They call it the green lungs of our planet. Why are forests called green lungs? Works of scientists on photosynthesis and chlorophyll

There is a misconception that has even found its way into textbooks: forests are the lungs of the planet. Forests actually produce oxygen and the lungs consume it. So this is rather an “oxygen cushion”. So why is this statement a misconception? In fact, oxygen is produced not only by those plants that grow in the forest. All plant organisms, including inhabitants of reservoirs, and inhabitants of steppes and deserts, constantly produce oxygen. Plants, unlike animals, fungi and other living organisms, can synthesize organic substances themselves, using light energy for this. This process is called photosynthesis. As a result of photosynthesis, oxygen is released. It is a by-product of photosynthesis. A lot of oxygen is released, in fact, 99% of the oxygen that is present in the Earth’s atmosphere is of plant origin. And only 1% comes from the mantle, the underlying layer of the Earth.

Of course, trees produce oxygen, but no one thinks about the fact that they also waste it. And not only them, all other inhabitants of the forest cannot be without oxygen. First of all, plants respire on their own, this happens in the dark when photosynthesis does not occur. And we need to somehow dispose of the reserves organic matter, which they created during the day. That is, feed yourself. And in order to eat you need to spend oxygen. Another thing is that plants spend much less oxygen than they produce. And this is ten times less. However, we should not forget that in the forest there are still animals, as well as mushrooms, as well as various bacteria that do not produce oxygen themselves, but nevertheless breathe it. A significant amount of oxygen that the forest produced during daylight hours will be used by living organisms of the forest to support life. However, something will remain. And this is something like 60% of what the forest produces. This oxygen enters the atmosphere, but does not remain there for very long. Then the forest itself removes oxygen, again for its own needs. Namely, the decomposition of the remains of dead organisms. Ultimately, to dispose of their own waste forests often spend 1.5 times more oxygen than they produce. After this, it cannot be called the oxygen factory of the planet. True, there are forest communities that operate on a zero oxygen balance. These are famous rainforests.

The tropical forest is generally a unique ecosystem; it is very stable, because the consumption of substances is equal to production. But again, there was no surplus left. So even tropical forests can hardly be called oxygen factories.

So why then, after the city, does it seem to us that the forest is clean, Fresh air that there is a lot of oxygen there? The thing is that oxygen production is a very fast process, but consumption is a very slow process.

peat bog

So what then are the oxygen factories of the planet? There are actually two ecosystems. Among the “land” ones are peat bogs. As we know, in a swamp the process of decomposition of dead matter is very, very slow, as a result of which dead parts of plants fall down, accumulate, and peat deposits are formed. Peat does not decompose, it is compressed and remains in the form of a huge organic brick. That is, during peat formation, a lot of oxygen is not wasted. Thus, swamp vegetation produces oxygen, but consumes very little oxygen itself. As a result, it is the swamps that provide exactly the increase that remains in the atmosphere. However, there are not so many real peat bogs on land, and of course it is almost impossible for them alone to maintain the oxygen balance in the atmosphere. And here another ecosystem helps, called the world ocean.

There are no trees in the world's oceans; grasses in the form of algae are observed only near the coast. However, vegetation still exists in the ocean. And most of it consists of microscopic photosynthetic algae, which scientists call phytoplankton. These algae are so small that it is often impossible to see each of them with the naked eye. But the accumulation of them is visible to everyone. When bright red or bright green spots are visible on the sea. This is phytoplankton.

Each of these little algae produces enormous amounts of oxygen. It consumes very little itself. Due to the fact that they rapidly divide, the amount of oxygen they produce increases. One phytoplankton community produces 100 times more per day than a forest occupying the same volume. But at the same time they spend very little oxygen. Because when algae die, they immediately fall to the bottom, where they are immediately eaten. After that, those who ate them are eaten by other, third organisms. And so few remains reach the bottom that they quickly decompose. There is simply no decomposition that lasts as long as in the forest, in the ocean. There, recycling occurs very quickly, as a result of which oxygen is virtually not wasted. And so the “big profit” occurs, and so it remains in the atmosphere. So the “lungs of the planet” should be considered not forests at all, but the world’s oceans. He is the one who makes sure that we have something to breathe.

“Planets of the solar system” - Venus. Venus is the third brightest object in the Earth's sky after the Sun and Moon. Take care of our planet!!! Plan. The second planet of the solar system. Earth. Over time, water and an atmosphere appeared on planet Earth, but one thing was missing - life. Is born new star– our SUN. Saturn is the second largest planet in solar system after Jupiter.

