All living organisms on the planet are divided into cellular and non-cellular, the latter include only viruses. The former are divided into eukaryotes (those in the cells of which there is a nucleus) and prokaryotes (there is no nucleus, DNA does not have additional protection). The latter include bacteria. And eukaryotes are divided into all known kingdoms: animals, mushrooms, plants. The importance of plants in nature is very important. The industry that studies these organisms is called botany. This is a branch of science such as biology. The value of plants in our lives we will consider in this article.
How do they differ from other organisms?
To begin with, consider the difference between the kingdom of nature of the plant from all the others. First of all, it should be noted that they are autotrophs, that is, they themselves produce organic matter for themselves. Plant cells also have some differences with animal cells. First of all, it should be noted that they have a solid cell wall consisting of cellulose. In animal cells, a soft glycocalyx consisting of carbohydrates is located above the plasma membrane . Due to the fact that many unnecessary substances cannot be removed from the cell through a solid cell wall, vacuoles are located there, where they accumulate. Young cells have more of these organoids, and they are small. After some time, they merge into one large central vacuole. They also have special organoids for the synthesis of necessary organic substances - these are chloroplasts. In addition, there are two more varieties of plastids - chromoplasts and leukoplasts. The former contain special pigments that can, for example, attract pollinating insects to flowers. In leukoplasts, however, some nutrients are stored, primarily starch.
The value of plants in nature
The most important function of these organisms is related to their autotrophy. The role of plants in nature cannot be overestimated, since they give us something without which we simply could not exist. No wonder they are called the lungs of our planet. The role of plants in nature is associated with the process of photosynthesis, due to which these organisms obtain nutrients for themselves. This process underlies all life on Earth. Also, the importance of plants in nature lies in the fact that they are the main source of organic substances for animals, the body of which cannot produce them, and the main link in the food chain. So, herbivores eat these organisms, carnivores eat herbivores, etc.
What is photosynthesis?
This is a chemical reaction process in which organic are formed from inorganic substances. For its implementation, the plant requires water and carbon dioxide, as well as solar energy. As a result, this organism receives glucose, which it needs for life, as well as oxygen as a by-product that is released outside. It is thanks to plants that we can live on our planet, since if there weren’t them, there wouldn’t be enough oxygen for animals to exist.
In those prehistoric times, when life on the planet was just beginning to emerge, the level of oxygen in the atmosphere barely reached one or two percent. Now, thanks to the work of plants over billions of years, the air consists of twenty-one percent of the vital gas for animals. It was the life of plants in nature that allowed all other kingdoms of organisms to emerge (except for viruses and bacteria, which occurred much earlier).
Where does the photosynthesis process take place?
Since we already know that the importance of plants in nature lies in it, we will consider it in more detail.
This process occurs in the leaves, namely in their green part. It involves the chlorophyll pigment, which gives plants such a color, as well as enzymes - natural catalysts that allow the chemical reaction to be carried out much faster and without using high temperatures. Chloroplasts, which are located in leaf cells and less in stems, are responsible for photosynthesis.
The structure of chloroplast
This organoid belongs to those that have one membrane. Chloroplasts have their own ribosomes, which are necessary for protein synthesis. In addition, ring DNA molecules on which information about these proteins are recorded float in the matrix of this organoid. Starch and lipids may also be present. The main components of the chloroplast can be called greens, which consist of thylakoids stacked in a stack. It is in thylakoids that the process of photosynthesis is concentrated. It contains chlorophyll and all the necessary enzymes.
Chemical reaction of photosynthesis
It can be written as follows: 6CO2 + 6H2O = C6H12O6 + 6O2. That is, if a plant receives six moles of carbon dioxide and water, it will be able to produce one mole of glucose and six moles of oxygen, which will be released into the atmosphere.
Variety of plants in nature
All plants can be divided into unicellular and multicellular. The first include algae, such as chlamydomonas, euglena and others. Multicellular, in turn, are divided into higher and lower. The latter include algae. This is due to the fact that they do not have organs, their body is represented by a solid thallus, whose cells are undifferentiated. Algae can be divided into green, blue-green, red and brown. They can be used in industry, eaten by both animals and humans.
Higher plants have a wide variety of species. First of all, two large groups can be distinguished - spore and seed. The first include ferns, horsetails, crowns and mosses. The life cycle of all of them consists of two different generations: sporophyte and gametophyte. Seed plants are divided into gymnosperms (these include conifers, ginkgo and cypress) and angiosperms, or flowering.
Among the latter, two groups can also be distinguished: monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous. They differ in the number of cotyledons (as the name implies, there can be two or one). They have some differences in structure, in appearance it is often possible to determine which class a particular plant belongs to. In monocotyledons, the fibrous root system, and in dicotyledons, is pivotal. The former have parallel or arc venation of the leaf, and the latter have mesh or cirrus. The first include such families as Cereal, Orchidaceae, Liliaceae, Amaryllis (with the Onion subfamily), etc. Among the dicotyledons, one can distinguish such families: Solanaceae, Rosaceae, Cruciferous (Cabbage), Magnolia, Walnut, Beech, and many others. All angiosperms have the ability to bloom, therefore, in addition to their main functions, these plants also perform aesthetic.
Output
After reading this article, we can conclude that plants play a huge role in nature, without them life on Earth and you and me are impossible.
Therefore, it is very important to fight for the preservation of full forests, which purify our air and give us the oxygen necessary for existence. In addition, plants are the basis of the animal feed base, and if they disappear, then this group of organisms will simply have nowhere to take organic matter from.