How do plants benefit from animals

Trees are a truly beautiful part of the natural environment, but they are also amazingly efficient machines—constantly working to make Earth a healthier planet. The Trees for Wildlife™ program is designed to help you guide children and teens through activities that will deepen their understanding of how trees make a difference in their lives and in the world. Here are 10 proven ways that trees make a big difference. 1. Trees improve air quality. Trees are sometimes called the lungs of the Earth because they absorb pollutants through their leaves, trapping (or “sequestering”), and filtering contaminants in the air. Like all green plants, trees also produce oxygen through photosynthesis. 2. Trees improve water quality, and reduce flooding and erosion. A tree’s leafy canopy catches precipitation before it reaches the ground, allowing some of it to gently drip and the rest to evaporate. Tree roots hold soil in place, reducing erosion. In these ways, trees lessen the force of storms and reduce the amount of runoff into sewers, streams, and rivers, improving water quality. One hundred mature trees can intercept about 100,000 gallons of rainfall per year. 3. Trees temper climate. Trees lower air temperatures and humidity; they can also influence wind speed. Evaporation of water from trees, or transpiration, has a cooling effect. Cities develop “heat islands” because dark roofs and pavement absorb solar energy and radiate it back. Trees in parking lots have been shown to reduce as...

From the dog sitting on your couch to the near-mythical narwhal in the depths of the Arctic ocean, animals play a key role in environmental protection and human wellness. Let’s take a look at some of the miraculous ways animals help us. 1. Bees are powerful pollinators. Did you know about one-third of the world’s food depends on pollination? Many of the earth’s plants—about 30% of the world’s crops and 90% of our wild plants—depend on these little heroes. As they buzz from plant to plant, bees are powerful pollinators and play a vital role in the ecosystem, so the next time you find a wildflower, you can thank a busy bee. 2. Beavers combat climate change. These woodland creatures have proved incredibly adept at naturally regulating ecosystems. Their gnawing and damming reduce flooding and wildfire damage, preserve fish populations, and conserve freshwater reservoirs—key to combating the effects of climate change. So when it comes to much-needed river ecosystem regulation, leave it to the beavers. 3. Llamas patrol farms. In addition to being a farm animal with a particularly low environmental impact and a sweet tooth for invasive weed species, llamas have also been found to be incredibly effective guard animals. Yes, guard llamas. These sociable creatures bond with herd animals, which makes them instinctively protective against predators and an invaluable asset to shepherds and ranchers. 4. Rats detect landmines. Rats get a bad rap but with their keen sense of smell and tra...

(For Grades 3-8) Ultimately, all life on Earth depends on plants to provide food, shelter, and oxygen for other living things. Consequently, plant reproduction is crucial to all other life on this planet. The first step in plant reproduction is the intricate process called pollination, which occurs when pollen grains, the male germ cell of a plant, reach the stigma, the female reproductive part of the same species of plant. Depending on the plant species, a flower can produce male, female, or both structures. Pollination can also occur within the same flower. Most flowering plants (90 percent) depend on animals to make the vital pollen-grain delivery. The remaining flowering plants rely on wind and some-times splashing raindrops to ferry pollen, but this is a less precise method. Pollinating animals do the job for a reward: food, usually in the form of nectar. The lessons in this online unit explore the theme of the National Zoo’s Pollinarium exhibition: how plant and animal partners interact to accomplish pollination. As in many processes in nature, timing is important. The female reproductive part of a flower is receptive to pollen only at certain times of the year. Creatures like insects and birds, which move from flower to flower in search of food, are a fast and often guaranteed way for plants to distribute their pollen. Both the male and the female reproductive parts of a plant are in the center of the flower. The male, pollen-producing part is called the anther, hel...

