Presentation 1 Plants and Animals Student Y

SCI-218 Natural Resources

Introduction

I chose plants and animals as my two natural resources categories because:

• they are a huge part of everyday life for people (see slide 2 for more details).

• the work I currently do and hope to do in the future involve(s) animal health.

• I am worried about all of the destruction that has occurred and is occurring to habitats worldwide.

Plants and Animals Uses

• Plants and animals are natural resources that are very important to humans.

• “Plants are the fabric which covers the soil. They hold the soil in place to reduce erosion and improve water quality. Plants provide our food, materials for shelter, fuel to warm us and replenish the air we breathe. Plants provide food for animals and habitat for wildlife.” (USDA 2015)

• “Animals both large and small are a critical component to our environment. Domesticated animals, such as livestock, provide us food, fiber and leather. Wild animals, including birds, fish, insects and pollinators, are important to support the web of activity in a functioning ecosystem.” (USDA 2015)

Plants and Animals Uses Cont.

• The use of plants and animals as a food sources has remained the same for people over time. Since there are more people than there ever have been the demand for both has risen over time and will continue to raise with population growth.

United Nations Environment Programme 2012

How are Plants and Animals Related? • Both are a very important aspect in the food chain(many

animals eat plants or eat animals that eat plants)

• They share the same habitats. Environmental issues affect both plants and animals in these habitats.

United States Department of Agriculture 2015

Problems both Plants an Animals Face • Species of plants and animals are decreasing every year due to habitat loss,

climate change, invasive species, soil erosion, and pollution.

• The decrease in animal and plants threatens sustainability since people need both plants and animals for survival.

• The graph below shows the percent of total number of threatened species

growing significantly between 2000 and 2011.

Threatened and Endangered Species 1995 in The United States

References

Beastly tales. (2011, June 16). Retrieved May 18, 2015, from

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/06/endangere

d-species

Growing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Due to Meat Production. (2012,

October 1). Retrieved May 17, 2015, from http://na.unep.net/geas/getUNEPPageWithArticleIDScript.php?article_id=

92

Ingham, E. (n.d.). Soil Food Web. Retrieved May 17, 2015, from http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/soils/health/biology

/?cid=nrcs142p2_053868

Threatened and Endangered Species 1995. (1995, April 1). Retrieved May 17, 2015,

from http://nac.unl.edu/atlas/Map_Html/Biodiversity/National/NRI_T&E_Speci

es/T&E_Species.htm