Plants
In every part of our lives and our ecosystems, urban and natural, plants fulfill a crucial role. The category “plant” is so wide, there are only a few characteristics that apply to all of them. Many of us know that plants photosynthesize, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen as well as a few other products. They are multi-cellular, living organisms that contain chloroplast, giving them the familiar green color, allowing them to undergo photosynthesis. Plants assist with much more, both in natural settings and for humans as well.
People have cultivated plants for thousands of years for an even larger number of uses. Plants have been used for food, found in the wild (berries found by gatherers in early human history), grown as specific products for consumption (fruits and vegetables), and even to feed to animals and raise them as food; tea and coffee both come from plant products; some are used just to assist in cooking, especially herbs and spices, oils, and decorating foods. Medicine also has an intertwined history with plants: some of the first remedies and pain relievers were plant products, either through consumption or applying to the affected area; medicine has evolved to a much more complex industry, but plants still have a lot of influence in that area.
Today, the main direct exposure people have to plant products aside from food is through aesthetic and structural means. The wood used to build houses comes from trees, sometimes even building in or around trees. We decorate our homes with plants, send flowers to family and friends that are sick, and visit gardens and parks as an avenue to connect with nature.
Plants play several other vital roles in nature, though. For example, some plants help filter water that is heading toward our rivers and lakes. When it rains in urban areas, pollutants that build up in streets are flushed out, following the water down to the watershed. Normally, these pollutants would have negative effects on the ecosystem there, harming fish and maybe even creating a “dead zone” (no oxygen) in the water. However, plants that are in the way filter those out, absorbing them and keeping them from the water. This is often harmful for the plants, but it is relatively few plants that absorb the majority of the pollutants, overall helping the ecosystem.
Along with acting as a filter, plants help preserve the structure of an ecosystem in several ways. Trees and other larger plants absorb the initial impact of rainfall which may normally break up and erode soil. Grasses and smaller plants keep soil from eroding due to gravity or the impact of animals walking around.
We also see plants providing habitat for a variety of creatures. A tree can house some birds, insects, and small and medium sized wildlife. Even after it falls, the tree can still act as a structure for some of the same creatures, but can also be used by some larger animals or fish depending on where and how it falls.
People have cultivated plants for thousands of years for an even larger number of uses. Plants have been used for food, found in the wild (berries found by gatherers in early human history), grown as specific products for consumption (fruits and vegetables), and even to feed to animals and raise them as food; tea and coffee both come from plant products; some are used just to assist in cooking, especially herbs and spices, oils, and decorating foods. Medicine also has an intertwined history with plants: some of the first remedies and pain relievers were plant products, either through consumption or applying to the affected area; medicine has evolved to a much more complex industry, but plants still have a lot of influence in that area.
Today, the main direct exposure people have to plant products aside from food is through aesthetic and structural means. The wood used to build houses comes from trees, sometimes even building in or around trees. We decorate our homes with plants, send flowers to family and friends that are sick, and visit gardens and parks as an avenue to connect with nature.
Plants play several other vital roles in nature, though. For example, some plants help filter water that is heading toward our rivers and lakes. When it rains in urban areas, pollutants that build up in streets are flushed out, following the water down to the watershed. Normally, these pollutants would have negative effects on the ecosystem there, harming fish and maybe even creating a “dead zone” (no oxygen) in the water. However, plants that are in the way filter those out, absorbing them and keeping them from the water. This is often harmful for the plants, but it is relatively few plants that absorb the majority of the pollutants, overall helping the ecosystem.
Along with acting as a filter, plants help preserve the structure of an ecosystem in several ways. Trees and other larger plants absorb the initial impact of rainfall which may normally break up and erode soil. Grasses and smaller plants keep soil from eroding due to gravity or the impact of animals walking around.
We also see plants providing habitat for a variety of creatures. A tree can house some birds, insects, and small and medium sized wildlife. Even after it falls, the tree can still act as a structure for some of the same creatures, but can also be used by some larger animals or fish depending on where and how it falls.