Without plants, life on Earth would be impossible. Why life on earth would be impossible without plants Accumulation of organic matter

The value of plants in nature and human life. As we know, all humans and animals breathe oxygen and emit carbon dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air also increases from fuel combustion. Plants, in turn, absorb carbon dioxide from the air in the light and release oxygen.

In addition, plants enrich the air with oxygen, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide. Due to the fact that oxygen is a necessary component for the life of people and animals, life on Earth without green plants would be impossible.

To enrich cities and villages with oxygen - avenues, boulevards, streets, etc. greening. People plant trees, bushes, equip parks, boulevards, flower beds, lawns. In general, in any city on the planet they are trying to plant as many plants as possible, which are so necessary to preserve the health of the population. Considering that plants absorb carbon dioxide, they also release oxygen and some gaseous substances into the air, which trap dust and destroy harmful microbes.

Therefore, we must take care of the protection of our plants, each leaf and multiply green spaces, or rather, do not forget to plant new plants, care for them, and protect them from damage.

The importance of plants in the formation of organic substances in them also plays an important role. Green plants create organic matter, and people and animals for their food get them ready-made from green plants. People grow crops in order to further harvest fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. and eat them, prepare them for the winter. And for farm animals, grain and silage are harvested, which are also necessary for the life of animals, because they contain nutrient organic substances. Animals could not exist without green plants, since they feed on ready-made organic substances that are formed in them.

Large meadows also contain many beneficial organic substances that are used as livestock feed. To do this, cattle are driven out to pastures or they are mowing grasses and collecting hay. But mowing must be done at the very beginning of the flowering of grasses, because at this time the plants contain the most succulent nutrients... If mowing is done during flowering or fruiting, then the grasses coarse, and their nutritional quality is significantly reduced.

As a result, we can say that the importance of plants in nature and human life plays a very important role. Because green plants provide people with food, raw materials for industry, as well as feed for farm animals.

Plants play a huge role in the existence of our planet, as well as the direct existence of life on Earth. However, why is life on Earth impossible without plants? After all, it would seem that the absence of trees in dense urban areas and modern megacities only affects the fact that the areas become not entirely comfortable, and also do not have places to rest. In this issue we will figure it out today.

4 reasons why life on Earth is impossible without plants

Oxygen production

Ever since school, most of us remember that plants serve people and the entire globe by producing oxygen. However, most people are rather skeptical about this fact, not thinking that such "help" from plants can be significant. However, if you look at the actual data, you can find out that only one single tree is capable of releasing such an amount of oxygen during the day, which will be enough for three people to live during the same day. Now imagine how much oxygen a whole forest or even a small forest belt produces per day / per month / per year.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption

Another important function that plants are responsible for on our planet is the absorption of carbon dioxide. Of all the objects present on Earth, it is plants that are able to perform such "work" and cleanse our atmosphere from CO2 unsuitable for use, because if its level in the atmosphere exceeded the permissible norms, this would all lead to an unfavorable outcome for all living things.

Soil formation

Do not forget that plants are directly involved in the process of soil formation. And this is one of the most important processes taking place on our planet, because without it we would not have such a fruitful land, and we could not grow all the products we need, vegetables and fruits, plants used in medicine and pharmacology.

Animal world

Finally, you need to pay attention to the animal world, because it also could not exist without plants on Earth. The fact is that many animals, including wild ones, feed on plants, being herbivores. That is, if the planet had no food for them, they would simply die out. However, plants and predatory animals are affected, because they, in turn, feed on other representatives of the animal kingdom, which, as we have already said, would not exist without plants. Accordingly, the predators would also be expected to die out.

That is why life on Earth is impossible without plants.

Why is life on Earth impossible without plants? and got the best answer

Answer from Ђatiana Zakharova [guru]

Answer from Natalia li-yun (fedyaeva)[newbie]
upon arrival, people chose her precisely because of them

Answer from Samwella[guru]
because plants produce oxygen, animals feed on them and give fruit to people.

Answer from Milena Marlowe.[guru]
Oxygen and photosynthesis are needed, plants produce oxygen.

