The value of green plants in nature and human life - Knowledge Hypermarket. The value of plants in human life

And the life of a man

Plants are the primary source of existence, prosperity and development of life on Earth, and primarily due to their ability to carry out photosynthesis. Photosynthesis takes place almost everywhere on our planet, and therefore its total effect is colossal. In the process of photosynthesis, green plants create organic substances from carbon dioxide and water (Fig. 16.1), serve as a source of valuable food (grains, vegetables, fruits, etc.), raw materials for industry and construction.

Rice. 16.1. The structure of primary relationships between plants

and animals (Balogh, 1958).

Formation of the gas composition of atmospheric air, as is known, is also directly dependent on plants. Green plants in the process of photosynthesis release about 5×10 11 tons of free oxygen per year. One hectare of corn releases 15 tons of oxygen per year, which is enough to breathe for 30 people. All the oxygen in the atmosphere passes through the green matter in about 2000 years. In 300 years, plants absorb as much carbon as is contained in the atmosphere and waters. The annual chemical energy of photosynthesis products was 1000 times higher than the energy production at the end of the 20th century. all power plants in the world. It has been established that the plants of the Earth in the process of photosynthesis annually form more than 177 billion tons of organic matter.

Plants are involved in the formation of humus, which is the most essential part of the soil, ensures its high fertility. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, the molecules of many organic substances include atoms of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and often other elements (iron, cobalt, magnesium, copper). All of them are extracted by plants from the soil or the aquatic environment in the form of salt ions, mainly in the oxidized form. Mineral salts are not washed out of the surface layers of the soil, since the vegetation constantly absorbs part of the mineral substances from the soil and transfers them to animals for food. Animals, like plants, after dying off, transmit minerals back into the soil, from where they are reabsorbed by plants. "In the process of leaching, plants, as it were, withdraw mineral salts and constantly maintain their content in the soil, which is important for its fertility.

Vegetation has a great influence on the climate, water bodies, animal world and other elements of the biosphere with which it is closely interconnected. The nature of the vegetation largely determines the nature of the biocenosis, ecosystems, their morphological and functional structure, and the biogeocenotic activity of the components. The importance of vegetation in human life is great. First of all, vegetation represents the necessary environment for human life. Wild flora is an invaluable genetic fund in breeding work when creating new varieties of agricultural crops. According to N.M. Chernova et al. (1995) most of the plants that provide about 90% of the world's food today came from the cultivation of wild plants (Fig. 16.2).

Rice. 16.2. Centers of origin cultivated plants

(according to N. M. Chernova et al., 1995)

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 breeding more than 1500 new varieties.

For many centuries, people have been extracting from plants a variety of medicinal substances that are so necessary in medical and veterinary practice. Over 1000 types of products are in circulation on the modern world market. medicinal plants. Among them are preparations from the root of life - ginseng, eleutherococcus, May lily of the valley, spring adonis (Fig. 16.3).

Rice. 16.3. Medicinal plants (according to V. K. Terletsky, 1991):

1 - mountain arnica; 2 - common viburnum; 3 - Chinese magnolia vine; 4 - real ginseng

Thus, about 80% of people in developing countries, taking care of their health, rely mainly on wild medicinal herbs and other plants. About half of the prescribed and non-prescribed medicines consumed in the world contain natural ingredients obtained from wild organisms. A quarter of these ingredients are obtained from plants found only in tropical forests. Plants are the most important food resource for humans, many of them are used in a variety of ways. technological processes(brewing, baking, cleaning Wastewater etc.). Plants serve as the main food base for domestic and many wild animals. They participate in the formation of minerals, protect the surface of the Earth from destruction by water flows and wind, and from falling asleep with sands of fertile land.

The indicator role of plants deserves attention. Watching plants, a person in ancient times learned landmarks in space and time - plants faithfully served him instead of a compass. Some plants showed the time of day quite accurately to a person. Other plants performed the function of a barometer and hygrometer, were indicators of fresh and salt water. Currently, indicator plants are used in their research and practice by geologists, hydrologists, land surveyors, soil scientists, climatologists, foresters, archaeologists, etc. For example, plants can be used to detect kimberlite pipes that hide diamonds. Plants can serve as indicators of soil fertility. Yu. M. Columella was a deep connoisseur of the agronomic science of the ancient Roman state. He wrote: “It behooves a zealous owner to be able to judge the properties of the soil and know what can grow well on it by the foliage of trees, by herbs or already ripened fruits.” A similar point of view was shared by his contemporary Pliny: “Elder, blackberry, field onion, clover, wild apple tree and pear are signs of grain soil.” Plants react strongly to changes. external conditions. Depending on the nature of the soil cover, certain plants are most widely used.