Phosphate Fix: The Sweet Side of Greens Putting dirt in your mouth isn't a very popular pastime. But when it comes down to it, everything you eat comes from dirt and from air. This is true whether you eat rice, tomatoes, eggs, cows, or candy bars. We could even argue that humans come from dirt. We eat plants and some of us also eat other animals, like chickens. Chickens eat plants and insects, and many insects eat plants as well. So everything comes back down to plants, which come from dirt and air. Plants need sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients to grow. Click for more detail. To grow, plants need sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide from the air. Plants also need nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which most plantsget from the soil. There are more than 7 billion people on the Earth and that number grows every day. It’s important to think about how we’re going to feed everybody. This means that, no matter what we eat, we need to figure out more efficient ways to grow crops. You may think that we’ve already figured it out. After all, while not everyone in the world gets enough food, most of us do. Many of us even waste a lot of food. Yet, in a little over 100 years, the Earth’s human population exploded from 1.6 billion in 1900 to over 7 billion people. Such an increase in population wouldn't have been possible without lots of food. So how did humans manage to grow more food? Fertilizer From Air In the early 1900s two German chemists, Fitz Haber and Carl Bos...

UCSB Science Line UCSB Science Line Are plants important to animals? Question Date: 2005-10-24 Answer 1: Animals and humans depend on plants for many things, and without plants, there could be no life on Earth. Here are some point to consider: 1. Plants are the primary producers. They are the only organisms that can make their own food. Animals, who are incapable of making their own food, depend on plants for their supply of food. 2.The oxygen that animals breathe comes from plants. Through photosynthesis, plants take energy from the sun, carbon dioxide from the air, and water and minerals from the soil. They then give off water and oxygen. Animals then use oxygen process called respiration. Respiration is the process used by organisms to release energy from food, and carbon dioxide is given off. 3.Plants also provide habitat for many species of animals. The plants provide food, shelter from weather (rain, sun), nesting place, sleeping ground and hideout from predators. For example: Different animals live in different parts of the rainforest. Scientists divide the rainforest into zones based on the living environment. Starting at the top: Emergent: Giant trees that are much higher than the average canopy height, housing many birds and insects. Canopy: The upper parts of the trees, full of life in a tropical rainforest and includes: insects, birds, reptiles and mammals. Understory: A dark, cool environment under the leaves but over the ground. Forest Floor: Most insects and...

Trees have been with us throughout our whole lives. They’re the background of a favorite memory and that welcome patch of green our eyes seek as we gaze out our windows—an activity we’re doing a lot these days. While they are silent and stationary, trees hold tremendous powers, including the power to make all our lives better and healthier. If a tree has power, a forest has even more. What superpowers do trees have? #1: Trees eat the greenhouse gases that cause climate change—for breakfast. More like breakfast, lunch and dinner. Trees’ food-making process, photosynthesis, involves absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in its wood. Trees and plants will store this carbon dioxide throughout their lives, helping slow the gas’s buildup in our atmosphere that has been rapidly warming our planet. #2: Trees boost our mental health while raising our physical health. A healthy tree can lead to a healthy you and me. A The good news: it doesn’t take a lot of time in nature for these soothing powers to kick in. You may have felt the benefits from a short walk or hike in your neighborhood. We’re drawn to green spaces, and for good reason. Tree’s leaves will filter this dangerous pollution, but only if they’re planted near the people who need them; most of the filtration occurs within 100 feet of a tree. More trees in cities, especially in lower-income neighborhoods close to highways and factories, can reduce ailments like asthma and heart disease that cause 5% of deaths ...

Trees have been with us throughout our whole lives. They’re the background of a favorite memory and that welcome patch of green our eyes seek as we gaze out our windows—an activity we’re doing a lot these days. While they are silent and stationary, trees hold tremendous powers, including the power to make all our lives better and healthier. If a tree has power, a forest has even more. What superpowers do trees have? #1: Trees eat the greenhouse gases that cause climate change—for breakfast. More like breakfast, lunch and dinner. Trees’ food-making process, photosynthesis, involves absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in its wood. Trees and plants will store this carbon dioxide throughout their lives, helping slow the gas’s buildup in our atmosphere that has been rapidly warming our planet. #2: Trees boost our mental health while raising our physical health. A healthy tree can lead to a healthy you and me. A The good news: it doesn’t take a lot of time in nature for these soothing powers to kick in. You may have felt the benefits from a short walk or hike in your neighborhood. We’re drawn to green spaces, and for good reason. Tree’s leaves will filter this dangerous pollution, but only if they’re planted near the people who need them; most of the filtration occurs within 100 feet of a tree. More trees in cities, especially in lower-income neighborhoods close to highways and factories, can reduce ailments like asthma and heart disease that cause 5% of deaths ...