Answer from Anastasia Serebryakova[newbie]
Plants are the first step in the food chain

Answer from Siatkoq Karomel[newbie]
The vegetation cover is also of great importance as a source of oxygen, without which life on Earth is impossible. Green plants release huge amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere.
One medium-sized tree releases as much oxygen per day as three people need for breathing. And how much is allocated by one hectare of forest, a whole forest, all the forests of the world!
Green plants play an extremely important role in another respect: they, and only they, are capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on a large scale and, therefore, preventing its accumulation in the air envelope of our planet. An increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere would have the most disastrous consequences.
Many examples can be cited to show how important the role of vegetation in the life of nature is. Without the participation of vegetation, the process of soil formation is impossible - one of the most important processes taking place on Earth. Without plants, the life of wild animals is impossible - not only herbivorous, but also predatory. The vegetation cover prevents the erosion of river banks and mountain slopes, waving sands, etc. Vegetation affects the atmosphere and soil, groundwater and wildlife, streams and rivers, lakes and swamps. In other words, it is a powerful natural factor, the importance of which cannot be overestimated.

Answer from Ekaterina Derevskaya[newbie]
Oxygen is produced during photosynthesis. The most important autotrophs

Answer from Baa qqe[newbie]
plants produce oxygen; animals, birds and humans feed on them
(Mayorova Polina grade 3)

Answer from Ўliya Uvsyukova[newbie]
plants give air to living organisms. (to people, animals, insects)

Answer from Maxim Pashinin[active]
Plants provide oxygen.

Answer from Yoan Kim[newbie]
Plants have a pigment capable of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen without plants we would suffocate

Answer from Larisa Trashyan[newbie]
Plants are also undoubtedly a source of organic matter for humans and animals. For example, sugar and starch, which in turn is the most important source of carbohydrates for humans and animals

Answer from Matvey Gorev[newbie]
Medicines are made from plants

Answer from Lilya artem[newbie]
The vegetation cover is also of great importance as a source of oxygen, without which life on Earth is impossible. Green plants release huge amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere.
One medium-sized tree releases as much oxygen per day as three people need for breathing. And how much is allocated by one hectare of forest, a whole forest, all the forests of the world!
Green plants play an extremely important role in another respect: they, and only they, are capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on a large scale and, therefore, preventing its accumulation in the air envelope of our planet. An increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere would have the most disastrous consequences.
Many examples can be cited to show how important the role of vegetation in the life of nature is. Without the participation of vegetation, the process of soil formation is impossible - one of the most important processes taking place on Earth. Without plants, the life of wild animals is impossible - not only herbivorous, but also predatory. The vegetation cover prevents the erosion of river banks and mountain slopes, waving sands, etc. Vegetation affects the atmosphere and soil, groundwater and wildlife, streams and rivers, lakes and swamps. In other words, it is a powerful natural factor, the importance of which cannot be overestimated.

Answer from Liza kovaleva[newbie]
The vegetation cover is also of great importance as a source of oxygen, without which life on Earth is impossible. Green plants release huge amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere.
One medium-sized tree releases as much oxygen per day as three people need for breathing. And how much is allocated by one hectare of forest, a whole forest, all the forests of the world!
Green plants play an extremely important role in another respect: they, and only they, are capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on a large scale and, therefore, preventing its accumulation in the air envelope of our planet. An increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere would have the most disastrous consequences.
Many examples can be cited to show how important the role of vegetation in the life of nature is. Without the participation of vegetation, the process of soil formation is impossible - one of the most important processes taking place on Earth. Without plants, the life of wild animals is impossible - not only herbivorous, but also predatory. The vegetation cover prevents the erosion of river banks and mountain slopes, waving sands, etc. Vegetation affects the atmosphere and soil, groundwater and wildlife, streams and rivers, lakes and swamps. In other words, it is a powerful natural factor, the importance of which cannot be overestimated.