The negative impact of car exhaust gases is so pronounced on some plants that they can be successfully used to detect concentrations of these gases that are dangerous for humans. This is especially important in places where exhaust gases accumulate, such as in tunnels, on highways with heavy traffic. Drying of the ends of the leaves, discoloration, the appearance of white spots on the plants indicates the presence in environment the most dangerous pollutants.

Plants different ways carry out detoxification harmful substances. Some of the harmful substances are bound by the cytoplasm of plant cells and become inactive, while others undergo transformations in plants to non-toxic products and participate in metabolism.

To combat harmful microorganisms, plants have developed a number of substances that can suppress their activity. These include antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, etc.) and phytoncides. Onion and garlic have strong bactericidal properties. In this regard, they have long been used as therapeutic agents. One juniper plant emits 30 g of volatile substances per day, and one hectare - such an amount of phytoncides that is enough to clean all the streets from microbes big city. Vegetation for a person is also a source of aesthetic pleasure, providing him psychological impact. Many plants have become the objects of careful bionic research in order to use the existing principles and mechanisms in technology, etc.

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

Here it is appropriate to give another argument in favor of the undesirability of the extermination of at least one single plant species, no matter how unnecessary or even harmful this species may seem today. The principle must be taken into account potential utility. We are not in a position to foresee what significance this or that species may have in the future for man. Species that were considered completely useless or harmful, often then acquired great importance. Thus, molds that turned out to be harmful gave antibiotics to humanity, and numerous bacteria, which also seemed useless, work for humanity, included in the technology for extracting a number of types of minerals, etc. The gene pool of currently existing organisms is an invaluable evolutionary gift, from correct use which largely depends on the direction of scientific and technological progress in various fields of human activity.

Human impact on

Vegetation

Human activity has a huge impact on vegetation, both positive and negative. As an object of protection, vegetation can be divided into water, soil, underground and aboveground.

Water vegetation plays an important role in the life of reservoirs and their inhabitants, but is poorly used by man.

Soil vegetation - bacteria, algae, certain types fungi play an important role in the processes of soil formation and the formation of its fertility.

Ground vegetation, numbering more than 500 thousand species (of which 300 thousand are higher plant species), is used to the greatest extent by man and is subjected to human influences.

It is difficult to say today how many plants have disappeared on the planet, which are no longer possible to create anew. However, many facts testify to the disappearance of about 30 thousand plant species. There are about 20 thousand plant species in our country. Of these, up to about 60% grows on natural hayfields and pastures. More than 530 species have now become rare.

As a result of human activity on vast areas, wild plants are replaced by cultivated ones, that is, man constantly transforms the surrounding world of plants in his own interests. Plant communities are strongly influenced by domestic and wild animals. Uneaten plants remain intact or are trampled under foot. Unsystematic grazing of livestock leads to degeneration of pastures, causes the occurrence of water and wind erosion of the soil.

Industrial emissions have a great influence on the growth and development of plants. Once in the atmospheric air, they eventually settle on plants. Plant growth can slow down by 2 times, and sometimes more. Some industrial emissions are highly toxic and cause plants to dry out. It has been established that the yield of wheat in the areas where non-ferrous metallurgy is located is 40-50% lower, and the protein content in it is 25-35% lower. Often there are facts of destruction and damage to plants that cannot be justified by anything. For example, massive pollution of hayfields, pastures and other areas with industrial waste removed, all kinds of garbage. Severe consequences for plants are left by mass flower gatherings, unorganized visits and recreation in the bosom of nature.

Similar information.

Rice. 16.1. The structure of primary relationships between plants

and animals (Balogh, 1958).

Plants are involved in the formation of humus, which is the most essential part of the soil, ensures its high fertility. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, the molecules of many organic substances include atoms of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and often other elements (iron, cobalt, magnesium, copper). All of them are extracted by plants from the soil or the aquatic environment in the form of salt ions, mainly in the oxidized form. Mineral salts are not washed out of the surface layers of the soil, since the vegetation constantly absorbs part of the mineral substances from the soil and transfers them to animals for food. Animals, like plants, after dying, transfer mineral substances back to the soil, from where they are again absorbed by plants. "In the process of leaching, plants, as it were, withdraw mineral salts and constantly maintain their content in the soil, which is important for its fertility.

