BIO 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Flowering Plant, Gymnosperm, Non-Vascular Plant
Document Summary
Alternation of generations: all plants have two mature adult forms (sporophyte and gametophyte)\ Sporophyte: diploid, gametophyte: haploid: one generation is dominant over the other in some plants. Plants play a crucial ecological role: plants make vital contributions to the food, air, soil, and water that sustain life on land, plants capture energy that other organisms use. Through photosynthesis, plants provide food, directly or indirectly (eating the plant or eating something that ate the plant: plants help maintain the atmosphere. Plants produce oxygen gas as a by-product of photosynthesis, continually replenishing oxygen in the atmosphere: plants build soil. Dead plant material: decomposed by fungi, prokaryotes, and other decomposers into organic matter. Decomposed plant tissue helps the soil hold water and nutrients, making it more fertile. The roots of living plants help hold the soil together, preventing erosion by wind and water. Plants provide pleasure through flowers, gardens, lawns, and parks and through coffee, tea, and wine.