Answer from Madina Fakhritdinova[newbie]
The vegetation cover is also of great importance as a source of oxygen, without which life on Earth is impossible. Green plants release huge amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere.
One medium-sized tree releases as much oxygen per day as three people need for breathing. And how much is allocated by one hectare of forest, a whole forest, all the forests of the world!
Green plants play an extremely important role in another respect: they, and only they, are capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on a large scale and, therefore, preventing its accumulation in the air envelope of our planet. An increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere would have the most disastrous consequences.
Many examples can be cited to show how important the role of vegetation in the life of nature is. Without the participation of vegetation, the process of soil formation is impossible - one of the most important processes taking place on Earth. Without plants, the life of wild animals is impossible - not only herbivorous, but also predatory. The vegetation cover prevents the erosion of river banks and mountain slopes, waving sands, etc. Vegetation affects the atmosphere and soil, groundwater and wildlife, streams and rivers, lakes and swamps. In other words, it is a powerful natural factor, the importance of which cannot be overestimated.

Answer from 3 answers[guru]

Hey! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Why is life on Earth impossible without plants?

The plant world, or the flora of the Earth - a collection of all types of nuclear, multicellular, photosynthetic plants found in. Most organisms are those that synthesize their food using solar energy, but there are also heterotrophic plants and very few species that are both autotrophs and heterotrophs. The history of life on Earth and the existence of many organisms literally depend on plant life. Since animals cannot receive energy directly from the sun, they must eat plants (or other animals that have a herbivorous diet) in order to survive. Plants also provide oxygen to humans and animals, because they absorb carbon dioxide in and release oxygen into the atmosphere.

Plant diversity

Plants are common on land, oceans and fresh water. They have existed on our planet for millions of years. The number of species of currently existing green plants is presented in the following table:

The table shows the total amount different types green plants ( Viridiplantae). It is estimated that there are about 300,000 living species Viridiplantae, of which 85-90% are flowering plants. (Note from the author: since the data is taken from different sources and has different dates, in some cases the calculations are subject to some uncertainty)

Differences between plants and animals

Australia

Eucalyptus regal

The flora of Australia is characterized by the presence of a large number of endemic species - plants that are not found anywhere else. Nevertheless, with the advent of settlers, many other "non-native" species have taken root on the mainland. Australian vegetation is characterized by a predominance of two types of plants - eucalyptus and acacias.

Asia

Asia has the greatest diversity flora of all parts of the world, since it occupies the largest area, it is located in various climatic zones and natural zones. Here you can find more than 100 thousand species of plants, from tropical to arctic, which is about 40% of the flora of the Earth. The mainland also has a large number of endemic plants.

Antarctica

Colobantus quito

Antarctica is the most inhospitable place on Earth, both for and for plants. There are no trees, only two types of flowering plants and a lot of mosses, lichens, algae, etc. the mainland is very fragile and suffers due to climate change and human activities.

Africa

Spurge thorn

Africa is the second largest continent in the world, home to many unique plants. The flora of the continent is divided into three main ones -, and. At the same time, they do not have a wide species diversitybecause this biome is characterized by complex climatic conditionsincluding high temperatures and drought. The Sahara Desert, located in northern Africa, is one of the driest places on Earth. However, African wet evergreens contain a wide variety of plants.

Europe

Despite the fact that Europe is on the same continent with Asia, called Eurasia, there is no such rich species diversity of the flora as that of its eastern neighbor. The flora of Europe was largely influenced by the Alps mountain range, which stretches from west to east.

North America

North America is home to the planet's major biomes, from deserts to arctic tundra. Each biome is characterized by a collection of certain plant species that have adapted to growth in certain environmental conditions.

South America

South America, like Asia, has become home to a huge variety of plant species. Here is a huge ecosystem that supports the life of many and plants.

The value of the plant kingdom

The importance of plants in human life

Plants are the foundation of all life on Earth and are essential for the well-being of humans. Think about how your everyday life depends on plants.

