Importance of Plants

The basic food of all organisms is produced by green plants.  Plants help maintain oxygen balance, the most important gas that enables us to breathe.  Animals emit carbon dioxide in oxygen.  Increased carbon dioxide levels in air are reduced by plants. 

Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere reduces the greenhouse effect and global warming.  It also maintains the ozone layer which helps protect Earth’s life from damage from UV radiation.  Man, directly or indirectly depends on plants for his many needs.

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Importance of plants : –

  Conservation volunteer

  We forget the importance of plants and often accept them.  You may think that there is nothing for the plants and trees that are around us every day but they are important for life and our long term survival.  Plants are an essential resource – we depend on them for food, water, medicine, the air we breathe, habitat, our climate and more.

  The habitat

  Plants are incredibly important to provide habitat for a large number of different species.

  It provides habitat for hundreds of insects and food for birds and mammals such as deer and badgers.  It supports fungi, lichen, and even bats.  The species of bats roam in old woodpecker holes or under loose bark and then feed on insects in the tree umbrella.

 Control Air pollution

  A range of chemical pollutants can cause problems for health in industrial and urban environments.  It has been increasingly shown that the presence of green spaces in these areas may be important in acting as a sink for these pollutants, therefore improving air quality.

    Maintained Soil Quality

Plants and trees are incredibly important for maintaining good soil conditions.  Their roots and microorganisms that live around their roots keep the soil together, reducing the chances of soil erosion.  When leaves fall from the tree and when the plant dies, they rot, fertilizing the soil and enabling other plants to grow and thrive.

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  Control Climatic Conditions

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the main greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.  Plants take in CO2 and release oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.  This CO2 is used as building blocks for new tissues such as their trunks, branches, leaves and roots that act as carbon stores.

When forests are harvested or burned, huge amounts of carbon are deposited in plant tissue and the soil is released into the atmosphere.  This is why it is so important to protect these habitats, especially in ancient primary forests with native species that have had very little human disturbance in that past.

  Plant Helps to Well Being

Trees and plants are not only good for the environment, they can also benefit from our general well-being.  Research has shown that having access to woodland can have many benefits including increased physical health, mental health and the quality of our lives.  Studies also suggest that exercise in these green spaces can reduce stress and anxiety, improve self-esteem and mood.

 Provide Medicine

Plants play an important role in new drug discovery and many blockbuster drugs are derived directly or indirectly from plants.  It is important that we protect plant biodiversity so that new drug discoveries can be made in the future.  This has a huge impact on health and also has economic benefits.

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  Provide Food

There is no food without plants.  All carbon in protein, fat and carbohydrates is obtained from photosynthesis in plants.  Everything we eat, including animal flesh (which feeds plants) is a result of plants consuming carbon dioxide using sunlight energy and creating complex carbon-rich molecules.

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