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Plants pollution The reality we do not want to see

Fernando José Martínez Quezada

Rodrigo Fernando Palacios Salaverria

Casto David Ramírez Domínguez

Luis Fernando Salinas Guevara

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Index

But first………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………3

What is pollution…………………………………………………………………………….…………………4-5

Modes of pollution……………………………………………………………………….……………………….6

Plants in danger of extinction …………………………………………………………………….7-8

Plants are exposed pollution…………………………………………………….…………………9-10

Plants sensitive to………………………………………………………………………….………………….11

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We are going to explain the effect of the pollution in the plants, and the

plants that are in danger of extinction because of it.

But first…

Plants are one of two

major Kingdoms of life forms.

Plants are the only life forms that

can produce their own food using

energy from sunlight.

Plants produce almost all of

the oxygen in the air that humans and other animals breathe.

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What is pollution?

Pollution is the

introduction of a

contaminant into

the environment.

It is created

mostly by human

actions, but can

also be a result of

natural disasters.

The contaminants

can cause

irreversible health problems at

certain concentration levels. The

effects depend on the dose and the

frequency of exposure to the

contaminants.

The artificial facts that affect the

plants are basically the pollution,

acid rain & deforestation.

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Plants can be affected by different

modes of pollution:

The Earth pollution prevents the

plants from absorbing the

necessary nutrients for its correct

operation.

Water pollution: The unbalanced pH

substances injure plants.

One of the main water

pollutants that affect plants

is the acid rain. Acid rain is a

result of harmful gas

emissions being added to

the atmosphere from

industrial processes. The

most toxic gasses making up

acid rain are sulfur dioxide

and nitrogen. When acid

rain or any kind of harmful

precipitation falls on plants,

it is harmful.

Because the highest

concentration of the acid

accumulates near the base

of clouds, tall trees and

vegetation located in higher

altitudes are especially

impacted by acid rain.

Air Pollution: All particles

suspended in the air can

clog plants stomata,

preventing photosynthesis

(the progress of absorbing

carbon dioxide to convert it

together with water into

sugars and oxygen).

The biggest part of the human

race doesn't actually care about

the environment and plants. The

problem is that it causes loss of

natural resources. If we continue

not caring about it, the future

generations will suffer. For

example, there are a lot of plants

that are used to make meds, a lot

of plants are food, and if we aren't

conscious about it, a lot of species

of plants will perish.

Some ways to stop pollution

on plants are:

- Plant trees, fruits or

vegetables if you can.

- Plants can help you

produce oxygen and in

return absorbs carbon

dioxide in the air.

- Reuse and recycle materials

and things that can be

reduce, possibly reuse and

recycle for other purposes,

such as newspapers.

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20% of the plants in the world are in danger of extinction.

The name of some of these plants:

Drago Canary

Dracaena Draco, the Canary Islands

dragon tree or drago, is

a subtropical tree in

the genus Dracaena, native to the

Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira,

and locally in western Morocco,

and introduced to the Azores. This

tree is the natural symbol of the

island of Tenerife.

Wollemi pine

Wollemia is a genus of coniferous tree in

the family Araucariaceae. Wollemia was

only known through fossil records until

the Australian species Wollemia

nobilis was discovered in 1994 in a

temperate rainforest wilderness area of

the Wollemi National Park in New South

Wales, in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided

sandstone gorges near Lithgow, 150 kilometers north-west of Sydney.

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Common snowdrop

Galanthus nivalis is the best-known and most

widespread representative of the

genus Galanthus. It is native to a large area

of Europe, stretching from the Pyrenees in

the west, through France and Germany to

Poland in the north, Italy, Bulgaria,

Northern Greece, Ukraine, and European

Turkey. It has been introduced and is

widely naturalized elsewhere. Although it is

often thought of as a British native wild

flower, or to have been brought to the

British Isles by the Romans, it was probably

introduced around the early sixteenth

century and is currently not a protected

species in the UK.

Wood bitter-vetch

Vicia orobus is a species of leguminous

plant in the genus Vicia, known as wood

bitter-vetch. It is found in Atlantic areas of

Europe, especially in the rocky edges of

seasonally-grazed fields. It grows up to

60 cm (24 in) tall, and has no tendrils at the

ends of its pinnate leaves. Its flowers are

white with purple veins, and are borne in

groups of 6 or more.

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Plants that are exposed to air

pollution over an extended period

grow at a slower rate, produce

fewer blossoms and are more

susceptible to disease and insect

damage. When the air quality index

dips, all plants are at risk.

The worst pollutants for plants are

ground-level ozone and sulfur

dioxide. An odorless, colorless gas,

ground-level ozone is one of the

components of smog. It is not

released directly into the air, but is

produced when the sun’s rays

interact with airborne pollutants.

From April to September, the

weather is conducive to the

formation of ground-level ozone,

which is not to be confused with

stratospheric ozone. Occurring 15 to

50 kilometers above the Earth’s

surface, stratospheric ozone protects all living organisms from harmful

ultraviolet rays.

Comments:

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What to watch for

Ground-level ozone causes

small dark spots to appear

on leaves. Visible on only

one side, the irregular-

shaped spots are light

brown with a clearly

defined dark edge.

In evergreens, tiny yellow

spots develop all along the

needles, which then dry

out and turn yellow.

Sulfur dioxide is a

product of fuel

combustion and the fusion

of certain metals. It can

cause white or reddish

brown chlorotic spots

between the veins.

* New shoots and older leaves are not usually affected.

Minimize the damage

Regular watering and fertilizing will make your plants hardier, but there

are no absolute safeguards against air pollution. However, we can all do our

bit to reduce environmental toxins.

Use electric or manual garden tools. If you simply can’t do without a power

mower, pick one that has a four-stroke gasoline engine, which produces less

pollution than a two-stroke engine.

Reduce the amount of waste that will end up in a landfill or incinerator by

buying less, recycling and composting.

Shop locally and choose seasonal products.

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Check the labels on cleaning products and pick ones that are environ-

mentally friendly.

Plants sensitive to...

Ground-level ozone: Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)

White ash (Fraxinus americana cvs.)

Honeylocust (Gleditsia spp. and cvs.)

European larch (Larix decidua)

Mulberry (Morus spp. and cvs.)

Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus cvs.)

Oak (Quercus spp. and cvs.)

Common lilac (Syringa vulgaris cvs.)

Basswood (Tilia americana cvs.)

Grapes (Vitis spp. and cvs.).

Sulphur dioxide:

Birch (Betula spp. and cvs.)

Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)

Bachelor’s buttons (Centaurea cyanus cvs.)

Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus cvs.)

Morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea cvs.)

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus cvs.)

Crabapple (Malus spp. and cvs.)

Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus cvs.)