Relationship Humans Plants. How Plants Acquire Carbon

¶ … relationship humans plants. How plants acquire carbon dioxide release oxygen? For purposes plants acquire carbon dioxide? Do a plant survive air tight box plant needed a source oxygen? Why there would be no people without plants The connection between humans and nature has been a primordial one, actively discussed not only in life sciences but also in literature. Ever since the start of the evolutionary process plants have been an incredible source for food, medicine and even shelter, however the greatest benefit plants have given the human race is oxygen.

Photosynthesis is the process that converts energy in sunlight to chemical forms of energy, which can be used by biological systems. This procedure is carried out by plants and bacteria; a higher form of photosynthesis is completed by algae, cyanobacteria and their relatives (notably known for the photosynthesis in the oceanic ecosystem). These organisms covert CO2 to organic material by reducing this gas to carbohydrates through a complex set of reactions. (Vermaas, 1998).

"Each year more than 10% of the total atmospheric carbon dioxide is reduced to carbohydrate by photosynthetic organisms." Through means of biomass combustion, plant and animal metabolism, the reduced CO2 is sent to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. The quality of the photosynthetic process depends on the Earth's atmosphere and climate and during the last century the highly industrialized human activities have had a profound impact on photosynthetic organisms (Whitmarsh and Govindjee, 1995).

The factors mentioned above need to be present in determined capacities and have to be in perfect line so the photosynthesis occurs naturally: Temperature -- when temperatures are higher than 35°C the process slows down, and at one point the enzymes are destroyed (keeping the temperature at a constant level is vital for the process). Light intensity - an increase in light intensity accelerates the process in a leaf until a maximum rate of photosynthesis is reached.

CO2 concentration -- an increase in the CO2 amount in the air around the plant will intensify the rate of photosynthesis. Water -- any shortage in water will slow the process, reducing the exchange rate between CO2 and O2, as well as the number of stomates. Minerals - magnesium and nitrogen are needed to make chlorophyll molecules. Other essential minerals needed for the process are: zinc, manganese, iron, and copper (Energy, Matter and Organization, 2011) One of the five elements needs further discussion, as it is the most important one: light.

The absence of light becomes a limiting factor and experiments have shown that a plant kept in a dark set will not start the photosynthesis process regardless of the CO2 quantity it receives (Toole and Toole, 1997). This experiment only shows at a small scale the effects air pollution has on the vegetation. There are two important steps in photosynthesis: energy transfer and electron transfer.

"Molecules of the light-harvesting system transfer electronic excitation energy to special chlorophyll molecules, whose role is to initiate the directional transfer of electrons across a biological membrane; the electron transfer which takes place in pigment-protein complex called the reaction center, then creates a potential difference that drives the subsequent biochemical reaction that store the energy" (Fleming and Grondelle, 1994, p. 48). Furthermore, by looking at the photosynthetic process, we can notice that nature is doing all the "hard work," and human kind is only benefiting from the results.

To enjoy contemporary perks like: skyscrapers, cars and advanced technology, society has indirectly agreed to a list of trade-offs; the building of new structures and modernizing usually involves the invasion of the natural ecosystem (for example, cutting down a forest to make room for industrial factories, or the exploitation of the rainforest for the wood industry), and by diminishing the green landscape, the quality of the air and water becomes poor.

Earth's carrying capacity is approaching a critical limit especially in terms of land use (vegetation) and fresh water, and one of the reasons is the rapid increase of the population (Rojstaczer, Sterling and Moore, 2001). As long as the population continues to expand and take over pristine areas, we are facing a slow but certain obliteration over global health, welfare and lifestyle.

Air pollution damage has been recognized as one of the major threats to the vegetation, and in the past decades it has received the name of "smog" or "community" air pollution. The chemical components range from ethylene, fluorides, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide; during the first decades of industrialization the toxic fumes mostly were produced by factories and coal mines, but as we approach the modern era, the boom of modern cars and technology has taken the lead as the principal pollution method (Middleton, 1961).

Taking in consideration all the factors that a plant would need to start the photosynthesis process, there is no wonder that the current state of the planet is decaying. The human-vegetation relationship is a causal one, as the actions we take have a vast effect on the ecosystem; in order to keep that relation healthy, authorities, people and organizations have tried to raise awareness about pollution, land use, CO2 emissions, as a last try to correct the issue.

The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified, but not implemented, by many nations, who are so determined in their idea that industry equals a solid economy. That is why environmental regulation was established to: avoid local environmental damage, balance the costs between countries, provide safe and healthy products, and promote free trade. Though industry is to blame for the destruction of the plant world there is the possibility that more open economies might follow a less pollution-intensive industrial development path (Lucas et al., 1992).

Vegetation sustains food chains, it provides life-support services like protection from ultraviolet radiation, and it is also a source of joy and spiritual inspiration. Since most of the population lives in cities and have all of their goods imported from other parts of the planet, they perceive nature as a collection of commodities rather than a source of life and well-being.

Once the individual employs unsustainable living and starts to consume resources faster than they are able to renew (thus producing waste that cannot be absorbed), he or she contributes to soil erosion, deforestation, fisheries collapse and species extinction (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). The current process of globalization and its dynamics.