The green world : Plant Development

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“Have you thanked a green plant today?” reads a popular bumper sticker.
Indeed, we should thank green plants for providing the food we eat, fiber for
the clothing we wear, wood for building our houses, and the oxygen we breathe.
Without plants, humans and other animals simply could not exist. Psychologists
tell us that plants also provide a sense of well-being and peace of mind,
which is why we preserve forested parks in our cities, surround our homes
with gardens, and install plants and flowers in our homes and workplaces. Gifts
of flowers are the most popular way to acknowledge weddings, funerals, and
other events of passage. Gardening is one of the fastest-growing hobbies in
North America and the production of ornamental plants contributes billions
of dollars annually to the economy.
Human history has been strongly influenced by plants. The rise of agriculture
in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia brought previously scattered
hunter-gatherers together into villages. Ever since, the availability of land
and water for cultivating plants has been a major factor in determining the
location of human settlements. World exploration and discovery was driven
by the search for herbs and spices. The cultivation of New World crops—sugar,
By William G. Hopkins
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cotton, and tobacco—was responsible for the introduction of slavery to
America, the human and social consequences of which are still with us. The
push westward by English colonists into the rich lands of the Ohio River
Valley in the mid-1700s was driven by the need to increase corn production
and was a factor in precipitating the French and Indian War. The Irish Potato
Famine in 1847 set in motion a wave of migration, mostly to North America,
that would reduce the population of Ireland by half over the next 50 years.
As a young university instructor directing biology tutorials in a classroom
that looked out over a wooded area, I would ask each group of students to
look out the window and tell me what they saw. More often than not, the
question would be met with a blank, questioning look. Plants are so much
a part of our environment and the fabric of our everyday lives that they
rarely register in our conscious thought. Yet today, faced with disappearing
rainforests, exploding population growth, urban sprawl, and concerns about
climate change, the productive capacity of global agricultural and forestry
ecosystems is put under increasing pressure. Understanding plants is
even more essential as we attempt to build a sustainable environment for
the future.
THE GREEN WORLD series opens doors to the world of plants. The series
describes what plants are, what plants do, and where plants fit into the
overall scheme of things. In Plant Development, the reader is introduced
to patterns of development in plants as they progress through the life
cycle from seed to mature plant. We learn how plants grow, how they use
hormones and signals from their environment to coordinate their development,
and how they can measure time.

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Ketersediaan

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Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

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Penerbit

Bogor : Fakultas Pertanian Instiper., 2006

Deskripsi Fisik

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Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

0-7910-8562-7

Klasifikasi

NONE

Tipe Isi

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Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

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Subjek

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Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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