The Plant Kingdom has a great significance as a resource to mankind. Without plants, humans would be unable to survive on the planet Earth. This is as a result of plants providing us with many vital components that aid life, such as oxygen and water. Not only are we provided with oxygen and water, but the Plant kingdom also provides us with many species which are currently being cultivated for food. These resources are all important and valuable to mankind as they allow us to function and live our daily lives.
The plant kingdom provides us with ecosystem services such as the continued production of atmospheric oxygen. This has a vital resource value to mankind. The importance of regulating oxygen and carbon dioxide via photosynthesis is highlighted by Hall (1992). Oxygen is released as a by-product through plant photosynthesis, and this is one of the most important processes on the planet as it allows for aerobic respiration which supports human life. Photosynthesis occurs through the process of green plants using the energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. This oxygen is released and can then be used by humans for aerobic respiration. Without oxygen, we would not be able to breathe. Therefore, the resource value of the plant kingdom for the production of oxygen is essential for mankind. Starr (2008) draws on the idea that the process of photosynthesis also removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is released by humans, during the process of burning fossil fuels. The carbon dioxide is up taken by the plant and then stored, acting as a carbon sink. By removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the plant kingdom helps to regulate the climate of the Earth. Carbon dioxide and other pollutants trap heat into the atmosphere, preventing them from dispersing into space. This is the Enhanced Greenhouse effect. This results in the overall heating of the atmosphere, and therefore causing global climate change. The plant kingdom is valuable, as it helps to prevent and slow down any further atmospheric heating.
The water cycle is regulated by the plant kingdom. Plants are vital in transferring water from the land to atmospheric stores. When precipitation occurs, the rain water percolates through the soil. This is then up taken by the plant during photosynthesis, where the water then gets into the atmosphere as water vapour via transpiration from the plant leaf. The US Geological Survey (2016) has studies which claim that around 10% of the overall moisture that is found in the atmosphere has been released via plant transpiration. The movement of plants onto land also allowed for the water cycle to be moved inland. Bowler (1912), presents the idea of how the water cycle would have begun following the colonisation of plants from water onto land. According to Coates (2010) plants moved from the water to land just under half a billion years ago. These species then brought with them the water cycle and as the plants moved further inland, the water did too. This overall resulted in the water cycle we have today.
Food is a resource provided to us from plants. It is estimated that there are 400,000 species of plants, with more than 50,000 species yet to be discovered. Today, around 2,000 plant species are cultivated for food and feed to be consumed by animals. Data from the FAO yearbook (2003) showed that in 2000 the highest producers were Cane sugar at 1271 million tonnes, maize at 596 million tonnes and rice at 593 million tonnes. The Food Standards Agency (2017) show that the high production of maize, is mainly grown to feed livestock. The plant kingdom has a major role in the production of livestock, as If we didn’t have the ability to grow plants such as grasses for example, many cattle would not have the feed required to aid growth. If we were unable to produce enough feed for livestock, we would not be able to keep up with the growing demand for meat in today’s society. With the population of the world currently at around 7.6 billion, and predictions formulated by U.N. and university of Washington (UW), Seattle, of rise to 13 billion by 2100 it is vital that we do not deplete food sources. By having a diverse range of plant species, we may be able to prevent having depleting food sources. This is down to new species that could be used and cultivated as food for the future. There are many undiscovered plant species and many of these may have the potential to be widely consumed as a staple food all over the world. Because of this the plant kingdom is valuable as it is a major food source today for both humans and animals, and can be a source of food source for the future.
With the population rising, the demand for housing and other amenities is growing. However, building resources such as steel are finite and often cause environmental damage in the extraction and processing parts of the materials life. However, by using sustainable wood for building, the environmental consequences can be much smaller. According to the British Woodworking Federation (2017), wood is the only ‘naturally renewable mainstream building material’. This makes it valuable to mankind, as it can be used without causing vast environmental damage. There are many benefits for using wood as a building material including the idea that responsibly sourced wood is renewable, therefore meaning it can be re-used and not wasted after one use. It is also strong, heat resistant and has a great aesthetic quality. Wood can be used to build many different things, with hardwoods being used for making walls and flooring, and softwoods being used to make inner structures. Grasses have also been used in the past and present as a building material for thatched roofs. The Thatch Advice Centre (2017), give examples of Water Reed, Combed Wheat Reed and Longstraw as different types of grasses materials that are used to thatch roofs on houses. Because of the great variety of products that can be built using different species in the plant kingdom, you could say that there is a high resource value to mankind. Without these building materials, there would be many things that would not be around today which are used in everyday life. By using these materials there is also less of an environmental footprint, therefore reducing the negative effects of harmful processes such as global climate change.
The growth and development in science and technology has allowed for there to be many plant based pharmaceutical products on the market today. Taylor (2000) claims that there are more than 120 plant based chemicals which are used as important drugs in one or more countries of the world. These plants make up a variety of drugs, all used for different medical conditions. For example, the plant species of genus Anabasis creates the chemical Anabesine, which has a clinical use as a skeletal muscle relaxant. In the review of medical plants and cancer, Desai (2008) states how plants have been recognised for having anticancer properties for many centuries. Although the characteristics of many plants are still in the research phase, there have been many promising results. Out of around 35,000 plants that have been tested, 3,000 species have been shown to have anticancer results. One of these is the isolation of the podophyllotoxin compound from the common mayapple. The discovery of this compound has led to the development of drugs which are able to treat testicular and small lung cancer. The fact that plants can be used to treat an illness such as cancer, which is the second largest cause of death worldwide, shows just how valuable the plant kingdom is to mankind. With further research, it is certain that the list of illnesses plants can treat will increase. This is of huge benefit to mankind, and therefore shows how valuable plants are as a pharmaceutical resource.
In conclusion, the Plant Kingdom provides mankind with very valuable resources and without them life could not be sustained. Plants have been around on the planet much longer than humans, making them an integral part of human life. They are vital in the sense that they produce oxygen, are the main producer in the food chain and regulate the atmosphere, water, climate and soil. As well as that, many species have great medicinal value. It is vital that plant species are conserved, as we do not know what resources and benefits they may have for us in the future. It is also important that rainforests are conserved and not unsustainably removed for logging or cattle ranching. This is because there are many species that are undiscovered that inhabit the rainforest, and have not been found due to its immense density. However, if the rainforest becomes destroyed we will not be able find these undiscovered species, therefore we will not reap the benefits that they may have been able to offer us in the future.
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