Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Loss of biodiversity also means that humans are losing animals that could have served as biological-control agents and plants that could potentially provide higher-yielding crop varieties, pharmaceutical drugs to cure existing or future diseases (such as cancer), and new resistant crop-varieties for agricultural species susceptible to pesticide ...
Abiotic stress is the negative impact of non-living factors on the living organisms in a specific environment. [1] The non-living variable must influence the environment beyond its normal range of variation to adversely affect the population performance or individual physiology of the organism in a significant way.
The environmental impact of petroleum is often negative because it is toxic to almost all forms of life. Petroleum, a common word for oil or natural gas, is closely linked to virtually all aspects of present society, especially for transportation and heating for both homes and for commercial activities.
First, there is the direct injury they cause to the plants as they feed on the tissues; a reduction in leaf surface available for photosynthesis, distortion of growing shoots, a diminution of the plant's growth and vigour, and the wilting of shoots and branches caused by the insects' tunneling activities.
Visual pollution is the degradation of the visual environment due to unattractive or disruptive elements that negatively impact the aesthetic quality of an area. It can affect urban, suburban, and natural landscapes. [1]
The plant is toxic enough to cause human and animal fatalities if ingested. Every part of the plant is poisonous, especially the tuberous rhizomes. As with other members of the Colchicaceae, this plant contains high levels of colchicine, a toxic alkaloid. It also contains the alkaloid gloriocine.
Toxic metals can also make their way up the food chain through plants that reside in soils containing high concentrations of heavy metals. [15] This tends to result in the development of pollution-related diseases. Most exposure is accidental, and exposure can happen through: [16] Ingesting dust or soil directly
Capsaicin is an allelochemical found in many peppers that are cultivated by humans as a spice/food source. [32] It is considered an allelochemical because it is not required for plant growth and survival, but instead deters herbivores and prevents other plants from sprouting in its immediate vicinity.