Air: Oxygen comes to us from plants as a by-product of photosynthesis.
Food: Everything we eat comes directly or indirectly from plants. Throughout human history, approximately 7,000 different plant species have been used as food by humans.
Water: plants regulate - they help distribute and cleanse. They are also involved in moving water in a process called transpiration.
Medicines: one quarter of all prescription drugs come directly from plants or are derived from them. In addition, four out of five people globally today rely on primary health care facilities.
Vitamins:plants are the largest source of vitamins necessary for the human body.
Clothing:plants are a major source of raw materials for textile materials.
Culture:images of some plants are used in national emblems, including trees and flowers.
Furniture and housing:the wood of plants is used in the construction of houses, as well as for the manufacture of furniture.
Aesthetic pleasure:the presence of plants in people's lives allows them to enjoy their appearance and relieves stress. Therefore, many people grow ornamental plants in homes and personal plots.

The value of plants in nature

Amazon rainforest

The environment and climate are closely related to flora. Precipitation, humidity and temperature are dependent on the presence and nature of the vegetation. The reduction of plants also upsets the balance in and indirectly affects human life.

Food chains: In every food chain, plants are at their base and lead the chain as a food source. For example: Grass → Cow → Lion; Grass → Insect → Frog → Snake → Eagle. Here the plant starts the chain, and other animals depend on it directly or indirectly. There can be no life on Earth without plants.
Habitat: Of course, besides the huge number of people, plants form the basis of all habitats.
Climate: Plants store carbon, which is released into the atmosphere when burned.
Soil erosion: Plants growing in the soil, in sufficient quantities, prevent wind erosion (when in times of wind, the fertile topsoil is carried away by the air).
Ecological balance: plants help reduce heat and prevent moisture from evaporating. Thus, they are environmentally beneficial.
Precipitation support: plants and trees have a cooling effect on the atmosphere, leading to precipitation. Therefore, rains in deserts are extremely rare.
Soil fertility: plants maintain soil fertility. Fallen leaves, fruits, etc., rot in the soil and humus is formed, which in turn increases the fertility of the soil, as it is favorable for microorganisms.
Habitat: plants - the best places habitats for birds and animals, including monkeys, squirrels, etc. Birds build their nests in trees for egg laying, sleeping, hunting and safety. In forests, animals can take shelter under trees in extreme heat and rain. They also provide food for many (earthworms), insects, rodents, etc.

Threats to the flora

Deforestation

There are a huge number of flora species on our planet, both registered and not studied or even named. However, while the threat to the existence of many wildlife is now widely recognized, few people know that plants are also at great risk. In February 2015, the Center for Biological Diversity stated: “Of the more than 300,000 known plant species, IUCN has assessed only 12,914 species, finding that about 68% of the assessed plant species are endangered.”

The vast areas of deserts around the world testify to the destruction of vegetation by humans. Much of the Middle East is now desert or renewable for a lot of money. Once there were many forests in the Mediterranean, now these lands are bare and eroded. In many parts of Africa and India, cattle and goats roam the rocky plains, eating any patch of greenery that appears on the badlands that were once good pastures. Overgrazing by domestic and wild animals is, in fact, the biggest threat to plants, although botanists and other enthusiasts have raided some beautiful plants sometimes entail serious losses for rare species.

Perhaps people forget that all of our cultivated plants and garden flowers come from wild flora. Equally important is the fact that plants provide a high proportion of medicines in the modern world. Who knows what secret treasures for humanity are still locked among the vegetation waiting to be discovered. Tropical rainforests are among the most vulnerable habitats on the planet, containing 63% of endangered plant species.

One of the most serious threats to flora is the transformation of natural habitats into areas for agricultural and livestock use, for example, when rainforests are destroyed for grazing or growing soybeans, animal feed, or oil palms. Ancient woodlands are special because they have been around for at least 400 years and are the backbone of biodiversity and also support abundant wildlife.

Plant protection

Plant protection - a set of measures aimed at protecting existing plants and especially endangered species. The main document listing the plants to be protected is the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red Book.

