The importance of plants in human life and in nature. The role of plants in nature and human life

Plants feed us, dress, warm, pleases the look in the room collections, bouquets and floral compositions. The species that make up the green decoration of our planet are capable of forming organic compounds with the release of oxygen into the Earth's atmosphere. Great importance of plants in human life, in nature, economic activity of the population. Consider the main directions of practical use and the cognitive role of this large group of living organisms.

The green miracle of nature

Plants can be found everywhere: in the forest, the field, on the ocean floor, in a drop of water and on the top of the mountain. Among this group of living beings, single-celled and multicellular organisms are distinguished. Science, which studies plants, their structure, distribution and systematics, is botany. The totality of all plant species that occur in a particular area is flora.

There are three life forms. They differ in appearance: trees, shrubs and grass. Different life expectancy is typical for annuals, biennials and perennials. There is a large group of spore organisms on Earth - algae, mosses, mosses, ferns, ferns. Gymnosperms and flowering ones belong to the seed. These plants have been used by man since time immemorial.

Russian scientist KA Timiryazev wrote that green cells act like "Prometheus, who stole fire from the sky." The rays of the Sun seem to be conserved in the energy of organic substances created by plants. Timiryazev, who studied chlorophyll and the role of plants in nature and human life, called the green inhabitants of the planet "mediators between heaven and earth." The scientist meant the process of formation of sugar and starch in green cells - photosynthesis. This Greek word in translation means "connection in the light" and refers to a special way of feeding - autotrophic. Living creatures-autotrophs create organic compounds from inorganic substances by means of the energy of light (the Sun or artificial lighting). The organisms of humans and animals are not adapted to such a process, so they need plants.

Photosynthesis

Roots absorb water from the soil and mineral salts, through the microscopic holes in the leaves penetrates carbon dioxide from the air. These inorganic substances as a result of chemical reactions of photosynthesis are part of the sugar and starch. The process determined the enduring importance of plants in nature and human life. The essence of photosynthesis reflects the scheme: 6CO ₂ + 6H ₂ O → C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ + 6O ₂ . Other chemical reactions occur in plants, various substances are formed (starch, cellulose, proteins, fats, lignin, vitamins, resins and many others). They are consumed by the plant itself, important in the diet and treatment of man, his four-legged friends - animals.

The role of plants in nature and human life

Autotrophic creatures are important for all life on Earth. The importance of plants is determined by the following features of chemical processes in green cells:

• The method of feeding, at which is absorbed, the energy of light is used for the reactions;
• The release of oxygen necessary for the breathing of humans, animals and the plants themselves;
• The formation of organic substances;
• Absorption of carbon dioxide, the large content of which is harmful to humans and animals.

On Earth, there is an exchange of substances and energy in individual communities and across the planet. There are short and long food chains, they form the supply network:

• Forest grass → hare → fox;
• Nectar and pollen of flowers → bees → osoed (bird);
• Clover → calf → person.

The importance of green plants in nature and human life - the participation in the cycles of water, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other compounds. For example, multicellular living beings are not capable of assimilating nitrogen molecules from air and soil. Element is necessary for the creation of protein - the most important "building material" and nutrient.

On the roots of leguminous plants, nodules consisting of nitrogen-fixing bacteria are formed. They assimilate nitrogen, which is contained in air filling the voids in the soil, turning it into compounds accessible to leguminous plants. This symbiosis is a useful collaboration of different living beings. When plants die, the soil is enriched with nitrogen compounds, they can be assimilated by living roots. For humans, legumes are an important source of protein. In agriculture, they are used as a green fertilizer.

Green plants and air composition

The importance of plants in nature and human life is very diverse. Thus, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and transpiration (the release of water vapor by leaves) affect the air composition. Evaporation helps the green body to protect itself from overheating. Thanks to plants, the air is more fresh, clean, cool and humid:

• Green cells in the light absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen;
• Leaves are capable of transpiration, regulate the content of water vapor in the ambient air;
• Plants detain dust, soot and other contaminants that are harmful to humans;
• The phytoncides released by the leaves have a harmful effect on pathogens.

Cognitive importance of plants in human life

Fossil remains of spores, pollen, leaf prints and petrified wood allow scientists to find out what nature was like millions of years ago, to draw conclusions about the changing life on Earth. By the annual rings in the wood, you can judge the climate in different years. There are plants-barometers, they blossom in sunny weather and close the flowers before the storm. On the leaves of callas, balm before the rain, there are droplets of water. Plants are often used in experiments by representatives of different branches of science. For example, environmentalists, studying the chemical composition of cells and tissues, judge the pollution of the habitat.

