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Importance of Plants
Plants
are everywhere around us and are essential to our lives in the form of
food, drugs, fibers for cloth, and wood for energy and building materials.
All of our food either comes directly from plants (wheat, corn,
rice, beans, etc) or from animals which exist only by eating plants (e.g.
cows) or by eating other animals, which in turn ultimately depend on plants.
They also provide essential habitat and food for many species of
animals, and animal species often have strong preferences for, or even
an absolute dependence on specific plants.
Plants produce oxygen that is necessary for many forms of life on earth and they are an important link in the global budget for carbon dioxide, which is thought to play a major role in the "greenhouse effect" associated with global warming. Plants are an important part of our aesthetic experience. We use them to decorate our streets, parks, yards and homes and many people find great pleasure and recreation in observing wildflowers and natural plant communities. Plants are also popular subjects for photographers and artists.
Biodiversity Topics: Introduction . Plants . Animals . Mammals . Birds . Reptiles & Amphibians . Arthropods . Spiders . Insects
© 2001-2004 The Cofrin Center
for Biodiversity and the University of Wisconsin Green Bay,
All Rights Reserved
Last
updated on
January 12, 2006