The IUCN Red List has been established with clear criteria for assessing the extinction risks of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant for all species and regions of the world. The goal is to communicate the relevance of conservation issues to the public and governments of countries, and to help the international community try to reduce the extinction of species. According to the IUCN, the officially articulated goals of the Red List are to:

provide scientifically sound information on the status of species and subspecies at the global level;
pay attention to the scale and importance of the endangered flora;
to influence national and international politics and the decision-making process;
provide information for possible actions for plant conservation.

One of the most important protective actions is the creation of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, reserves, botanical gardens, etc. These nature conservation sites help preserve the natural habitat of plants and protect them from over-exploitation by humans.

The value of green plants in nature is extremely great. During photosynthesis in chlorophyll grains under the influence sun rays organic matter is created from carbon dioxide and water (by plants). These organic substances are used for the nutrition of all plant organs, as well as for the formation of plant cells. Animals and humans consume ready-made organic substances that are formed only in green plants.

Without green plants, there would be no food on Earth that is necessary for the life of all living things.

But this does not limit the value of green plants. They enrich the atmosphere with oxygen, necessary for the breathing of all living organisms, purify polluted air by absorbing carbon dioxide from it.

Many years ago, an article appeared in the foreign press, the author of which prophesied the death of mankind and all life on Earth from carbon dioxide. The article said that the amount of carbon dioxide in the air will increase from year to year, as it is emitted into the atmosphere by numerous factories and factories, an increasing human population, wildlife and plants themselves.

But plant life scientists have proven that as long as there are enough green plants on Earth, oxygen will not run out. The carbon dioxide suffocation will never come. By consuming carbon dioxide, which is necessary for the formation of organic substances, plants thereby purify the air. They replenish it with oxygen, after which the air becomes habitable.

8 reasons why life on Earth is impossible without plants

Oxygen production

Photosynthesis- a unique process of creating organic substances from inorganic ones. This is the only process on our planet associated with the conversion of the energy of sunlight into the energy of chemical bonds, contained in organic substances. In this way, the energy of the sun's rays received from space, stored by green plants in carbohydrates, fats and proteins, ensures the vital activity of the entire living world - from bacteria to humans. Outstanding Russian scientist of the late 19th - early 20th century. Clement Arkadievich Timiryazev (1843-1920) called the role of green plants on Earth cosmic. He wrote:

All organic substances, no matter how diverse they are, wherever they occur, whether in a plant, in an animal or a person, passed through the leaf, originated from the substances produced by the leaf. Outside the leaf, or rather, outside the chlorophyll grain, there is no laboratory in nature where organic matter is released. In all other organs and organisms, it transforms, transforms, only here it is formed again from inorganic matter.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption

Soil formation

Organic matter formed by green plants is consumed by living creatures of the land. Waste from the processes of vital activity of organisms, products of decay and decomposition of dead bodies (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria) and their individual parts (fallen leaves, dead roots, root hairs, abundant root secretions), falling into the upper layer of the earth's surface, decompose there and take participation in the creation of a unique natural formation - soil.

Soil is formed and develops on the surface of the Earth as a result of the interaction of elements of animate and inanimate nature. No soil is formed without organic compounds. Soil fertility depends on the amount of organic matter - humus.

Animal world

It is necessary to pay attention to the animal world, because it also could not exist without plants on Earth. The fact is that many animals, including wild ones, feed on plants, being herbivores. That is, if the planet had no food for them, they would simply die out. However, plants and predatory animals are affected, because they, in turn, feed on other representatives of the animal kingdom, which, as we have already said, would not exist without plants. Accordingly, the predators would also be expected to die out.

Accumulation of organic matter

All living organisms can live only by consuming in the form of food the energy that green plants received from the Sun with the help of chlorophyll and enclosed in carbohydrates and other organic compounds. Carbohydrates are an important product of photosynthesis.

Many plants, such as sugarcane, sugar beets, onions, peas, corn, grapes, dates, store sugar in stems, roots, bulbs, fruits and seeds. It is sugars that serve as the main source of energy for all living things, since they can easily become one of the most active compounds in any living cell.

