Plant Ecology

Plant ecology, is the combination of physiological and morphological “adaptation” is particularly important for plants, as they are fixed in their habitat and the conditions for life are determined by the varieties and numbers of the organisms of the ecosystem and not by the individual plant alone.

The path from stress ecology to ecosystems runs via whole plant ecology and synecology because morphology, i.e. the structure of plants, and the responses of populations are not primarily metabolic.

The diagram, shows the relations between ecophysiology, whole plant physiology and synecology (Ecology of vegetation cover), and ecosystem science where other organisms, not only plants, are increasingly considered.

• At the level of organism ,we consider the plant as a whole and the relations between its organ from the root to the leaf, flower and seed. At the level of whole plant ecology new, not metabolic characteristics are added: although these are genetically determined, they may be modified within limits. These include plant structures including size and life cycle (phenology, life span, strategies for reproduction and distribution).
• Cellular metabolism and structural characteristics are not only the basis for the spatial and temporal patterns of plant species, dealth with in synecology but also the basis of elementary cycles in ecosystems, which are characterised by the diversity of species and forms of organisation. These include indirect interactions between individual plants and other plants species.
• The science of geobotany relates to global aspects in plant ecology, which are included in the term global changes, where the direct and indirect influences of man through land use, changes in land used and the subsequent changes in climate are becoming increasingly felt.

The study of plant ecology is divided into two major divisions: Autecology and Synecology

Autecology

Autecology consider conditions and responses of individual plant species with their habitat. Plants occupied every terrestrial habitat ranging from tropical climates to eternal ice, from moors to deserts and extremely saline habitat.

Synecology

Synecology is the next higher level of plant ecology, extending to populations based on the strategies of propogation and distribution. It doesnot consider the fate of a single individual but the dynamic spatial and temporal behaviour of populations growth, homoestasis and decline.

Plant ecology deals with the scientific relationship of plants with their environment. In other words, in plant ecology, we study the interaction of plants with the biotic and abiotic factors of the environment. The biotic factors are the living things (organisms) that are associated with plants and the abiotic factors are non-living things (like temperature, water, light, air, gases), etc. Photosynthesis, a chemical process that sustains plant life, is a key feature of plant ecology. The environmental conditions and a plant’s interaction with the environment influence “fitness,” or the ability to flourish.