The Versatility and Adaptation of Plants for Survival
In many ways, plants are far more versatile and successful to life on earth than animals and have been here for far longer. They were the first to colonise this planet and without them we would not exist, for we are totally dependent on them. Even today with all our technology they continue to amaze us with their ability to inhabit places we humans could not survive, from the frozen Antarctic to the intensity of a volcanic spring, plants utilise their environments to their own advantage and evolve to survive the harshest of landscapes.
A plant needs four basic things to survive, water, warmth, light and minerals and any place that can provide even a little of these essential needs, will be colonised by plants. The most important environmental factors to which plants must adapt themselves to are, water availability, temperature change, light, and soil conditions. For any species, each of these factors has a small or large value, and species that have adapted to extreme environments have undergone changes to adapt to their particular and often narrow ecological conditions. It’s survival of the fittest and the plants that I shall discuss first in this essay, respond to their environment so well that they can live in a part of the world that denies them almost all of their four basic needs, the Antarctic.
The immense Antarctic ice-cap holds three-quarters of the world’s freshwater, this may seem ideal as plants need water, but plants can only use water in liquid form, and the frozen surfaces of the South Pole are inaccessible to them. Light is also a hard commodity to find here as the sun, even in summer never rises high in the sky, and in the autumn it sinks unt...
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...hem, for they are the main factor in maintaining the balance of gases in earth’s atmosphere and they produce the majority of the oxygen we breath.
Plants have colonised almost the earth’s entire surface; in fact only about 6% of the earth has no vegetation cover. They exist in the most extreme temperatures and survive and evolve in the strangest of environments. Yet they have one adversary, man who poses a greater threat than any other living thing. In a relatively short period of time man has plundered the earth, leaving about 10% of the flowering plants close to extinction. We must begin to realise that this action threatens our fragile ecosystem that we ultimately depend on. It is time for us to cherish our green friends and instead of destroying them, start to feel privileged to co-inhabit this planet with them, for without them we will certainly perish.
Many variations and species of plants can be found all around the world and in different habitats. These variations and characteristics are due to their adaptations to the natural habitat surrounding them. In three of many climatic zones, the arid, tropical and temperate zone, plants that vary greatly from each other are found in these locations. In this experiment, we’ll be observing the connection between the adaptations of the plants to their environment at the Fullerton Arboretum. The arboretum is a space containing numerous plants from different environments. The plants are carefully looked after and organized into their specific habitat. Therefore, we’ll be able to take a look at the plants within multiple
Plants in the Taiga are important because the majority of the land is dense conifers. In the Taiga there are acres sometimes miles of the exact species of plant. Plants adapt to the climate so not all plants can thrive or survive so there is not a huge variety of plants. Spruce, fir and hemlock are the most abundant trees in the Taiga and some deciduous trees include poplar, birch and aspen. Evergreens have special adaptations in their shape that help support them when it snows. Tamaracks are one of a few trees other than evergreens that do lose their leaves and lives in the Taiga.
As a result of these factors, the flora has adapted to these conditions in a variety of ways including their shape, leaf type, root system, and color. One of the most prominent adapt...
things that we cannot. As mostly everyone knows, plants make oxygen. Now, that may not seem like such a big thing, but it is that oxygen that keeps us alive. Because of that, I would say that what plants do is pretty amazing. We are not biologically the same as animals and plants, but that does not mean we are better. We should not think that they are inferior to us because of our intelligence, or neglect them because of it. In Peter Singer’s essay “Not for Humans Only: The Place of Nonhumans in Environmental Issues from Environmental Ethics,” he writes, “That one being is more intelligent than another does not entitle him to enslave, exploit or disregard the interests of the less intelligent being,” (57). Our intelligence is the reason that
Global warming has taken planet earth by storm. Over 1 million animal species have gone extinct, and many more are predicted to follow. In the past century, temperatures have increased 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit due to humans’ high outpouring of greenhouse gases. This change has resulted in rising sea levels, which leads to habitat loss and climate change. This affects not only animals, but human beings, as well. If we don’t start an effort to save this plant, who knows how long it will last. Earth is a Marvelous place that’s a privilege to call home; it’s about time we start treating it that way.
to sustain life. If the occurrence of any of these gases in the atmosphere is increased, the
Each plant species has a unique pattern of resource allocation that is genetically determined but not fixed. Plants can adjust there allocation pattern when they experience different environments and the presence of other species. Phenotypic plasticity goes hand in hand with resource allocation as well. When a plant has to adjust itʻs resource allocation, sometimes it uses itʻs resources to help the plant grow different characteristic so that the plant can have a greater chance of living in the environment. For example, if a plant from an environment that does not experience wind on the regular basis enters a new environment that has a lot of wind the plant may change itʻs resource allocation and spend more of itʻs resources growing deeper
Plants also had to adapt on the surface in order to survive the climate change of moving onto land. The changes made to the surface of plants are most closely observed by their formation of a cuticular wax. This waxy cuticle is impermeable to water and acts as a method of controlling plant’s water intake. It can be made thinner or thicker depending on the plant’s needs and the environment at the time, changing in response to droughts or excessive amounts of rain.
