"Plant ecology is a subdiscipline of ecology that studies the distribution and abundance of plants, the effects of environmental factors upon the abundance of plants, and the interactions among plants and between plants and other organisms."
The study of the interactions between plants and their environment, including the effects of climate, soil, and other abiotic factors, and the relationships with other organisms.
Plant Identification: Understanding the different types of plants and their characteristics is essential in plant ecology.
Plant Anatomy: This refers to the structure and organization of different plant parts and their functions.
Plant Physiology: This is the study of how plants function, including their growth, development, and nutrition.
Soil Science: Understanding soil properties, nutrients, and how they affect plant growth is important in plant ecology.
Environmental Factors: External factors such as sunlight, temperature, and water availability can affect plant growth and distribution.
Plant Communities: The arrangement of different plants in a given ecosystem and their interaction with each other.
Plant Adaptation: Understanding how plants adapt to different environments and changing conditions is important in plant ecology.
Plant Reproduction: Understanding the different methods of plant reproduction including pollination, seed dispersal, and asexual reproduction.
Plant Genetics: How plants inherit different traits and their genetic variability.
Ecological Interactions: How plants interact with other organisms in their environment including competition, mutualism, and predation.
Conservation Biology: Understanding the conservation of plant species and their habitats.
Ethnobotany: The study of how humans use plants for medicinal, cultural, and economic purposes.
Agronomy: Crop management and agricultural practices for plants including soil preparation, planting, and pest management.
Landscape Design: The planning and designing of outdoor spaces using plants to achieve specific objectives such as aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability.
Urban Agriculture: The cultivation of plants in urban settings and designing sustainable methods for urban food production.
Agronomy: The study of crop production and soil management for food, fuel, and fiber.
Arboriculture: The study of the cultivation, management and care of trees for various purposes.
Botany: The scientific study of plants, their structure, physiology, ecology, and taxonomy.
Conservation biology: The study of the impact of human activities on natural ecosystems and the protection of threatened plant species and habitats.
Ethnobotany: The study of the relationship between plants and humans, including the use of plants for medicine, food, and cultural practices.
Floriculture: The study of the cultivation and management of flowers and ornamental plants for commercial or personal use.
Forest ecology: The study of the interactions between plants, animals, and physical factors in forest ecosystems.
Horticulture: The study of the cultivation and management of fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants, and flowers for human consumption or aesthetic purposes.
Landscape ecology: The study of the interactions between natural and human-made features in the landscape, including the effects of land use and development on plant communities.
Medical botany: The study of plants used in medicine, including their chemical properties and effects on the human body.
Mycology: The study of fungi, including their role in ecosystems, their use in food and medicine, and their potential as biofuels or bioremediators.
Paleobotany: The study of plants and plant fossils, including their evolution, morphology, and distribution over geological time.
Plant biotechnology: The manipulation of plant genetics to improve traits such as disease resistance, yield, and quality.
Plant pathology: The study of plant diseases and their causes, including environmental factors and pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
Range ecology: The study of the ecology and management of grassland ecosystems, including their use for grazing and wildlife habitat.
Seed science: The study of seeds and their properties, including germination, dormancy, storage, and genetics.
Soil science: The study of soils, including their physical, chemical, and biological properties and their role in plant growth and ecosystem function.
Urban forestry: The study of the cultivation and management of trees and green spaces in urban environments, including their role in mitigating pollution and improving human health.
Vegetation ecology: The study of plant communities and their interactions with the environment, including the effects of disturbance and climate change.
"Examples of these are the distribution of temperate deciduous forests in North America, the effects of drought or flooding upon plant survival, and competition among desert plants for water, or effects of herds of grazing animals upon the composition of grasslands."
"A global overview of the Earth's major vegetation types is provided by O.W. Archibold."
"He recognizes 11 major vegetation types: tropical forests, tropical savannas, arid regions (deserts), Mediterranean ecosystems, temperate forest ecosystems, temperate grasslands, coniferous forests, tundra (both polar and high mountain), terrestrial wetlands, freshwater ecosystems and coastal/marine systems."
"One feature that defines plants is photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process of chemical reactions to create glucose and oxygen, which is vital for plant life. One of the most important aspects of plant ecology is the role plants have played in creating the oxygenated atmosphere of Earth."
"...an event that occurred some 2 billion years ago."
"At the same time, plants began removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby initiating the process of controlling Earth's climate."
"A long term trend of the Earth has been toward increasing oxygen and decreasing carbon dioxide, and many other events in the Earth's history, like the first movement of life onto land, are likely tied to this sequence of events."
"One of the early classic books on plant ecology was written by J.E. Weaver and F.E. Clements."
"It talks broadly about plant communities, and particularly the importance of forces like competition and processes like succession."
"The term ecology itself was coined by German biologist Ernst Haeckel."
"Plant ecology can also be divided by levels of organization including plant ecophysiology, plant population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, landscape ecology, and biosphere ecology."
"The study of plants and vegetation is complicated by their form."
"First, most plants are rooted in the soil, which makes it difficult to observe and measure nutrient uptake and species interactions."
"Second, plants often reproduce vegetatively, that is asexually, in a way that makes it difficult to distinguish individual plants."
"Indeed, the very concept of an individual is doubtful, since even a tree may be regarded as a large collection of linked meristems."
"Some plant ecologists have placed considerable emphasis upon trying to treat plant populations as if they were animal populations, focusing on population ecology."
"Many other ecologists believe that while it is useful to draw upon population ecology to solve certain scientific problems, plants demand that ecologists work with multiple perspectives, appropriate to the problem, the scale, and the situation."
"This breadth of topics shows the complexity of plant ecology since it includes plants from floating single-celled algae up to large canopy forming trees."
"Plants demand that ecologists work with multiple perspectives, appropriate to the problem, the scale, and the situation. Many other events in the Earth's history, like the first movement of life onto land, are likely tied to this sequence of events."