Vegetation has a great influence on the climate, water bodies, wildlife and other elements of the biosphere, with which it is closely interconnected. The nature of the vegetation largely determines the nature of the biocenosis, ecosystems, their morphological and functional structure, and the biogeocenotic activity of the components. The importance of vegetation in human life is great. First of all, vegetation represents the necessary environment for human life. Wild flora is an invaluable genetic fund in breeding work when creating new varieties of agricultural crops. According to N.M. Chernova et al. (1995) most of the plants that provide about 90% of the world's food today came from the cultivation of wild plants (Fig. 16.2).

Rice. 16.2. Centers of origin of cultivated plants

(according to N. M. Chernova et al., 1995)

For many centuries, people have been extracting from plants a variety of medicinal substances that are so necessary in medical and veterinary practice. Over 1000 species of medicinal plants are in circulation on the modern world market. Among them are preparations from the root of life - ginseng, eleutherococcus, May lily of the valley, spring adonis (Fig. 16.3).

Rice. 16.3. Medicinal plants (according to V. K. Terletsky, 1991):

1 - mountain arnica; 2 - common viburnum; 3 - Chinese magnolia vine; 4 - real ginseng

Thus, about 80% of people in developing countries, taking care of their health, rely mainly on wild medicinal herbs and other plants. About half of the prescribed and non-prescribed medicines consumed in the world contain natural ingredients obtained from wild organisms. A quarter of these ingredients are obtained from plants found only in tropical forests. Plants are the most important food resource for humans, many of them are used in a variety of technological processes (brewing, baking, wastewater treatment, etc.). Plants serve as the main food base for domestic and many wild animals. They participate in the formation of minerals, protect the surface of the Earth from destruction by water flows and wind, and from falling asleep with sands of fertile land.

The indicator role of plants deserves attention. Watching plants, a person in ancient times learned landmarks in space and time - plants faithfully served him instead of a compass. Some plants showed the time of day quite accurately to a person. Other plants performed the function of a barometer and hygrometer, were indicators of fresh and salt water. Currently, indicator plants are used in their research and practice by geologists, hydrologists, land surveyors, soil scientists, climatologists, foresters, archaeologists, etc. For example, plants can be used to detect kimberlite pipes that hide diamonds. Plants can serve as indicators of soil fertility. Yu. M. Columella was a deep connoisseur of the agronomic science of the ancient Roman state. He wrote: “It behooves a zealous owner to be able to judge the properties of the soil and know what can grow well on it by the foliage of trees, by herbs or already ripened fruits.” A similar point of view was shared by his contemporary Pliny: “Elder, blackberry, field onion, clover, wild apple tree and pear are signs of grain soil.” Plants react sharply to changes in external conditions. Depending on the nature of the soil cover, certain plants are most widely used.

Plants detoxify harmful substances in different ways. Some of the harmful substances are bound by the cytoplasm of plant cells and become inactive, while others undergo transformations in plants to non-toxic products and participate in metabolism.

To combat harmful microorganisms, plants have developed a number of substances that can suppress their activity. These include antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, etc.) and phytoncides. Onion and garlic have strong bactericidal properties. In this regard, they have long been used as therapeutic agents. One juniper plant emits 30 g of volatile substances per day, and one hectare - such an amount of phytoncides that is enough to clean all the streets of a big city from microbes. Vegetation for a person is also a source of aesthetic pleasure, which has a psychological impact on him. Many plants have become the objects of careful bionic research in order to use the existing principles and mechanisms in technology, etc.

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

Here it is appropriate to give another argument in favor of the undesirability of the extermination of at least one single plant species, no matter how unnecessary or even harmful this species may seem today. The principle must be taken into account potential utility. We are not in a position to foresee what significance this or that species may have in the future for man. Species that were considered completely useless or harmful, often then acquired great importance. Thus, molds that turned out to be harmful gave antibiotics to humanity, and numerous bacteria, which also seemed useless, work for humanity, included in the technology for extracting a number of types of minerals, etc. The gene pool of currently existing organisms is an invaluable evolutionary gift, from the correct use of which in the direction of scientific and technological progress in various fields of human activity largely depends.

Plants feed us, dress us, warm us, delight the eye in indoor collections, bouquets and floral arrangements. 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. The importance of plants in human life, in nature, economic activity population. Let us consider the main directions of practical use and the cognitive role of this large group of living organisms.

