to keep one person alive for one hour?



1. How much oxygen does a person need in an hour?
2. How much oxygen does a plant produce in an hour?
3. Based on the above, how many plants will provide the oxygen needs of the
person for the hour?

Here is the solution to the first question: A resting, healthy adult on an
average, cool day breathes in about 53 liters of oxygen per hour. An average,
resting, health adult breathes in about 500 mL of air per breath. This is
called the normal tidal volume. Now, 150 mL of this air will go to non-
functioning areas of the lung, called the "dead space." The average breath
rate for this average person is 12 breaths per minute. So, the amount of air
breathed in by the person which is available for use is 12 x (500 mL -150 mL)
= 4,200 mL/minute. Multiply by 60 to get 252,000 mL/hour. That is, every
hour, the person will breathe in 252 L of air. Now, on an average, cool,
clear day, only 21% of that air is oxygen. So, 21% of 252 L is 53 L. So, in
an hour, the person breathes in about 53 L of oxygen.



As you might see, there is a lot of assumptions in the above reasoning:
average healthy, resting adult on an average, cool, clear day. Any change in
activity, health, size, sex, etc. of the person or the temperature, humidity,
barometric pressure, etc. of the day will change the figure we calculated.
But, let us just work with the 53 L as a nice "average."

Now, to answer the second question, how much oxygen do plants produce in an
hour. Actually, I have data for how much oxygen LEAVES produce in an hour: 5
mL. If your average plant has 30 leaves, then that would be 5 ml/leaf x 30
leaves = 150 ml/plant/hour. So, if an average person needs 53,000 ml (53 l)
of oxygen per hour, and the average plant produces 150 ml per hour, then
53,000/150 = 353 plants. Since these are round figures, let us just say that
between 300 to 400 plants are needed to produce enough oxygen to keep a person alive in an hour. Again, there are many assumptions: average leaf, average
Plant.
But if we think 300 to 400 plants are required to keep one person alive for one hour means every person has its responsibility to plant this much plants in his life.
Are we doing it? if not it is today’s need that we must ask this question to ourselves because if we want to live on earth its need. if we are not doing this we must think about our future. Plus you will need to take into accounted oxygen production decreases as carbon dioxide concentration increases Assuming this hypothetical person is in a confined space with all these plants, the CO2 concentration will rise due to the person's expiration. This will inhibit the plants photosynthetic rate.