Plants and environment for sustainable development

Abstract

Plants are vital to the mother Earth; they purify the air, filter water, prevent erosion and act a buffer against climate change. They offer a home to plant and animal species and also provide natural resources such as medicine, food, timber and fuel. This paper discusses plants and environment for sustainable development with emphasis on the role of plants in carbon sequestration and types of carbon sink. The increasing effects of deforestation on flora and fauna, which include increased greenhouse gas emissions, acidic oceans, loss of biodiversity, flooding and erosion as well as decreased life quality are highlighted. These effects can be mitigated through education, protection of marginal lands, tree planting, sustainable agricultural practices, use of alternative energy sources, use of renewable wood resources, forest-derived products, reduced paper consumption and forest-friendly policies. Greener routes to sustainable environment could be achieved through afforestation, phytoremediation, nanotechnology and biofuel. A naturally motivated investigational practice for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is now established as an emerging area of nanoscience research and development for sustainable environment.