Plants serve as a material for selection work, to explore ways of transferring hereditary information. There are funny cases when plants unintentionally used in experiments and made important discoveries. For example, the Englishman Robert Boyle accidentally opened the indicators, dripping chemicals on the garden violets in the vase. Plants serve as a prototype for creating complex technical devices, engineering structures (bionics).

Plants and Industry

Green cells act as solar energy accumulators. It is stored in the chemical bonds of organic molecules. Forests covering the earth in distant geological epochs gave rise to deposits of coal. Fossil products of photosynthesis also include oil, peat, natural gas, oil shale.

The diversity of plants, the importance of plants in human life are associated with a wide application in the food, timber, pulp and paper, textile, pharmaceutical and other industries. Logging products are valuable raw materials for the production of furniture, building materials, hydrolytic alcohol, camphor and other substances. According to conservative estimates, mankind knows 20 thousand ways of using wood. The most ancient - burning for heat, construction of buildings, fences, paper production.

The valuable raw materials for the industry are fibrous agricultural crops (cotton, flax, jute, hemp and others). The source of natural rubber is the tropical tree of Hevea. Perfumery, cosmetics can not do without essential oils.

Agriculture and gardening

The importance of plants in human life is associated with use in food, for food production, decoration of settlements and premises. By types of agricultural use, the following groups are distinguished:

• Cereal crops (wheat, rice, barley, rye, maize and others);
• Leguminous plants (peas, soybeans, beans, beans);
• Fruit-berry (apple, cherry, currant, raspberry and others);
• Sugary (sugar cane, sugar beet);
• Vegetable (tomato, cucumber, pepper and others);
• Oleiferous (sunflower, rape, flax);
• Decorative (lilac, rose, chrysanthemum, aster and others).

Grains and legumes

The nutritional value of plants in human life is difficult to overestimate. Scientists estimated that about 2/3 of the diet of the population of different countries are products of plant origin. Useful substances include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, organic acids.

Plants are used for food in fresh and processed form entirely or only their individual parts. A significant concentration of nutrients is found in cereal grains. It is a universal source of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. From grains receive flour for baking bakery products, produce pasta and cereals. The seeds of leguminous plants are valued in cooking and dietary nutrition.

Vegetable, fruit and berry and sugar-bearing crops

Plants accumulate organic compounds in reserve in fruits, bulbs and tubers, less often in stems, leaves and rhizomes. The importance of plants in human life and nutrition is determined by the set of compounds that are stored in juicy parts. Most of the cellular juice with vitamins and other solutes is found in fruits, bulbs, tubers and leaves of vegetables, fruit trees and berry crops.

During the heat treatment, some valuable compounds, for example, vitamins, are destroyed. Therefore, doctors, nutritionists recommend more to consume fresh vegetables and fruits. There are groups of people who have completely switched to food plants - vegetarians and vegans.

The importance of plants in human life lies in the richness of the vitamin set. Fruits, leaves, rhizomes and seeds contain many important compounds. Most of all in plants of vitamins, which belong to groups A, B, C, E, K. These are substances that regulate metabolism in the green body, as well as in the body of a person, an animal. The lack or lack of biological catalysts leads to diseases. For example, the lack of vitamin C, which is rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, causes damage to the gums and the entire human body - scurvy. Fighting hypo and avitaminosis is difficult, it is easier to prevent these undesirable conditions by consuming fresh plant products.

Cultures that accumulate in organs a considerable amount of sweet juice are grown; It is concentrated, evaporated and sugar is obtained. Fatty acids of seeds and fruits are important as constituents of edible oils. Wine, beer, tea, coffee, cocoa and fruit juices are obtained from fruits, berries, vegetables, seeds and leaves.

Medicinal Herbs

In addition to the above directions, which characterize the role of plants in human life, there is an alternative medicine using wild and cultivated species. Medicinal plants contain medically important compounds:

• Alkaloids and glycosides - have a regulatory effect on the activity of organs and systems;
• Tannins - have astringent and antimicrobial properties;
• Vitamins and trace elements - irreplaceable for metabolism;
• Essential oils - have an anti-inflammatory and disinfectant effect;
• Organic acids - affect digestion, skin condition, hair;
• Flavonoids - regulate the strength of blood vessels;
• Phytoncides - act against microbes.

Thus, the role of plants in human life lies in the ability to synthesize substances necessary for life. Medicines obtained from plant raw materials are softer, rarely have side effects, compared to synthetic substances. The healing properties are inherent in hundreds of representatives of the flora, the following species are particularly valued:

• European birch (kidney, leaves, birch bark, juice);
• Dog rose cinnamon (false fruit);
• Plantain is large (leaves);
• Valerian officinalis (root);
• Chamomile pharmacy (inflorescence);
• Small-leaved linden (flowers).

Without plants, the existence of mankind is inconceivable, therefore the green decoration of the planet needs rational use, careful attitude and renewal.