Green miracle of nature

Plants can be found everywhere: in the forest, field, at the bottom of the ocean, in a drop of water and on top of a mountain. Among this group of living beings, unicellular and multicellular organisms stand out. The science that studies plants, their structure, distribution and systematics is botany. The totality of all types of plants that are found in a certain area is flora.

There are three life forms. They differ in appearance: trees, shrubs and herbs. Different life expectancy is typical for annuals, biennials and perennials. There is a large group of spore organisms on Earth - these are algae, mosses, club mosses, ferns. Seeds include gymnosperms and flowering plants. These plants have been used by man since time immemorial.

The Russian scientist K. A. Timiryazev wrote that green cells act like "Prometheus, who stole fire from the sky." The rays of the Sun seem to be preserved 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 is Greek word in translation means "connection in the light" and refers to a special way of nutrition - autotrophic. Living beings-autotrophs create from inorganic substances organic compounds using the energy of light (the sun or artificial lighting). Organisms of people and animals are not adapted to such a process, therefore they need plants.

Photosynthesis

The roots absorb water and mineral salts from the soil, carbon dioxide from the air penetrates through microscopic holes in the leaves. These as a result of chemical reactions of photosynthesis are part of 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. Occur in plants and other chemical reactions are formed different substances(starch, cellulose, proteins, fats, lignin, vitamins, resins and many others). They are consumed by the plant itself, are important in the diet and treatment of humans, their four-legged friends - animals.

The role of plants in nature and human life

Autotrophic creatures are essential to all life on Earth. The value of plants is determined the following features chemical processes in green cells:

the method of nutrition in which light energy is absorbed, used for reactions;
the release of oxygen necessary for the respiration of humans, animals and the plants themselves;
the formation of organic substances;
absorption of carbon dioxide, a large content of which is harmful to humans and animals.

On Earth, there is an exchange of matter and energy in individual communities and on a global scale. There are short and long food chains, they form food webs:

forest grass → hare → fox;
nectar and pollen of flowers → bees → honey buzzard (bird);
clover → calf → human.

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

On the roots leguminous plants nodules are formed, consisting of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. They assimilate nitrogen, which is contained in the air that fills the voids in the soil, and turn it into compounds available to leguminous plants. This is a symbiosis - a beneficial cooperation of different living beings. When plants die, the soil is enriched with nitrogen compounds, which can be absorbed by living roots. For humans, legumes are an important source of protein. AT agriculture they are used as green manure.

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 composition of the air. Evaporation helps the green organism to protect itself from overheating. Thanks to plants, the air is fresher, cleaner, cooler and more 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 surrounding air;
plants retain dust, soot and other contaminants harmful to humans;
phytoncides secreted by leaves have a detrimental effect on pathogens.

The cognitive value 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 change in life on Earth. The growth rings in wood can be used to judge the climate in different years. There are barometer plants, they bloom in sunny weather and close the flowers before bad weather. Droplets of water appear on the leaves of calla, balsam before the rain. Plants are often used in experiments by representatives of various branches of science. For example, ecologists, studying chemical composition cells and tissues, judge the pollution of the environment.

Plants serve as material for selection work, for studying the methods of transmission of hereditary information. There are curious cases when plants were unintentionally used in experiments and performed important discoveries. For example, an Englishman accidentally opened indicators by dropping chemicals on garden violets in a vase. Plants serve as a prototype for creating complex technical devices, engineering structures (bionics).

Plants and industry

Green cells act as solar energy accumulators. She stocks up chemical bonds organic molecules. The forests that covered the earth in distant geological epochs gave rise to coal deposits. 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 use in food, wood-chemical, pulp and paper, textile, pharmaceutical and other industries. Logging products are a valuable raw material for the production of furniture, building materials, hydrolytic alcohol, camphor and other substances. According to conservative estimates, mankind knows 20 thousand ways to use wood. The most ancient are burning for heat, erection of buildings, fences, paper production.

Fibrous crops (cotton, flax, jute, hemp, and others) are valuable raw materials for industry. The source of natural rubber is tropical tree hevea. Perfumes and cosmetics cannot do without essential oil plants.

Agriculture and gardening

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

cereals (wheat, rice, barley, rye, corn and others);
legumes (peas, soybeans, beans, beans);
cherry, currant, raspberry and others);
sugar beets);
vegetables (tomato, cucumber, pepper and others);
oilseeds (sunflower, rapeseed, flax);
decorative (lilac, rose, chrysanthemum, aster and others).