“Lesson of the Planets of the Solar System” - Cultivate camaraderie, the ability to work in a group. Lesson information card. Physical education minute. Earth. Mars. PhotoForum. The role of the Sun for life on Earth. Star or planet. Lesson plan. Complete the tasks: Complete the test. Develop cognitive processes and computer literacy skills. Planets of the Solar System.

“Minor Planets” - Figure of Venus. Surface of the Moon. The distance from Venus to Earth varies from 38 to 258 million km. There is every reason to believe that there is a lot of water on Mars. Atmosphere and water on Mars. The volume of Mercury is 17.8 times less than that of the Earth. Composition and internal structure Mars. Physical fields of the Moon. The density at the center of the Earth is about 12.5 g/cm3.

“Planets in the Solar System” - Astronomical models of Ptolemy and Copernicus. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. The planet that was discovered “at the tip of a pen.” Neptune has magnetic field. Sun. Uranus has 18 satellites discovered. Mars. Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. A planet where life exists. Uranus. Neptune. The Sun, a hot ball, is the closest star to Earth.

“Ecology of the Planet” - Formalization of ecology into an independent branch of knowledge. Stages of interaction between human society and nature. Abiotic factors aquatic environment. Biological capacity of the environment. Age structure. Categories of living matter in the biosphere. Abiotic factors of the terrestrial environment. Systemic laws of ecology. Laws of ecology B. Commoner.

“Planets and their satellites” - The inner 10 moons are small in size. A huge number of craters have been discovered on the surface of Titania. Iapetus. Quite rightly, Pluto is called a double planet. The Eratosthenes crater with a diameter of 61 km was formed relatively recently. Therefore, the Moon either has no or very little iron core. From one upper climax to the next, 130 hours pass - more than five days.

Yes, I definitely remember from school that forests are the lungs of the planet. There were such posters. They constantly said that the forest must be protected, it produces the oxygen that we breathe. Where are we without oxygen? Nowhere. That's why they compare forested areas with the lungs of our planet Earth.

And what? Isn't that right?

Yes, not like that. The functions of forests are more reminiscent of the work of the liver and kidneys. Forests provide as much oxygen as they consume. But they cope with the task of cleaning the air and protecting the soil from erosion like no one else.

So what can we call " lungs of the planet"?

In fact, oxygen is produced not only by those plants that grow in the forest. All plant organisms, including inhabitants of reservoirs, and inhabitants of steppes and deserts, constantly produce oxygen. Plants, unlike animals, fungi and other living organisms, can synthesize organic substances themselves, using light energy for this. This process is called photosynthesis. As a result of photosynthesis, oxygen is released. It is a by-product of photosynthesis. A lot of oxygen is released, in fact, 99% of the oxygen that is present in the Earth’s atmosphere is of plant origin. And only 1% comes from the mantle, the underlying layer of the Earth.

Of course, trees produce oxygen, but no one thinks about the fact that they also waste it. And not only them, all other inhabitants of the forest cannot be without oxygen. First of all, plants respire on their own, this happens in the dark when photosynthesis does not occur. And we need to somehow utilize the reserves of organic substances that they created during the day. That is, feed yourself. And in order to eat you need to spend oxygen. Another thing is that plants spend much less oxygen than they produce. And this is ten times less. However, we should not forget that in the forest there are still animals, as well as mushrooms, as well as various bacteria that do not produce oxygen themselves, but nevertheless breathe it. A significant amount of oxygen that the forest produced during daylight hours will be used by living organisms of the forest to support life. However, something will remain. And this is something like 60% of what the forest produces. This oxygen enters the atmosphere, but does not remain there for very long. Then the forest itself removes oxygen, again for its own needs. Namely, the decomposition of the remains of dead organisms. Ultimately, forests often spend 1.5 times more oxygen to dispose of their own waste than they produce. After this, it cannot be called the oxygen factory of the planet. True, there are forest communities that operate on a zero oxygen balance. These are the famous rainforests.

The tropical forest is generally a unique ecosystem; it is very stable, because the consumption of substances is equal to production. But again, there was no surplus left. So even tropical forests can hardly be called oxygen factories.

So why then, after the city, does it seem to us that there is clean, fresh air in the forest, that there is a lot of oxygen there? The thing is that oxygen production is a very fast process, but consumption is a very slow process.

So what then are the oxygen factories of the planet? There are actually two ecosystems. Among the “land” ones are peat bogs. As we know, in a swamp the process of decomposition of dead matter is very, very slow, as a result of which dead parts of plants fall down, accumulate, and peat deposits are formed. Peat does not decompose, it is compressed and remains in the form of a huge organic brick. That is, during peat formation, a lot of oxygen is not wasted. Thus, swamp vegetation produces oxygen, but consumes very little oxygen itself. As a result, it is the swamps that provide exactly the increase that remains in the atmosphere. However, there are not so many real peat bogs on land, and of course it is almost impossible for them alone to maintain the oxygen balance in the atmosphere. And here another ecosystem helps, called the world ocean.

