@Ishtaron,
Here is the part two of my debate. here, I have talked about Kingdom Plantae.
The next Kingdom – Plantae. Everyone is familiar with this.
Plants can adapt to very cold temperatures and are found in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. They grow small and close together for protection from the wind, and they focus on growing and reproducing during the long summer days when there is almost constant sunlight.
I dont think you will be needing much of a proof for this -
There are creatures living among us that use air and water to make sugar! Sounds magical, doesn't it? You probably take them for granted, but you shouldn't. They make the air you breathe, the food you eat, the fiber for your clothes, dyes for fabrics, the building materials for your house and the legs for your table. I could keep going but you get the idea. Kingdom Plantae is one of six kingdoms of organisms, and it includes every plant you could imagine from the moss growing on the forest floor to the mighty, towering fir trees.
Plants are autotrophs, meaning they can make their own food. Humans, in contrast, are heterotrophs, so they must consume other organisms for food.
When you think of a plant, that green stuff that grows inside your fish tank probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but algae is in the Kingdom Plantae. In fact there are over 12,000 different species of algae: some brown, some green and some red. And you thought all plants were green! Typically, plants are green due to chlorophyll, or green pigment that helps the plant get energy from the sun. In the case of some of the algae, the chlorophyll combines with other pigments to make the red or brown. Algae are an important piece of the food chain in marine and freshwater environments, along with contributing to the O2 levels of the earth.
Mosses or bryophyta are non-vascular. They are an important foundation plant for the forest ecosystem and they help prevent erosion by carpeting the forest floor. They are also tolerant to SO2 Pollution. Are humans tolerant to that, considering the fact that humans add to the SO2 levels of the atmosphere? They also trap nutrients right from the air or from the moisture and thus help in the complete usage of Nutrients and thus, Nutrients are not wasted. On the other hand, humans with all their technology are not able to completely trap nutrients directly from the Air? There is even more interesting part to this. Once Bryophytes die, they release their nutrients to the surrounding plants or to the atmosphere. Isn't this called “Re-Cycling”? They are also played an important part in Plant Evolution. The peat moss genus Sphagnum is an economically important bryophyte.Peat is used in horticulture, as an energy source (fuel), and, to a limited extent, in the extraction of organic products, in whiskey production, and as insulation.Bryophytes are very important in initiating soil formation on barren terrain, in maintaining soil moisture, and in recycling nutrients in forest vegetation. Indeed, discerning the presence of particular bryophytes is useful in assessing the productivity and nutrient status of forest types. Further, through the study of bryophytes, various biological phenomena have been discovered that have had a profound influence on the development of research in such areas as genetics and cytology. So, aren't these “Small” Plants superior in atleast some aspects? They are also antiseptic in Nature. So, shouldn't humans consider them to be superior to them in a few aspects, if not all?
Bryophyta -
Pteridophytes are the first group of vascular plants with conducting tissues and hence were a great advancement in Evolution and consists of 10,000 Species. Ferns like Dryopterisare used in medicine. D.filix-mas has a rhizome that produces sweet mucilage which is used as an antihelminthic. Lycopodium is used in homeopathy and Selaginells botryoides yields a medicine that in used in liver Ailment. Selaginella also help in Soil Conversation. So, aren't these helpful to humans?
Pteridophyta -
The gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and Gnetales.They produce good quality wood. Trees like Pine, Cedar, Fir etc. are of great importance in this respect for their light colored and light weighted Soft Wood. These woods are used extensively in making furniture, packing Cases, Match Boxes, Pencil, Paper Pulp. They are also used as Fuels, as building purposes and in Home Furniture. Can you imagine a hoe without no wood in it? Can you imagine your Ancestors with no Fire Wood in the Cold Night? Can you live a Snowy Day in a home that contains no wood in it? Can you build homes with no wood and expect them to stand there when a Twister arrives and also think that it will cause no damage to your Pocket/Wallet and more importantly, expect that it causes not much of a damage to all? Do you think we can even survive with no trees on earth? Without these, all Snow Capped Mountains' vegetation will be naturally wiped out, eventually. Saddening, isn't it? These trees also secrete Resins. Without these, a few of the fossils would have vanished from earth and we would probably not be aware of Vegetation which were present around these trees. It is also important from the food point of view. Medicinally, a few drugs that are extracted from them are used in the drugs, which are used in the treatment of cough, asthma, bronchitis, Ulcers, Piles and Rheumatism. Do you think there would be natural Cancer treatment without an Anti Cancer Drug obtained from Taxus? Do you think you would be having a Christmas tree without this Phylum? Gymnosperms take in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and releases Oxygen (O). The paper we write on comes from conifers. Turpentine and rosin is made from the conifer's sap. Fibers in clothing and cellophane wrappers also come from conifers. So, aren't these making up a part of your life? Didn't they help your ancestors to survive?
