Living or Not

When you get right down to it, it’s not so easy to prove that a plant is living. Its mostly prior knowledge that tells me it is in fact alive. One way I can tell my plants are alive is their growth. We planted tiny little seeds, which then turned into sprouts, then tiny plants, and finally big plants. They are doing very well - sure there are some holes in the leaves from predators but the plants are overall healthy. i watch them get bigger and healthier all the time. In a way, watching the seed grow was like watching a child grow. I watched it get bigger and healthier each time I checked up on it. As well as growth, I could see the plants reacting to their environment. When they are very small still, you can see them grow into the light, away from the shade of other plants. Its color changes and its leaves change, partially having to do with how wet the plant is and if it’s getting enough water. In addition to size and mass, we could, eventually, measure the amount of seed pods it produces at the end of its life. also, knowing the amount of cells would show us it’s changing and alive.

Living or Not

Our largest plant is now 21 inches, or about 55 centimeters, and all our plants are looking healthy.  We know that our plants are legitimate living creatures because they reproduce, they respire, they intake (some form) of food for energy, they grow and they have a cellular structure.  Our plants have changed since the days they were seedlings; they’ve grown full leaves and stems, and they’re now tall enough to get sunlight.  Ways to measure that our plants are alive besides size would include respiration rates, reproduction rates, food intake rates, and the cellular structure itself.

Living or Not

Some times it can be hard to depict if something is alive or not, but the most perennial thing to look look for is if its made up of cells, but I know our collards are alive. Like most living things, our plant not only are made up of cells but they also reproduce, and adapt to their environment. During the past few weeks their leafs along with the stem have grown drastically to adapt to a lack of sunlight and to direct rainfall toward its self. Also, because our plant is rapidly reproducing, and there are super small collard plants around the father plant, and every time I go check up on our plants, all the baby plants are larger than they were before.

Living or Not

Currently the collards are continuing in their growth. A couple of them haven’t grown a lot, but the point is that they did grow. The collards have grown a foot since we first put them into the resealable plastic bag with a paper towel soaked in water. They really seem to be striving in their environment.  A couple days ago, in class, we were discussing the characteristic of living things. The characteristics of living things consist of being made up of cells, the ability to obtain and use energy, the ability to grow and develop, the ability to reproduce, to be able to respond to their environment, and to be able to adapt to their environment. The collards we grew in the garden are living things because it has the characteristics of a living thing. The collards obtain energy by getting nutrients in the soil and by undergoing photosynthesis to use the energy which helps them grow and develop. We know that the collards are composed of cells because collards are a part of the Brassica oleracea species (a species of plants) and plants contain cells. Collards produce seed pods in the spring when it flowers, therefore proving that collards can reproduce. Collards can respond to soil type by thriving in fertile soil or by failing in growth in infertile soil. It is also known that collards can adapt to their environment by weathering cold environments in the winter when it becomes dormant since it is a biennial plant (takes two years to complete it’s biological life cycle.) In conclusion. the collards are, in fact, living because they can obtain and utilize energy, grow and develop, are composed of cells, reproduce, are responsive to their environment, and can adapt to their environment.

An Ecological Analysis of the Garden and Our Plants

    Some abiotic factors that my plants depend on for survival are sunlight, water, soil and the minerals in the soil, and air and the carbon dioxide in it. My plant needs those factors to be able to go through photosynthesis and make food. Some biotic factors that affect my plants are butterflies, various insects such as ants, people, small animals like birds or squirrels, and other plants. The butterflies and insects have been eating my plants, creating tiny little holes in the leaves that will eventually destroy them. People and small animals could physically harm them by stepping on them or ripping them. The other plants are competition for the plants’ growth.

    I know my plants are engaged in competition because I can see the tiny weeds that are growing near them. When I go out to check on my plants, I have to do a little weeding to ensure that the plants are the better competitors. The plants are competing for water, sunlight, and space in general. Each plant is fighting to soak up a little more sun and a little more water - to spread out its roots and get bigger. The tiny little plants and the big ones all have the same goal - growing - and they’re all fighting. There competition is mostly the plants around them.

    I don’t think there is ever a real clear cut winner. The main way to determine the stronger plant is to see which grew or produced the most. You can tell if a plant is healthy by looking at it, and sometimes it is clear which plant is better off. What makes determining the winner so complicated is that you don’t know what each plant”s “potential” is. How big is it supposed to grow, and how much water does it need. Each plant is different, and each is fighting.

    One of the most obvious ways our plants are interacting is with the butterflies and caterpillars. There is definitely predation going on. You can see the tiny holes in the leaves where the insects have eaten, and if you look close enough you’ll even notice some butterfly waste on some of the leaves. The butterflies are preying on the weakest of our plants, and gaining nourishment while our plants, unfortunately, weaken.

    There is succession going on in the garden. It is secondary, because plants have already grown here in this old soil. Evidence of succession is in the soil and mulch/fertilizer itself. You can see bits of decomposing plants in the soil. And you can see that plants are growing all around, despite the larger plants. There are bugs in the soil, and insects that have lived in that planter box for a while now.