There are no trees in the world's oceans; grasses in the form of algae are observed only near the coast. However, vegetation still exists in the ocean. And most of it consists of microscopic photosynthetic algae, which scientists call phytoplankton. These algae are so small that it is often impossible to see each of them with the naked eye. But the accumulation of them is visible to everyone. When bright red or bright green spots are visible on the sea. This is phytoplankton.

Each of these little algae produces enormous amounts of oxygen. It consumes very little itself. Due to the fact that they rapidly divide, the amount of oxygen they produce increases. One phytoplankton community produces 100 times more per day than a forest occupying the same volume. But at the same time they spend very little oxygen. Because when algae die, they immediately fall to the bottom, where they are immediately eaten. After that, those who ate them are eaten by other, third organisms. And so few remains reach the bottom that they quickly decompose. There is simply no decomposition that lasts as long as in the forest, in the ocean. There, recycling occurs very quickly, as a result of which oxygen is virtually not wasted. And so the “big profit” occurs, and so it remains in the atmosphere.

sources

There is an opinion that forests are the “lungs of the planet”, since it is believed that they are the main suppliers of oxygen to the atmosphere. However, in reality this is not the case. The main producers of oxygen live in the ocean. These babies cannot be seen without the help of a microscope. But all living organisms on Earth depend on their livelihoods.

No one argues that forests, of course, need to be preserved and protected. However, not at all because they are these notorious “lungs”. Because in fact, their contribution to the enrichment of our atmosphere with oxygen is practically zero.

No one will deny the fact that the oxygen atmosphere of the Earth was created and continues to be maintained by plants. This happened because they learned to create organic substances from inorganic ones, using energy sunlight(as we remember from the school biology course, a similar process is called photosynthesis). As a result of this process, plant leaves release free oxygen as a by-product of production. This gas, which we need, rises into the atmosphere and is then evenly distributed throughout it.

According to various institutes, thus, about 145 billion tons of oxygen are released into the atmosphere on our planet every year. Wherein most of it is spent, not surprisingly, not on the respiration of the inhabitants of our planet, but on the decomposition of dead organisms or, simply put, on decay (about 60 percent of what is used by living beings). So, as you can see, oxygen not only gives us the opportunity to breathe deeply, but also acts as a kind of stove for burning garbage.

As we know, any tree is not eternal, so when the time comes, it dies. When the trunk of a forest giant falls to the ground, its body is decomposed by thousands of fungi and bacteria over a very long period of time. All of them use oxygen, which is produced by surviving plants. According to researchers' calculations, such “cleaning up the territory” consumes about eighty percent of the “forest” oxygen.

But the remaining 20 percent of oxygen does not enter the “general atmospheric fund” at all, and is also used by forest inhabitants “on the ground” for their own purposes. After all, animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms also need to breathe (without oxygen, as we remember, many living beings would not be able to obtain energy from food). Since all forests are usually very densely populated areas, this residue is only enough to satisfy the oxygen needs of only its own inhabitants. There is nothing left for neighbors (for example, residents of cities where there is little native vegetation).

Who, then, is the main supplier of this gas necessary for breathing on our planet? On land these are, oddly enough... peat bogs. Everyone knows that when plants die in a swamp, their organisms do not decompose, since the bacteria and fungi that do this work cannot live in swamp water - there are many natural antiseptics secreted by mosses.

So, dead parts of plants, without decomposing, sink to the bottom, forming peat deposits. And if there is no decomposition, then oxygen is not wasted. Therefore, swamps contribute about 50 percent of the oxygen they produce to the general fund (the other half is used by the inhabitants of these inhospitable, but very useful places).

Nevertheless, the contribution of swamps to the total " charitable foundation oxygen" is not very large, because there are not so many of them on Earth. Microscopic ocean algae, the totality of which scientists call phytoplankton, are much more actively involved in “oxygen charity”. These creatures are so small that it is almost impossible to see them with the naked eye. However, their total very large, the number goes into millions of billions.

The entire world's phytoplankton produces 10 times more oxygen than it needs for breathing. Enough to provide useful gas to all other inhabitants of the waters, and quite a lot gets into the atmosphere. As for the oxygen consumption for the decomposition of corpses, in the ocean they are very low - approximately 20 percent of the total production.

This happens due to the fact that dead organisms are immediately eaten by scavengers, which sea ​​water a great multitude live. Those, in turn, will be eaten by other scavengers after death, and so on, that is, corpses almost never lie in the water. The same remains, which are no longer of particular interest to anyone, fall to the bottom, where few people live, and there is simply no one to decompose them (this is how the well-known silt is formed), that is, in this case, oxygen is not consumed.