However, not all plants are green in color. Fungi, bacteria and some of the higher plants are devoid of chlorophyll and therefore are incapable of producing organic food for themselves from inorganic substances. Such non-green plants (saprophytes), often invisible to the naked eye, settle in abundance on dead organic matter remaining after the death of plants and animals, use it for their own nutrition, destroy, mineralize, and thus bring them into a state available for use by green plants. This is the positive role of non-green - chlorophyll-free plants.

Energy storage

Plants constantly absorb energy in the form of solar radiation and accumulate it. The accumulation of energy is a very important phenomenon for living nature, due to the photosynthesis of green plants. Organic matter is an excellent energy carrier. Man makes extensive use of gas, oil, coal, firewood - all these are organic substances that release the energy that was once introduced into green plants during combustion.

Impact on climate

The vegetation cover has a huge impact on the formation and change of climate, the role of plants in the soil-forming process is exceptional, in increasing soil fertility. The forest softens sharp temperature fluctuations, improves the water-air regime of soils, and delays the wind. Forest plantations hold the soil together on the slopes and prevent the movement of loose sands, prevent the development of erosion processes.

Cleaning function

The sanitary, hygienic and aesthetic role of plants is no less important. They kill pathogens, purify water and air (more than 70% of dust suspended in the air and up to 60% of sulfur dioxide settle on them), serve as a barrier to the propagation of sound waves. Any vegetation decorates the landscape and improves the atmosphere.

The importance of plants in human life. Cultivated plants

Plants are the primary source of existence, prosperity and development of life on Earth and primarily due to their ability to carry out photosynthesis.

Formation of gas composition atmospheric airis also known to be directly dependent on plants. One hectare of maize emits 15 tons of oxygen per year, which is enough for the breathing of 30 people. All oxygen in the atmosphere passes through green matter in about 2,000 years. For 300 years, plants absorb as much carbon as is contained in the atmosphere and waters. The annual chemical energy of the products of photosynthesis was 1000 times higher than the energy production at the end of the 20th century. all power plants in the world. It was found that the plants of the Earth in the process of photosynthesis annually form more than 177 billion tons of organic matter.

Vegetation has a great influence on the climate, water bodies, fauna and other elements of the biosphere, with which it is closely interconnected. The nature of the biocenosis, ecosystems, their morphological and functional structure, and the biogeocenotic activity of the components largely depend on the nature of vegetation. The importance of plants in human life is great. First of all, vegetation is a necessary living environment for people. Wild flora is an invaluable genetic fund in breeding work when creating new varieties of agricultural crops. According to N.M. Chernovoy et al. (1995) most of the plants, which provide about 90% of the world's food today, appeared through the cultivation of wild plants

Employees of the All-Russian Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) established the presence in Russia of about 600 wild species that are relatives of cultivated plants. Many of them served as the basis for the development of more than 1,500 new varieties.

The negative value of vegetation in comparison with the benefits it brings is insignificant. Thus, some species of wild plants grow as weeds on arable land and pastures. In some places, we have to deal with the overgrowth of reservoirs and canals. Sometimes the massive development of aquatic vegetation causes the appearance of summer fish kills in lakes. Some other cases of harmful effects of plants on humans are also known (poisoning, fungal diseases) and economy (fouling of the bottoms of ships, overgrowing of roads, etc.).

Cultivated plants are plants grown by humans to obtain food products, feed in agriculture, medicines, industrial and other raw materials and other purposes.

According to the eighth edition of the International Code of Nomenclature for Crop Plants, three categories of cultivated plants are currently recognized: cultivar, grex (for Orchids only) and group.

Cultivated plants obtained from wild by means of hybridization, selection or genetic engineering. In the process of searching for wild plants to transform them into cultural ones and use them, the doctrine of the centers of origin of cultivated plants arose. In 1926-1939 NI Vavilov summarized the accumulated knowledge and identified seven main centers of origin of cultivated plants. Unlike decorative species, cultivated plants do not have natural habitats.

Without plants, life on Earth would be impossible. Why life on earth would be impossible without plants Accumulation of organic matter

4 reasons why life on Earth is impossible without plants

Plant diversity