Plants and the Environment By: Ghaida Odah 8C

Adaptations of Plants to the Environment Different animals and plants must be adapted to their different habitats in order to survive. Some animals might have special features that help them survive. For example, different birds have different beaks that are adapted for a particular diet. As for plants different plants have different features that help them about to the different environments. Plants in dry places have swollen stems containing water- storage tissue. Their leaves are also reduced in spines in order to reduce the surface area of the leaf over which water can be lost. Also a thick, waxy cuticle covers the plant’s surfaces and reduces transpiration. They also have a shallow spreading root system to quickly absorb any water from rain and overnight. All these things and a lot more are features that help them balance their water uptake and water loss thus helping them adapt to their habitat.

Importance and Role of Photosynthesis Photosynthesis can be considered the ultimate source of life for nearly all plants and animals by providing the source of energy that drives all their metabolic processes. It is the start of the food chain since occurs in plants thus it is the first source of energy that is used to drive the rest of the food chain.

Food Chains and Food Webs The point of food chains is to show us what eats what in our community. Food chains show the movement of energy through food from one organism to the other. A food web is basically made up of many food changes. It provides us with a more complete picture of how animals feed. As mentioned earlier energy from one organism on to another is transferred through a food chain but the majority of the energy is lost. About 10 percent of the energy is used up and the rest is lost.

Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen Biology plays an important role in the movement of carbon between land, ocean, and atmosphere through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Almost all multicelluar life on earth depends on photosynthesis and respiration in order to produce the energy needed for movement, growth and reproduction. Plants take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and then they release CO 2 back into the atmosphere during respiration through the following chemical reactions: Respiration: C 6 H 12 O 6 (organic matter) + 6O 2 6CO H 2 O + energy Photosynthesis: energy (sunlight) 6CO 2 + H 2 O C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6O 2

How Matters Are Cycled in Nature Since most of the living matter is made up of six elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur we need a constant supply of them to make proteins, carbohydrates and fats. These elements are found in the nutrients that living things take in. For example carbon is found in carbon dioxide and nitrogen is found in nitrate. If these nutrients were not cycled than living things wouldn’t have the elements they need.

Carbon Cycle Carbon is essential for living things. It is used to make carbohydrates, proteins and fats and other very important molecules that make up living organisms. Carbon is obtained from the carbon dioxide in the air. Plants use photosynthesis to make food which needs carbon dioxide in order to happen. After that animals get the carbon by eating plants.

How is carbon dioxide released into the air? Plants and animals use some of their food for respiration which is the opposite of photosynthesis an releases carbon dioxide instead of taking it in like what happens in photosynthesis. Also, decomposers use dead plants and animals for their food and all of that contains carbon due to the food chain. They use some of the decaying material for respiration and so they release energy and carbon dioxide into the air. Another thing sis that fossil fuels like oil, petroleum and gas release carbon dioxide into the air when they are burnt. All these processes put carbon dioxide back into the air as fast as plants remove it by photosynthesis. This whole cycle is repeated again and so the amount of carbon dioxide in the air should stay the same.

Human Actions and the Environment Humans often upset the balance of different populations in natural ecosystems, or change the environment so that some species find it difficult to survive. With so many people in the world, there is a serious danger of causing permanent damage not just to local environments but also to the global environment. Right now pollution has caused many problems such as global warming and the hole in the ozone layer. Also land loss is a major affect on the environment as species are losing their habitats due to humans actions. Click the link below to watch a video about human actions and the environment: =related