So, the ocean supplies the atmosphere with about 40 percent of the oxygen that phytoplankton produced. It is this reserve that is consumed in those areas where very little oxygen is produced. The latter, in addition to cities and villages, include deserts, steppes and meadows, as well as mountains.

So, oddly enough, the human race lives and thrives on Earth precisely due to the microscopic “oxygen factories” floating on the surface of the ocean. It is they who should be called “the lungs of the planet.” And protect in every possible way from oil pollution, heavy metal poisoning, etc., because if they suddenly stop their activities, you and I will simply have nothing to breathe.

There is a misconception that has even found its way into textbooks: forests are the lungs of the planet. Forests actually produce oxygen and the lungs consume it. So this is rather an “oxygen cushion”. So why is this statement a misconception? In fact, oxygen is produced not only by those plants that grow in the forest. All plant organisms, including inhabitants of reservoirs, and inhabitants of steppes and deserts, constantly produce oxygen. Plants, unlike animals, fungi and other living organisms, can synthesize organic substances themselves, using light energy for this. This process is called photosynthesis. As a result of photosynthesis, oxygen is released. It is a by-product of photosynthesis. A lot of oxygen is released, in fact, 99% of the oxygen that is present in the Earth’s atmosphere is of plant origin. And only 1% comes from the mantle, the underlying layer of the Earth.

Of course, trees produce oxygen, but no one thinks about the fact that they also waste it. And not only them, all other inhabitants of the forest cannot be without oxygen. First of all, plants respire on their own, this happens in the dark when photosynthesis does not occur. And we need to somehow utilize the reserves of organic substances that they created during the day. That is, feed yourself. And in order to eat you need to spend oxygen. Another thing is that plants spend much less oxygen than they produce. And this is ten times less. However, we should not forget that in the forest there are still animals, as well as mushrooms, as well as various bacteria that do not produce oxygen themselves, but nevertheless breathe it. A significant amount of oxygen that the forest produced during daylight hours will be used by living organisms of the forest to support life. However, something will remain. And this is something like 60% of what the forest produces. This oxygen enters the atmosphere, but does not remain there for very long. Then the forest itself removes oxygen, again for its own needs. Namely, the decomposition of the remains of dead organisms. Ultimately, forests often spend 1.5 times more oxygen to dispose of their own waste than they produce. After this, it cannot be called the oxygen factory of the planet. True, there are forest communities that operate on a zero oxygen balance. These are the famous rainforests.

The tropical forest is generally a unique ecosystem; it is very stable, because the consumption of substances is equal to production. But again, there was no surplus left. So even tropical forests can hardly be called oxygen factories.

So why then, after the city, does it seem to us that there is clean, fresh air in the forest, that there is a lot of oxygen there? The thing is that oxygen production is a very fast process, but consumption is a very slow process.

So what then are the oxygen factories of the planet? There are actually two ecosystems. Among the “land” ones are peat bogs. As we know, in a swamp the process of decomposition of dead matter is very, very slow, as a result of which dead parts of plants fall down, accumulate, and peat deposits are formed. Peat does not decompose, it is compressed and remains in the form of a huge organic brick. That is, during peat formation, a lot of oxygen is not wasted. Thus, swamp vegetation produces oxygen, but consumes very little oxygen itself. As a result, it is the swamps that provide exactly the increase that remains in the atmosphere. However, there are not so many real peat bogs on land, and of course it is almost impossible for them alone to maintain the oxygen balance in the atmosphere. And here another ecosystem helps, called the world ocean.

There are no trees in the world's oceans; grasses in the form of algae are observed only near the coast. However, vegetation still exists in the ocean. And most of it consists of microscopic photosynthetic algae, which scientists call phytoplankton. These algae are so small that it is often impossible to see each of them with the naked eye. But the accumulation of them is visible to everyone. When bright red or bright green spots are visible on the sea. This is phytoplankton.

Each of these little algae produces enormous amounts of oxygen. It consumes very little itself. Due to the fact that they rapidly divide, the amount of oxygen they produce increases. One phytoplankton community produces 100 times more per day than a forest occupying the same volume. But at the same time they spend very little oxygen. Because when algae die, they immediately fall to the bottom, where they are immediately eaten. After that, those who ate them are eaten by other, third organisms. And so few remains reach the bottom that they quickly decompose. There is simply no decomposition that lasts as long as in the forest, in the ocean. There, recycling occurs very quickly, as a result of which oxygen is virtually not wasted. And so the “big profit” occurs, and so it remains in the atmosphere. So the “lungs of the planet” should be considered not forests at all, but the world’s oceans. He is the one who makes sure that we have something to breathe.