An Ecological Analysis of the Garden and Our Plants

An abiotic factor that our plants depend on greatly is, of course, water.  Water is essential to all life, and our plants are no exception.  Our plants also depend on soil and air.  The sun is extremely important for the survival of our plants, too.  Biotic factors that would affect them would be along the line of competitors and small insects that rely on the plants for food.

We know that our plants are competing because there are other plants in the same area as them, and competition is natural for organisms put in one place together.  Our plants are competing against other teams’ plants for water, sunlight, and nutrients in the soil.

“Winners and losers” are determined by who gets the most resources, or, in extreme cases, who survives.  “Winners” are the ones who get the most resources (nutrients, water, sunlight), whereas “losers” are the ones who get less resources, and may end up dying.  In some cases, competing organisms may end up in a tie, or the “winner” may only be winning by a small amount.

The plants are also possibly involved in community interactions with insects.  Aphids, sadly, may be an example of this, their relationship with our plants being parasitism.  Aphids are insects that feast on any size of plants, usually destroying them.  There also may be more parasites harming our plants.

There is some evidence that there is succession in the garden, because our plants, among others, are taking over the land that I am sure belonged to previous plants.  This succession is undoubtedly secondary, because there was plant-supporting soil prior to our plants being put in.

An Ecological Analysis of the Garden and Our Plants

Some biotic factors that our plants are affected by are the creatures that feast on our plants. The bugs diminish the plants ability to get energy by eating the plants leafs. Abiotic factors that affect our plant are the amount of water they receive, the amount of sunlight received, and the temperature. If our plant is not watered on a daily basis its cells will become dehydrated, and if a plant does not receive sunlight it will not be able o get food through photosynthesis. Lastly the temperature plays a huge role in what happens to our plant. If its to cold the plant will rupture its cells, and if its to hot the plant losses precious water. 

Plants are always competing. Water, food, and sun are the main prizes for the strongest. Currently they are competing with the plants around it for sun. We know sun is hard to get for our plants because the other plants around it are big and block much of the light that our plants need to grow. The after math of this is apparent because we can see how small our plants are compared to all of the others.

Winners and losers in competition are hard to see some of the time. The confusion lies in how is something determined a winner. It is simply a matter of who survives longer than the others, but if you think on a regional scale one group of plants may have claimed victory in one part and the other plants in another part. Who won then? The winner on a large scale is determined by all of the struggles the group has achieved together. That means if group A of plants gets overgrown by group B one time, but Group A has over grown group B 3 more times than that then group A is the over all winner.

Our plants are also involved mutualism (when two different species benefit from each others existence). This takes place when bees help to pollinate our plants and the bees get nectar from our plant. Both of the organisms need each other to exist. Other organisms do the same thing for our plants such as birds, bats, and ants.

Secondary succession is occurring in the garden. Whenever the year goes by most of the plants dye adding nutrients to the soil. Once the plants finish biodegrading the garden sits at a stand still until it rains. A few days after the rain hits weeds and left over seeds from the previous year start to sprout and take root which finishes the secondary succession cycle.

An Ecological Analysis of the Garden and the Collards

Some abiotic factors that affect the collards is the amount of water they get, sunlight, and soil type. Biotic factors that affect the collards are snails, caterpillars, and other herbivores. The abiotic factors affect the collards because water transports materials through the plant, and sunlight. The biotic factors affect the collards by damaging the leaves.

The competition for the collards is the grass and weeds growing near them. These plants affect the collards by making the collards fight for water and sunlight. I know the plants are in competition with the weeds and grass because the collards that are close to and surrounded by the grass and weeds are smaller and the one collard plant that isn't close to the competition is striving and has grown quite large.

The “winners” and “losers” are determined by who, as in a species, survives the constant struggle for resources. It is not always to clear cut when it comes to who “wins” and “loses” because sometimes, when plants die, they leave seeds behind which are basically the next generation of plants. Overall, the winners are the plants that survive opposing and outer forces, but it really depends on a person’s opinion on how the plants “win” or “lose.”

The collards are also involved in predation, in a way. The collards are the “prey” and the caterpillars are the “predators.” This is because the collards are being fed on and the caterpillars are eating them. The only fault in this is that the collards are not necessarily being “captured.” Plants can’t move anywhere, so it is basically just being fed on and capturing something usually implies the fact the organism was trying to escape. Overall, the plant is at it’s loss of cells and the caterpillars energy/food.

There is evidence that succession is happening in the garden. For example, the plants that we planted there are growing and weeds are also sprouting and growing. The fact plants are living and growing in this environment is proof of succession. This is secondary succession because soil is not new and there is no evidence of new soil being created.

