• Question: Why do you think it is important for scientists to study plants?

    Asked by anon-218611 to Shannah, Richard, Matthew (known as Kaan by, johnpaterson, Emma, Anna on 10 Jun 2019. This question was also asked by anon-218615.
    • Photo: Emma Markham

      Emma Markham answered on 10 Jun 2019:

      I think it is incredibly important that scientists study plants, because they are vital to life on earth. They produce the oxygen we breathe and remove pollution from the air, they produce food for both us and the animals we eat, they can be used to produce biofuel, they provide mental health benefits, they are an important ecosystem for insects to to live and eat, which are vital for other populations of animals like birds and bats.
      Studying plants allows us to develop new packaging which is completely biodegradable to replace single-use plastic. Studying plants allows us to breed new varieties which have more nutrients, produce greater yields, can be drought-resistant and pest-resistant. You can study the different species and determine which plants produce the most oxygen and remove the most CO2, so we could grow these crops to combat climate change. Plants can also replace animal products, like soy and almond milk to replace dairy, and replace fake meats and meat replacements, like soy mince.
      While plants might not seem as interesting as animals, they are vital for every part of our lives and so are really important area of research.

    • Photo: John Paterson

      John Paterson answered on 10 Jun 2019:

      Plants are the key to life on this planet as we know it, directly or indirectly. They create the air that we breathe and they create food from the sun. Without them most of the animals in the world wouldn’t exist anymore. For humans, studying plants is incredibly important as they can be solutions to so many problems that we have. By studying them we can produce fuel for cars that won’t harm the environment, provide key ingredients for medicine, provide more efficient ways of farming so that we can feed more people and provide solutions to reverse some of the effects of climate change. Apart from that, many of them are just incredibly interesting and weird to study!

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