Environmental Factors Affecting Plant Growth In Canada

The hypothesis behind this experiment is that the Gibberellic acid has a positive growth effect on the plant and causes it grow larger in height.

Plants are extremely important to the growth and development of Canada because as a source of food, the country requires the nutrients the plants provide and they are irreplaceable. Plants are crucial as they are a component of everything people eat, whether people eat the plants or the animal they eat or get food from rely on plants. The more food and plants available to better the reproduction, and therefore more population growth in communities. Having more food available for the entire population has shown to decrease poverty and increase the overall development of the community (2). In Canada, there is a large discrepancy between the food security of the southern provinces and northern territories. This has stuck many northern Canadians in difficult situations when trying to buy the proper food. There is also an economic factor of food and plants. In current society, most food in imported from country to country, creating many economic benefits in countries that import food (3). That money can be used to create a better community and country. On another level, plants and crops also have religious and symbolic value in our culture, which helps to increase development on a social level. Increases in variety and quantity can help to develop communities. Certain pants and foods help to give communities and countries their identity. For example, many foods are crucial to our identity like maple syrup. Overall, food and plants is extremely important to Canada as a society

As concentration of salt increases, the growth of plant will be detrimentally effected when grown in a controlled environment.

Ginseng is a perennial plant that is used as medicine in many places in Asia such as China, Korea and Thailand for thousands of years. It was shown that frequent consumption benefits a lot of different medical conditions, and it is also believed to be able to increase vitality and leads to long life span (Yadav, 2017).

In rotation, planting different crops can also replenish plants nutrients, thereby reducing the use for chemical fertilizers.

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) has a rich history in North America. Native Americans used the roots medicinally for years, and European colonists quickly revered the roots as well. American ginseng was one of the earliest American exports to China. Entrepreneurs such as John Jacob Astor bought and sold roots to amass their fortunes. Even today, American ginseng is prized for its medicinal qualities and is still harvested and sold internationally. In the early days of the American ginseng trade, ginseng was abundant throughout much of the deciduous forests in the eastern United States. Unfortunately, it has dramatically declined throughout much of its range.

Some plants tend to grow elongated stems with the aim of reaching light faster. Other plants grow towards the source of light. e.g. plants growing in a house grow towards the windows.

Herbal supplements were initially used in China and the East but it has become prevalent in the United States. As stated in the Tachjian et al. (2010) article, the herbal remedy market takes in over $34 billion annually, as 15 million Americans consume some form of the product, such as remedies or vitamins. Interestingly enough more people visit alternative medicine providers than a primary healthcare physician (Self, 2010). Herbal remedies and therapy fall “under the category of biological based therapies, which uses substances found in nature, such as herbs, food, vitamins, minerals, and botanicals” (Dossey & Keegan, 56). Herbal medicines are derived from plants and fungi through alcoholic extraction or decoction. The notion that these herbal supplements are natural, therefore they are safer for consumption is a huge misconception perpetuated by the manufacturer and well placed advertising. The use of these supplements can be harmful when combined with other drugs and can lead to death if the interactions are not properly monitored or even examined, as “herbs that seem safe under normal conditions for healthy people may not be safe for certain patient groups” (Tascilar et al., 736). These readily available and seemingly safe alternatives to prescription medicine can lead patients to unforeseen

Phytochrome interacting factors (PIFs), a response in which involves light signaling, and physical interaction, are the key components to signals, and coordinates plant development by responding to hormones, specifically light and gibberellin(GA) hormones. Seedlings go through a developmental program depending on if the seedling germinate in the light or dark. A young plant’s first leaves are small and closed with undifferentiated chloroplast due to growth with lack of light. “By contrast, during photomorphogenesis, hypocotyl growth is inhibited, whereas cotyledon opening and expansion, chloroplast differentiation and the activation of light-regulated genes are promoted.”( Cesari,

Genetics determine the growth of a plant. Genes plays an important role in a plants life. It’s also affected by the plant’s environment. The environment of a plant can affect the size of a plant. Therefore, the plant may not reach the size that their genes have determined. Reproduction of plants are very important. Pollinators transfer into a plant’s reproduction system. When fertilization happens, seeds inherit the parent plant’s characteristics which it uses to grow. Some of the traits that a plant can inherit from the parent plants are the colour of petals and size of the leaves. Humans harm plants and can affect the plant’s growth. Humans can make plants grow taller and

Before the time of imperialism, native people had already lived in what is Canada today for many centuries. Back then, the native people used the plants for healing illness. (example?) It can also be used for

The current situation across Canada has is one of decreasing farm operations, while simultaneously those farms that remain are larger (Eagle 2016, 16). This is bad for several reasons. First, as farm sizes expand so too do crops planted leading to ‘monoculture’ techniques of farming (Zentner et. al 2011, 114). In agriculture, monoculture farming while increasing short-term benefits from increased crop yield is detrimental in the long-term (Entz 2015, 28). This is evident in a decrease in crop yield and the degradation of the environment, which consequently decreases income generated (Pare et. al 2014, 83). The greater impact of monoculture agriculture is the detrimental effect it has on the environment. While farming is the lifeblood of a nation, if it engenders environmental devastation then its necessity is severely limited. Current farming practices are having an ever greater environmental impact (Zentner et. al 2011, 114). This is a product of how farming is conducted, as contemporary farming is dependent upon non-renewable sources of energy for most aspects of the farming process, including preparation of land and harvesting of crops (Zentner et. al 2011, 114). Besides the increasingly detrimental effect on the environment, another impact of monoculture farming is the impact on

Cakile edentula competes less aggressively when it grows in close proximity with its relatives. The root biomass of this plant is smaller in comparison with the biomass of the same plant’s root in a region where there is no genetic relatedness. The hypothesis––the presence of close relatives in the plant’s environment does not

Rhoades, R. E., & Harwood, R. R. (1992). A Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Development: Synthesis of Workshop Discussions (p. 107)

Sustainable agriculture, in simple terms, is the production of food, fiber, or other plant or animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare (“Sustainable Agriculture - The Basics,” 2017). Sustainable ag is something that most farmers want to achieve, but because of it’s expensive cost, most farms are not. Farming became industrialized in the mid-1900’s to produce food and fiber that could be mass produced at a very cheap price. The problem with industrialized agriculture are the negative impacts to the environment, animal welfare, public health, and rural communities. Following a few steps will ensure the future of successful agriculture.