Cereals and leguminous crops

The nutritional value of plants in human life cannot be overestimated. Scientists have calculated that approximately 2/3 of the diet of the population different countries make up products plant origin. Useful substances include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, organic acids.

Plants are eaten fresh and processed as a whole or only their individual parts. A significant concentration of nutrients was noted in cereal grains. It is a versatile source of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Grains are used to make flour for baking bakery products, produce pasta and cereal products. Seeds of leguminous plants are valued in cooking and dietary nutrition.

Vegetable, fruit and berry and sugar 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 the succulent parts. Most cell sap with vitamins and other dissolved substances found in fruits, bulbs, tubers and leaves of vegetables, fruit trees and berry crops.

During heat treatment, some valuable compounds, such as vitamins, are destroyed. Therefore, nutritionists recommend consuming more fresh vegetables and fruits. There are groups of people who have completely switched to eating plants - vegetarians and vegans.

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

They grow crops that accumulate a significant amount of sweet juice in the organs; it is thickened, evaporated and sugar is obtained. Fatty acid 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 plants

In addition to the above areas that characterize the role of plants in human life, there is an alternative medicine that uses wild and cultivated species. Medicinal plants contain important medical point connection vision:

alkaloids and glycosides - have a regulatory effect on the activity of organs and systems;
tannins - have astringent and antimicrobial properties;
vitamins and microelements are indispensable for metabolism;
essential oils - have anti-inflammatory and disinfecting effects;
organic acids - affect digestion, the condition of the skin, 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 derived from plant materials act softer, rarely have side effects, compared to synthetic substances. Medicinal properties inherent in hundreds of representatives of the flora, the following species are especially valued:

European birch (buds, leaves, birch bark, sap);
rosehip cinnamon (false fruits);
plantain large (leaves);
(root);
chamomile pharmacy (inflorescences);
small-leaved linden (flowers).

Without plants, the existence of mankind is unthinkable, so the green decoration of the planet needs rational use, care and renewal.

Forests play an important role in nature. Their ecological functions are as follows:

1. Carbon function is the use of carbon dioxide by plants for photosynthesis. 1 hectare of medium productive forest binds 6-7 tons of carbon dioxide per year and releases 5-6 tons of oxygen. 3 hectares of forest supply 400 kg of oxygen to the atmosphere - this is the annual norm for human breathing. The concentration of large masses of carbon in forests is associated with a large biomass of the forest stand. A significant mass of carbon is conserved in dead organic matter (detritus), in soil humus and in peat deposits of forest bogs.

2. The air-cleaning function of forests is to purify the air of pollutants as a result of their absorption by plants and through physical deposition. Forest vegetation and other types trap 21 to 86% of dust and reduce air pollution by microbes by 19-44%. There are 40-50 times less emissions in the air of city parks than near industrial enterprises.

Forest plantations significantly reduce the noise effect, reduce the range of sound propagation.

3. Climatic and meteorological functions of forests. Forests have a significant impact on meteorological elements, the microclimate of the forest is formed. The forest affects the air temperature. In summer, it is cooler in the forest by an average of 1-2 ° C, in winter it is somewhat warmer than in treeless areas. The forest is more high humidity air and upper soil horizons.

4. Water protection functions of forests. The forest increases the duration and reduces the flood, regulates the flow of water into the riverbed and prevents floods, ensures the full flow of the rivers throughout the year. The forest reduces surface runoff and increases underground runoff as a result of the good water permeability of forest soils and a more uniform supply of moisture to the soil surface. Forests have an impact on water quality. Forest waters always carry fewer suspended particles and dissolved chemical substances than water coming from agricultural, urbanized areas.

5. Plants are involved in the formation of soil humus, affect the content chemical elements in the soil. The forest contributes to the accumulation of moisture in the soil and in winter protects the soil from freezing. Plants reduce erosion processes. Plants prevent waterlogging of territories and secondary salinization. 6. The forest is a habitat for many living organisms. Many animals are adapted to living only in forest conditions.

The significance of the forest for man is manifold.

1. Forest is a source of wood. The total stock of wood in the forests of the world is 337-370 billion m3, the annual current increase is 5.5 billion m3 (in developed forests - 1.8 billion m3). 1.2 - 1.8 billion m3 is harvested annually. Half of all wood produced in the world is used as a source of fuel, mainly in the developing countries of the tropical and equatorial belts (in the first place in the procurement of firewood and charcoal– Asia, then Africa and South America).