Biogeochemical Cycles and Our Plants

Last week, we planted our little seedlings - not so long ago only seeds- and prepared them for a week of growing and experience in the outside world. When we visited them again today, there was a very clear difference: their size. They have already grown at least 2 inches taller than they were when they were first planted, and the leaves have also grown immensely, with our largest plant having leaves of a 5 inch length and 3.5 inch width. Also, their color is a different green, a more muted medium green color than the bright green sprouts of last week. The last main difference was the tiny holes in some of the leaves, most likely made by little bugs.

Our plants use water in many ways, and are a great part of the water cycle. One way they take part in the water cycle is in evaporation through transpiration. Transpiration is when plants lose water through their leaves. When the evaporated water condenses, precipitation eventually occurs when the water falls back onto the plants and land. The plants use this water in photosynthesis so they can grow. From there, the water evaporates once again. Some of the changes that I could see related to the water cycle. A couple of the plants looked slightly dried out. The other two were the opposite; a lively, fresh bright green. I think this was because of their role in the water cycle. The plants with the dehydrated leaves needed more water, and maybe had gone through transpiration very recently. The other plants were healthy and strong, which let them absorb more water.

    Carbon makes up all living things, and given that our plants are living, carbon is in them too. In the carbon cycle, there is carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that plants and animals take in, and when they die and are buried, that carbon is turned into fossil fuels. These fuels are then burned by humans, releasing carbon into the atmosphere once again. Our plants use carbon dioxide to grow and get energy. When I notice that my plants are bigger, they are being part of the carbon cycle. At the same time, when I take note of the plant that has the most holes, I can see that when it dies its carbon will go into the ground.

    The nitrogen cycle is similar to the carbon cycle in the realm of our plants. Our plants use nitrogen in the form of ammonium in the soil as well as in the atmosphere and rainwater. The nitrogen lets them grow and live, and when they die the organic nitrogen is returned to the earth through decay. I know that some farmers use fertilizers with nitrogen to get their plants to grow better. When I see the plants growing in healthy soil, I know that means there is a form of nitrogen in the soil and in the plants.

Biogeochemical Cycles and Our Plants

Our plants have grown to an incredibly large size since we last saw them.  They are almost fully grown, with large leaves, and long, strong stems.  Our plants intake water, either from the soil, or from the rain, in precipitation, then release it again through their leaves.  The growth of our plants means that they now intake more water, but this amount of water is also released again into the atmosphere.  Our plants respire carbon from the air, and release oxygen, which is breathed by animals, who release carbon dioxide, which is then inhaled by our plants. When our plants die, they’ll be broken down by bacteria, both physically and chemically, so that the nitrogen from the plants can regroup and perform other functions.

Biogeochemical Cycles and the Collards

The collards haven’t grown much since we have transplanted them. There is only one that has grown a bit more than the others, but there has not been much progress. The plants have broad, green leaves and they are about 2 inches tall. On one of the plants, it seems like a had small caterpillar eaten part of one of its leaves. I can infer that the small weeds and grass in the area became competition with the plants that didn’t grow that much. There wasn’t much water, since we are in a drought, so I would assume some of the collards are their current size since they are “dehydrated” (in a way), except for the one collard that has grown more. I infer that the one that has grown more has more water or one (or more) of the key things a plant needs to survive and grow. The collards have participated in the carbon cycle by converting carbon into oxygen. Plants do need carbon to survive, but if they get too much they can suffocate like in our first experiment. Studies show that if plants get the more carbon than normal (not enough to suffocate it, though), then the plant(s) will be able to enhance its use of water. The plant that had the increased growth spurt was near the edge of the plot, so it probably got more carbon than the others since the others were completing with more plants, as they were in a more plant populated area. The collards participated in the nitrogen cycle by taking in nitrogen from the soil after the nitrogen-fixing bacteria processes it. Then, animals eat those plants to get the nitrogen. I observed the nitrogen cycle in the collards when I saw that a small caterpillar ate part of one of the collard’s leaves. That caterpillar now holds some of the nitrogen from that collard. That's all for now!

Biogeochemical Cycles and Our Plants

      This week our plant has grown at least six more inches and had grown outward probably twice as much since we last checked it. . The leaves were more spread out, but it looked like a bug had used the collard leaves at food, and the veins were standing out much more than they were.  The whole plant was a much darker green.       Our plant, the collard, contributes the the movement of water in the biosphere by absorbing water and breaking it apart the releasing the oxygen back into the air. The plant then uses the new hydrogen to grow bigger and taller and get more leaves.  This is exactly what happened to our collard plants ever since we planted a few weeks back.       Also, the collard plant helps move carbon around the atmosphere.  The plant takes the carbon from the sun using photosynthesis.  The plant then stores the carbon and uses it to grow. When the plant dies, it will be buried, then turn into fossil fuels, and when we burn these fossil fuels in the future, carbon is released into the air, and the cycle continues        Another cycle our collard plant contributes to is the nitrogen cycle. The plant absorbs the nitrogen from the soil, and then when we eat the plants, we absorb the nitrogen from the plant. Then when the plant exits our body, via our egesta,  the nitrogen, at some point, goes back into the ground to be used by plants again.