Plants don’t really give us oxygen?               By                                                                                                                                          M.Ravikhanth

Whenever we breathe, we think it is a simple process which finishes in a short period of time, breathe in and breath out. But every time when we respire,  a lot number of processes are going on, first, our diaphragm goes down, creating a low- pressure suction for air to come in. Blood is being pumped from the heart to lungs, which came from traveling to various parts, organs and, tissues of our body carrying the waste product carbon dioxide, which came from the combustion of glucose of the powerhouses of the cells. Rushing CO2 rich blood reaches the lung capillaries to the alveoli junction for transferring and out the CO2 through the thin cell walls, and receiving the oxygen-rich air, carrying it to the heart which gets pumped and delivering the oxygen again to the cells. But have ever thought about where does the oxygen really comes from, you may say the plants are giving us oxygen, but that's not fully true. Can you believe that more than 75% of the oxygen that we breathe comes from the Ocean?.

During our class time, we were thought that plants take in carbon dioxide and gives us oxygen, that is true, but the percentage contributed by plants, trees, and rainforests in the production of oxygen is just one third 28% of the total atmospheric oxygen as, most of the oxygen is used by them during respiration by themselves, and also some parts the carbon they captured during their lifetime in their bodies are released back when they die. So the major source of oxygen comes from the ocean and marine life forms. And can you imagine that the major contributor of them is just some micrometers in size?. These life forms are known as phytoplanktons. 

 These are microscopic marine organisms thriving over the surface of the ocean streams as groups of algal blooms, where sunlight penetration is more. Like plants, these phytoplanktons also carry out photosynthesis, by taking in carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen.

 They only contribute around 75% -80% of the total atmospheric oxygen that we breathe in. One of the most common types of these is known as diatoms. They contribute only 1% of the total global plant biomass, but perform half of the global carbon dioxide fixation, around 50 to 80,000 metric tonnes of CO2. These microscopic organisms convert carbon dioxide into carbonate compounds and form the exoskeletons and shells, like many corals and marine bacteria. So like plants, they don’t release back CO2 back into the atmosphere when they die and form sediments on the seafloor.

In diatoms, the cell walls form two thin overlapping shells that fit together as in a soapbox. the walls are embedded with silica and thus the walls are indestructible. Thus, diatoms have left behind a large amount of cell wall deposits in their habitat; this accumulation over billions of years is referred to as “diatomaceous earth”. Being gritty this soil is used in polishing, filtration of soils, and syrups. It is used as a  mild abrasive in products including metal polishes and toothpaste, mechanical insecticide, absorbent for liquids, matting agent for coatings, reinforcing filler in plastics and rubber, anti-block in plastic films, porous support for chemical catalysts, cat litter, activator in blood clotting studies, a stabilizing component of dynamite, a thermal insulator, and a soil for potted plants and trees like bonsai.

 See how these small guys are helping us in a lot of ways of giving us life. Apart from these, phytoplankton plays an important role in ecological importance in the oceans. They are the chief producers of the oceans.  Phytoplankton serves as the base of the aquatic food web, providing an essential ecological function for all aquatic life. Phytoplankton is the base of several aquatic food webs. In a balanced ecosystem, they provide food for a wide range of sea creatures. One of the many food chains in the ocean – remarkable due to the small number of links – is that of phytoplankton sustaining krill (a crustacean similar to a tiny shrimp), which in turn sustains baleen whales.

Recently due to our human activities, these phytoplankton populations are reducing.     Researchers at Canada's Dalhousie University say the global population of phytoplankton has fallen about 40 percent since 1950. That translates to an annual drop of about 1 percent of the average plankton population between 1899 and 2008. The scientists believe that rising sea surface temperatures are to blame. Global warming, climatic changes, ocean water acidification, etc. due to our fossil fuel burns for our needs, are the cause of these arising problems

So what can we do to stop these?. There are many ways

1.     Discuss Earth’s oxygen resources.
Ask: Where does the oxygen we breathe come from? Explain to students that rainforests are responsible for roughly one-third (28%) of the Earth’s oxygen but most (70%) of the oxygen in the atmosphere is produced by marine plants.                       

2.      Have students collect and analyze data.                         

3.      Discuss the importance of phytoplankton and ways humans can positively influence phytoplankton levels and overall ocean health. Explain to students phytoplankton forms the base of the marine food web.             

4.     Encourage the youngsters to bring innovations for the alternatives for harmful sources for energy needs, and technologies to repair the harm that we have done to nature.

 It is every individual and society's responsibility to protect our mother earth.