We have a lot to lose if we allow our green heritage to decline, and so does wildlife. Plants are vital sources of food and shelter for all kinds of wild creatures, and whenever vegetation disappears, wildlife habitat vanishes along with it.
Of all the solar energy that falls on a plant, only about one percent is converted into plant matter. Amazingly, however, the entire animal kingdom - including us - depends on that one percent to survive.
Green plants are especially important. These food-producing wonders are an essential part of any natural community. Through a complex process not yet fully understood, plants containing chlorophyll - that is, green plants - catch the sun's energy and use it to manufacture their food. All life depends on this process known as photosynthesis.
It begins with a drop of water that seeps into the soil and gathers up carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen - the building blocks of life. A plant sends these nutrients to its leaves, which also absorb carbon dioxide from the air. Using these elements along with energy from the sun, the plant manufactures its food - carbohydrates. The waste given off by this process is oxygen, an absolute necessity for all living creatures. You might say that green plants are the lungs of the world.
Primary consumers (herbivores) eat green plants and serve as a link between plants and secondary producers (carnivores). Primary consumers are a critical link in any food web, or "who eats who" diagram of the ecological community; they nourish humans and other predators with nutrients from many plants we cannot eat. The first link in a food web is soil; the second is green vegetation; the third is the herbivore; and the final link is the carnivore.
Remember that wild plants, trees, and shrubs are wildlife too. Every year we lose millions of hectares of green space; this ranges from backyards and communities to enormous stretches of wilderness. Some of this destruction is beyond our control - nature takes a toll through disease and fires caused by lightning - but most of the damage is caused by us. Virtually all Canadians use forest products every day. This can be avoided or minimized with common-sense planning and care. Whenever we protect or re-establish plant communities, we give our green-leafed friends a boost, and that boost goes a long way toward preserving our natural heritage.
We have some great backyard projects to get you started. Check out "Start an Arboretum" and "Choose Wildlife-friendly Lawn Care" to start. Many of these would make great community projects as well!