Phosphate Fix: The Sweet Side of Greens Putting dirt in your mouth isn't a very popular pastime. But when it comes down to it, everything you eat comes from dirt and from air. This is true whether you eat rice, tomatoes, eggs, cows, or candy bars. We could even argue that humans come from dirt. We eat plants and some of us also eat other animals, like chickens. Chickens eat plants and insects, and many insects eat plants as well. So everything comes back down to plants, which come from dirt and air. Plants need sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients to grow. Click for more detail. To grow, plants need sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide from the air. Plants also need nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which most plantsget from the soil. There are more than 7 billion people on the Earth and that number grows every day. It’s important to think about how we’re going to feed everybody. This means that, no matter what we eat, we need to figure out more efficient ways to grow crops. You may think that we’ve already figured it out. After all, while not everyone in the world gets enough food, most of us do. Many of us even waste a lot of food. Yet, in a little over 100 years, the Earth’s human population exploded from 1.6 billion in 1900 to over 7 billion people. Such an increase in population wouldn't have been possible without lots of food. So how did humans manage to grow more food? Fertilizer From Air In the early 1900s two German chemists, Fitz Haber and Carl Bos...

(For Grades 3-8) Ultimately, all life on Earth depends on plants to provide food, shelter, and oxygen for other living things. Consequently, plant reproduction is crucial to all other life on this planet. The first step in plant reproduction is the intricate process called pollination, which occurs when pollen grains, the male germ cell of a plant, reach the stigma, the female reproductive part of the same species of plant. Depending on the plant species, a flower can produce male, female, or both structures. Pollination can also occur within the same flower. Most flowering plants (90 percent) depend on animals to make the vital pollen-grain delivery. The remaining flowering plants rely on wind and some-times splashing raindrops to ferry pollen, but this is a less precise method. Pollinating animals do the job for a reward: food, usually in the form of nectar. The lessons in this online unit explore the theme of the National Zoo’s Pollinarium exhibition: how plant and animal partners interact to accomplish pollination. As in many processes in nature, timing is important. The female reproductive part of a flower is receptive to pollen only at certain times of the year. Creatures like insects and birds, which move from flower to flower in search of food, are a fast and often guaranteed way for plants to distribute their pollen. Both the male and the female reproductive parts of a plant are in the center of the flower. The male, pollen-producing part is called the anther, hel...

From the dog sitting on your couch to the near-mythical narwhal in the depths of the Arctic ocean, animals play a key role in environmental protection and human wellness. Let’s take a look at some of the miraculous ways animals help us. 1. Bees are powerful pollinators. Did you know about one-third of the world’s food depends on pollination? Many of the earth’s plants—about 30% of the world’s crops and 90% of our wild plants—depend on these little heroes. As they buzz from plant to plant, bees are powerful pollinators and play a vital role in the ecosystem, so the next time you find a wildflower, you can thank a busy bee. 2. Beavers combat climate change. These woodland creatures have proved incredibly adept at naturally regulating ecosystems. Their gnawing and damming reduce flooding and wildfire damage, preserve fish populations, and conserve freshwater reservoirs—key to combating the effects of climate change. So when it comes to much-needed river ecosystem regulation, leave it to the beavers. 3. Llamas patrol farms. In addition to being a farm animal with a particularly low environmental impact and a sweet tooth for invasive weed species, llamas have also been found to be incredibly effective guard animals. Yes, guard llamas. These sociable creatures bond with herd animals, which makes them instinctively protective against predators and an invaluable asset to shepherds and ranchers. 4. Rats detect landmines. Rats get a bad rap but with their keen sense of smell and tra...