Gymnospermae -
Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. The angiosperms have historically been divided into two groups: the monocotyledons (monocots) and the dicotyledons (dicots). Some of the most species-rich families of flowering plants include the monocot species of Orchidaceae, the orchids (19,500 species), the Poaceae or grass family (8,700), the Cyperaceae or sedge family (4,500), and the eudicot families of Euphorbiaceae or spurge family (6,900), the Fabaceae or legume family (18,000), the Rosaceae or rose family (3,000), Brassicaceae or mustard family (4,130), Rubiaceae or coffee family (9,000), the Lamiaceae or mint family (6,970), the Apiaceae or carrot family (4,250), and the Asteraceae or composite family (23,000).Today, there exists over 400 families of angiosperms classified into about 250,000 species. Now, do you see how superior they are in Genetic Variations, Diversification and Adaptations? An important aspect of angiosperm evolution is their well-documented relationships with other organisms such as animal pollinators, mycorrhizal (fungal) root associations, and even bacteria.. Now, think about Humans...More than 80% of the green plants living in the world are included in Angiosperms. And, now estimate the amout of O2 which is produced be these amd then compare it with the Air Pollution that is caused by hymans. These are the main producers of Fruits and Vegetables. Now, just think of a world without thses. More than half of our Human Ancestors would probably have suffered due to the unavailability of food and this would have forced them to eat Grass along with Raw Animals(Fire cant be created without Firewood) and this would have caused diseases in them and would have killed them in large numbers. If all Angiosperms just vanished now, we would have to resort to eating Grass and Meat and the prices of food would Skyrocket and this condition is hard to even imagine. They consititute about 80% of the world's food. . The proof for their evolution is Venus Fly Trap, for example and many such others. Can humans get humans as diverse as this???Angiosperms came into being some 240 - 200 million years ago when they diverged from gymnosperms, their evolutionary predecessors! And human ancestors cam here 200-180 million years ago. So, who is Superior in terms of Age? Apart from constituting the majority of wild growing plant population on Earth, angiosperms are, incidentally, also the most cultivated plant forms by humans. Don't believe me? Well, check out all cereal crops - they are all flowering plants! So, who is relying upon whom here and whose Superiority does this prove??
Flowering plants form an extremely important part of Earth's ecology as an amazingly huge number of insects feed on the nectar of flowers. These insects are, in turn, eaten by various birds and animals. Therefore, flowering plants play the role of the first link of the food chain! Not only this food chain, They are the base of almost any Food Chain you take. So, who is Superior here in providing nourishment to all and helping in sustaining life on earth and maintaining balance in nature? Without thses, our ancestors would have nothing but animal hides to wear. Can you think of a world without Cotton? Can you think of a world without cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables and many such things obtained from these? They have a record for heights. Heard about coast redwood?Hyperion is the name of a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in Northern California that was measured at 115.61 m (379.3 ft), which ranks it as the world's tallest known living tree –
They also have a record for Age. Know about Old Tjikko? Old Tjikko is a 9,550-year-old Norway Spruce, located on Fulufjället Mountain of Dalarna province in Sweden. The age of the tree was determined by carbon dating of genetically matched plant material collected from under the tree, not by dendrochronology, or counting tree rings.
So, are humans, by themselves superior in these aspects?
Here are a few Quotes -
"A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs./year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 human beings."
- McAliney, Mike. Arguments for Land Conservation: Documentation and Information Sources for Land Resources Protection, Trust for Public Land, Sacramento, CA, December, 1993
"One acre of trees annually consumes the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that produced by driving an average car for 26,000 miles.That same acre of trees also produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe for a year."
- New York Times
" A 100-ft tree, 18" diameter at its base, produces 6,000 pounds of oxygen."
- Northwest Territories Forest Management
"On average, one tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four."
- Environment Canada, Canada's national environmental agency
"Mean net annual oxygen production (after accounting for decomposition) per hectare of trees (100% tree canopy) offsets oxygen consumption of 19 people per year (eight people per acre of tree cover), but ranges from nine people per hectare of canopy cover (four people/ac cover) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to 28 people/ha cover (12 people/ac cover) in Calgary, Alberta."
- U.S. Forest Service and International Society of Arboriculture joint publication.
Now, who is humbly helping whom and who is to be considered superior? We now how dangerous Air Pollution can be and still we can't help but add more to it? And, atleast these organisms are trying to repair everything and we not only cut them for our purposes but never grow them in the same numbers as we cut them? Let us not forget the role of shrubs and Herbs in Ancient medicine. Think of this – Small plants having compounds that are able to cure diseases that affect humans! Now, who is Superior?
Lot of work is hampering the progress of my Debates and the next part where I will be talking about Kingdom Animalia will be up here, but maybe not too soon.
*EDIT : Had to do as one of the images was not happening.*