The tundra is known for its’ cold temperatures, but also its’ limited plant species. The growth of the vegetation is primarily low to the ground and the biomass of plants is concentrated in the roots. Here the plants reproduce more likely by division and building than by flower pollination. Some of that growthforms that you will find in the tundra include tussock, mats or cushion plants, rosettes, and dwarf shru...
In the lab exercise regarding plant structure and function, we examined slides containing the different kinds of roots (monocot, dicot). We labeled the parts and pointed out the different roles of each in the plant structure. Also, we examined monocot stems and dicot stems in order to familiarize ourselves with its external and internal structures. We sketched and labeled the parts of the stem and looked closely at the positions of each part. In the last part of the lab, we classified leaves into different kinds according to their leaf venation, bases of leaves, and apices of leaves. As an additional exercise, we sketched 20 animals and classified them according to phylum and class. We were also able to discover the scientific and common names of the animals. Overall, the exercises we did enabled us to familiarize ourselves with plant structure thus, gaining a better understanding for plant life and its importance.
According to World WildLife Fund, many ecosystems around the world are being destroyed, eliminating many plant and animal species that inhabit them (“Pollution”).
Killing plants without thinking that they are his coat, his food and medicine. Man does not have the slightest appreciation and consideration about the other living beings. Some people made their living by destroying and annihilating our environment. Man bombards the earth and all living things that come cross him with a destructive force. We could make a list of all things that man has destroyed or that had attempt to destroy in his time on earth and each generation has done the same, as if it were the last to come to exist. Such is the destructive urge of man alike trying to destroy his past, the historical past and the assets of mankind. Nowadays they are organization that are fighting to protect the environment and to stop the advance of civilization. The preserve of the environment should be a convergence of cultures, where all united fight to protect the planet. It is a shame but we are far from this to become a real fact. There are some many unconscious people that only consider the human life as the only worthy life to preserve; without thinking that life goes to all living organisms. We are just one among billions of species and life forms. To humans, it took millions of years to become the dominant specie. Man is risking their own survival if the accelerated destruction of the
In many parts of the world, ecosystems’ temperatures begin to rise and fall to extreme levels making it very difficult for animals and plants to adapt in time to survive. Climate has never been stable here on Earth. Climate is an important environmental influence on ecosystems. Climate changes the impacts of climate change, and affects ecosystems in a variety of ways. For instance, warming could force species to migrate to higher latitudes or higher elevations where temperatures are more conducive to their survival. Similarly, as sea level rises, saltwater intrusion into a freshwater sys...
The world today is vastly different from what it was before urbanisation and industrialisation had taken its toll on the world. Since the turn of the new millennium the issue of the environment has suddenly evolved into a widespread issue which is greatly discussed throughout the world. No longer are humans living in a world where the environment is serene or stable but much rather becoming unrecognisable and diminishing before our eyes. The plants, trees and flowers are life forms which God has created for us to enjoy its beauty but it is now solely up to us and many other organisations to protect preserve and respect how fragile our environment really is.
The branch of science that deals with how living things, including humans, are related to their surroundings is called ecology . The Earth supports some 5 million species of plants, animals, and microorganisms. These interact and influence their surroundings, forming a vast network of interrelated environmental systems called ecosystems. The arctic tundra is an ecosystem and so is a Brazilian rain forest. The islands of Hawaii are a relatively isolated ecosystem. If left undisturbed, natural environmental systems tend to achieve balance or stability among the various species of plants and animals. Complex ecosystems are able to compensate for changes caused by weather or intrusions from migrating animals and are therefore usually said to be more stable than simple ecosystems. A field of corn has only one dominant species, the corn plant, and is a very simple ecosystem. It is easily destroyed by drought, insects, disease, or overuse. A forest may remain relatively unchanged by weather that would destroy a nearby field of corn, because the forest is characterized by greater diversity of plants and animals. Its complexity gives it stability.