Wood is the main construction material and the cheapest. According to Professor Lise (Germany), energy consumption for the production of bricks is 4 times more than for an equivalent amount of wood, for the production of cement - 5 times more, plastic - 6 times, steel - 23, Cu - 40 , Al - 120 times.

About 20 thousand different products and products are obtained from wood: glucose, feed sugar, tannins, alcohol, paper, viscose, synthetic rubber, plastics, rosin, acetone, etc. With appropriate chemical treatment, wood is not inferior in strength to metal, moreover , it is easy to decompose after the service life and does not pollute environment.

2. The forest is a source of resin. Gum is used to obtain rosin, turpentine, flotation oil. The income from birch tapping is about 20 times higher than from the sale of birch wood.

3. Forest - a source of medicinal plants, mushrooms, berries, fruits, branch fodder, etc. These are all by-products of the forest. These products often generate more government revenue than timber. For example, the cost of harvesting nuts from 1 hectare of fruit-bearing cedar plantations is 3 times higher than the cost of harvested timber. In the forests of Karelia, the yield of blueberries in cleared areas reaches 500 kg/ha.

Of the berry forest plants in Belarus, the main harvested species are cranberries, blueberries, lingonberries, blueberries, and of fruit trees - mountain ash, wild rose. Blueberries are the most widely distributed in the forests, which are 5 or more times larger in area, and 10-15 times larger in biological reserves than other species. The areas of mushroom lands make up 30-35% of the area of forest stands. The sizes of exploitation resources of wild-growing mushrooms and berries are generally close. In connection with the catastrophe at the Chernobyl NPP, two thirds of the territory of the forest fund is contaminated to some extent with radionuclides, the operational resources of mushrooms, berries and fruits have significantly decreased.

We owe a lot to the green inhabitants of land and water. And above all, life. "All manifestations of life on Earth originate from a green leaf" - these words belong to the remarkable physiologist K. A. Timiryazev, who was the first to convincingly prove the cosmic role of vegetation cover. After all, it was plants that created the necessary prerequisites for the appearance and existence of animals, including humans.

Figuratively speaking, they represent a planetary photosynthesis reactor, with the advent of which the entire appearance of the planet has changed. Green plants capable of photosynthesis, using the colossal masses of carbon dioxide accumulated in the atmosphere, formed the primary organic matter. The atmosphere became aerobic. An ozone shield appeared, which is a shield from destructive solar radiation. Became possible life on the land. A giant "green factory" with the help of a tiny chlorophyll grain transfers the energy of the Sun into the vital energy of a plant - its leaves, stems, roots, tubers, fruits, seeds. Thus, plants create conditions for the life of the animal world, at the same time they are a source of food and habitat for it. That is why green plants are compared with the mythical Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to people.

Being important component biosphere, plants provide a normal biological cycle of substances, play a significant role in maintaining ecological balance, influence climate formation, soil formation. They filter the air, absorb some of the harmful substances, release phytoncides that kill pathogens (remember how easy, free, pleasant it is to breathe in a pine forest, a birch grove!). Already on my own green color foliage has a beneficial effect on a person. It is less than other colors of the spectrum, tires the eyes, promotes better blood circulation, reduces blood pressure. Soothe, relieve excitement forest, meadow smells, sound vibrations from the rustle of leaves of trees and grasses. Staying in the forest contributes to the restoration of physical and emotional strength. It is for this that many millions of people go to the bosom of nature.

The role of plants in human life cannot be assessed. There is an opinion among scientists that a person was able to rise to the modern level only because he was surrounded by the plant world: mastering its secrets and knowing its properties, a person simultaneously improved his mind and body. Considering the flora as their home, eating the fruits of the earth, people got to know the properties of plants more deeply, learned to distinguish among them friends and foes. Plants gave man almost everything for existence - food, clothing, materials for buildings, fuel, utensils, furniture, medicines, dyes and a host of other useful substances. And today, despite the rapid development of scientific and technological progress, the role and importance of plants in the life of society is not decreasing, but, on the contrary, is increasing, becoming more diverse and noticeable. They are an important source for us. wealth, health, aesthetic pleasure, inspiration. And in the future, with the growth of intensification human activity, which in turn leaves a certain imprint on the plant world, the role in the biosphere flora in general and its individual species will also not decrease.