Essay Example on Plants and crops have been around for a long Time

Plants and crops have been around for a long time For millions of years organisms have seeking nutrition from plants There are three main ways that mammals and animals seek nourishment Carnivores which only eat meat Herbivores which only eat plants and Omnivores which eat both In a growing world with over 7 billion people plants are very important They provide oxygen resources and many forms of food But to provide this for an ever growing population fertilizers are needed The world population is increasing every day According to The Story of Fertilizers 2017 October 20 Retrieved January 09 2018 from http www fertilizerseurope com get to know us the story of fertilizers The FAO predicts that the world s population will reach 9 1 billion people by 2050 Food production will have to increase by some 70 above today's levels to keep pace with demand This increase in food production could be achieved by developing more land for agriculture However the negative impact on climate change and global biodiversity of converting natural forests or other wild habitats is well documented 

This means that to maintain a safe amount of food in the world food production has to drastically increase But as the population increases the amount of land for agriculture decreases due to urban expansion and possibly rising sea levels As a result there need to be more efficient ways to produce crops without taking up space Fertilizers have been used in farming for years Manure spread over a field can speed up plant growth When it decomposes it provides plants with nitrogen phosphorus potassium and other nutrients by warming the soil which speeds up decomposition and lowers the soil s acidity level or pH less than chemical fertilizers Manure also supplies energy to fungi and earthworms that help to further break down its components in the soil What Does Manure Do to Soil n d Retrieved January 09 2018 from http homeguides sfgate com manure soil 70424 html Manure is a natural fertilizer as opposed to a chemical one which can raise the ph level in soil Fertilizer use has been around for ages Farmers of old would notice the repeating pattern that there first planting of crops would yield much higher crop output then later years and they would often move locations At some point they learned that spreading manure throughout the soil and crops could heal the earth and provide a better crop output Throughout history different and more efficient types of fertilizers have been invented The Egyptians are known to have added ashes from burned weeds to soil Ancient Greek and Roman writings indicate that various animal excrements were used depending on the type of soil or plant grown It was also known by this time that growing leguminous plants on plots prior to growing wheat was beneficial 

This poses a very serious threat towards fish and other marine life When the excess nutrients from all the fertilizer we use runs off into our waterways they cause algae blooms sometimes big enough to make waterways impassable When the algae die they sink to the bottom and decompose in a process that removes oxygen from the water Fish and other aquatic species can t survive in these so called dead zones and so they die or move on to greener underwater pastures A related issue is the poisoning of aquatic life According to the U S Centers for Disease Control CDC Americans alone churn through 75 million pounds of pesticides each year to keep the bugs off their peapods and petunias When those chemicals get into waterways fish ingest them and become diseased Humans who eat diseased fish can themselves become ill completing the circle wrought by pollution How Fertilizers Harm Earth More Than Help Your Lawn Scientific American www scientificamerican com article how fertilizers harm earth Over a period of time these synthetic fertilizers can seriously harm fish plants and other water vegetation and humans Water contamination is a very serious issue in the modern world and there is already enough pollution without an unnecessary form of fertilization Natural fertilizers are much safer and does not raise the ph level of soil Plants are an essential part of everyday life Perhaps at one moment in time plants were only good for nutrition But there importance has evolved Plants are used in cuisine and medication They are a staple in decoration and fashion They provide oxygen a necessity to live