Botany By Sydney Beckstead in partnership with Botanist Dr. Kayri Havens 8 th grade, Honors Science

What is Botany?- Introduction  Botany is the scientific study of plants and how they affect each other and other organisms. A Botanist is a scientist who studies plants, anywhere from what living conditions they need to survive, to how humans can affect them. Botanists help endangered species repopulate and study the changing climates and what affect they have on organisms in the kingdom plantae. It is important to scientists to know the different parts of plants and their normal behaviors so that they can know if a certain species is acting abnormal.

Endangered species  When a plant or animal species becomes endangered, it means that there isn’t enough of them living in the wild. Many of the things that humans do cause species of plants to become endangered. Things like: introducing invasive species(non-native plants), destroying plant’s natural habitats for agricultural purposes, for housing, or for recreational activities, and releasing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, are all very bad for the environment. When organisms go endangered, it is not necessarily caused by humans, but scientists estimate that twenty percent of known plant species are at risk of going extinct because of human-caused global warming or deforestation.

Threatened species  Threatened species are organisms that are close to being classified as endangered, but there aren’t laws yet to protect them. Species can become threatened or endangered for any number of reasons, a couple of which involve humans. The main reason that a lot of species are going extinct or becoming endangered/threatened is because of climate change. Green-house gasses such as Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide are released into the air because of humans, and they make the planet heat up more. When the gas Methane is released into the atmosphere, it makes the planet continue to heat up, which in turn releases more Methane from the melting polar icecaps. That is a vicious cycle and we as humans need to learn how to prevent it or the planet will continue to ecologically decline.

Climate Change and Humans  Climate change is a term used to describe a change in the long-term planetary temperature. Humans are causing the planet to heat up because of our way of gaining energy. Fossil fuels are used to power our cars and electronics, but they are not a renewable energy source. When used in a large quantity like the humans have been, the fossil fuels make the planet heat up. Normally Earth’s annual temperature changes, but it is over a period of thousands of years. In the past hundred years, the planet’s temperature has risen higher than it has ever been before.

Climate Change and Botany  A few plants can adapt fast enough to survive in this rapidly-changing climate, but most are not able to acclimate fast enough. Normally the plantae species have thousands of years to adjust to the natural fluctuation of the planet’s temperatures, but now they only have hundreds. Endangered and threatened plants are especially having a hard time staying alive. As well as the normal challenges, they now face global warming as well. Having started out with fewer individual plants in their species, when the changing temperatures kills off a few of them, they are barely surviving. Climate change changes things like the flowering period of plants. Because of the drastic changing of the temperatures, sometimes they are not able to reproduce as easily, which stunts population growth. When the native plants are being killed off by climate change, it gives invasive species a chance to take over.

Invasive Species  Invasive plants are species that don’t normally live in an area, but are brought there unnaturally. Humans, especially when they first discovered North America, brought many species over from Europe in order to help them survive. Some were brought intentionally, and some were on accident, but the results were the same. Many of the non-native plants were hardier than the native species, and so they outcompeted the plants that were originally there. There is only a certain amount of water and soil space in an area, and the invasive species tend to take it away from the native plants. The invasive plants change the way an ecosystem functions and are not good for the environment.

Biodiversity  Biodiversity is a natural element that lets all organisms have different kinds of genes and physical traits. Normally in a biome, each individual organism has unique qualities, either physically or mentally, and when they breed, each offspring receives half of each parents genes. Because of this cycle, each new offspring has a new set of genes and alleles in their phenotype. When a species is endangered, they have fewer choices of mates, and less of a chance to continue the survival of their breed. When animals or plants have offspring, they try to mate with (or asexually reproduce with) an individual organism that is different genetically then they are, so the species can have more diverse genes. Evolutionarily, species want to have more diversity so they have more of a chance of surviving. Endangered species, because there are less of them to begin with, have a hard time having biodiversity within themselves. If the genes of the two parents are too similar, it can cause genetic defects that make the species have less of a chance surviving. Climate change is making more species die out, so they have less of a chance to create individuals with the capacity of surviving out in the wild.

What are Botanists working on now?  Present day botanists are working on many projects to help plant species survive and reproduce, especially those that have been negatively affected by humans. The Botanists chart populations and determine what they can do to help the species. The scientists go out in the field to locate the endangered/threatened species habitats and advise the government to make laws to protect them. By genetically enhancing certain types of plants, Botanists can make them less susceptible to diseases and more durable overall. When looking at how plants have reacted in the past to changing temperatures and extreme weather, the scientists can predict how they will respond in the future to the fast changing temperatures, and this also allows them to find methods of helping the plants. Botanists are doing their best to erase human-cause imprints on nature and save species. 

Conclusion  Botanists are very important to the Earth and the survival of plants. Trying their best not to interfere with the natural order of things, Botanists help species of plants that have become endangered or scarce because of humans. People and what we do have an enormous affect on the environment and how it works. Sometimes that affect is far from positive, and these scientists are working hard to oppose harmful things humans can inflict on the environment. By learning more about how our planet works, Botanists can help prevent further damage to ecosystems. Through scientific knowledge and new studies that are happening all the time scientists, learn more about organisms in the kingdom plantae and how to help them.

Credits Thank you so much to: My mentor scientist, Botanist Dr. Kayri Havens For helping me so much with every one of my projects this year and for being such a wonderful mentor scientist. You have always been very quick in responding to my s and thoroughly answering my questions. I will miss you next year and hope you will continue to teach new students for many years to come!