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Without plants, most of life on earth as we know it would not exist.
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Plants comprise about 98% of the earth's biomass!
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Plants are primarily responsible for creating our oxygen-rich atmosphere via the light reactions of photosynthesis.
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Plants are the earth's main autotrophs and fixers of carbon and nitrogen.
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Plants provide the habitat and food upon which almost all other living things ultimately depend.
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Plants are responsible for most of the products on which you rely to survive (vegetable and animal matter), have a good quality of life (fabric for clothing, medicines), as well as the more frivolous ones (spices, perfumes, dyes, dissolvable sutures, food stabilizers, emulsifiers, Starbuck's, etc.).
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And don't forget the potential of biofuels (ethanol produced from food crops)
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Almost every living (terrestrial, and many aquatic) thing interacts with plants in csome way. Plants are involved in every type of symbiotic community interaction known.
The importance of plants
Why get a degree in Plant Biology?
Find out what you can do with a degree in Plant Biology, see a list of universities offering undergraduate courses and hear from Plant Biology students and lecturers about their experiences and stories!
why plant biology?
Why not study general biology first and then specialise?
what are your chances to succeed?
Plant biology is one of the most importance sciences today in many science and practical applications. Plants and our understanding of individual plants and their place in a species have a wide range of uses for ecology, climate sciences, soil science, agriculture, industry and commerce and even pharmaceuticals.
Each plant has individual genetic attributes that might separate it from others in its species and from other species.
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Plant biology is the lab science area of plant study although they may spend some time in the field collection samples and taking records of plants in their natural habitats. It requires not only an understanding of a plant's biology but also its chemistry. This will include its genetic coding.
The aim of a plant biologist is to determine how a plant functions and how and why it evolved to be the way it is. They may need to understand soils and geology to a certain extent. They differ from botanists in that they work in labs conducting statistical and data research, looking at the genetics and evolution of plants. They are more concerned with quantitative data.
Botanists tend more to work in the field examining the qualitative data of plants - comparing species and making observations of their habits and environments. They will often work with and alongside botanists, with soil and plant scientists and with biochemists.
what sort of community you would become part of?
Demand for plant biologists is expected to grow 8% in the period between 2014 and 2024. This is slightly higher than the average growth for all jobs in the US across the same period. Some areas may see more growth than others.
PNAS predicted that by 2015, 1,000 new employees will be needed in the half-dozen largest plant-science companies in the US alone (Bayer Crop Science, Dow Agro Sciences, Dupont Pioneer Hybrid, Dupont Crop Protection, Monsanto, and Syngenta). This number has been increasing more in Plant Breeding as molecular methods have been developing.
Industry may make up the bulk of job openings and universities may see a slight decline as their budget is limited to Federal government funding. More life-saving drugs will be needed in future as the average age gets older; most new openings are likely to be in pharmaceuticals.
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While there are thousands more marine biologists looking for jobs in marine conservation, plant biologists are at an advantage at finding well-paid jobs. In academia, more and more research needs to be done and not enough PhD students in plant sciences.
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Agronomist
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Floral designer
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Biotechnologist
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Plant journalist
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Field advisor
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Soil scientist
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Greenhouse manager
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Propagation scientist
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Plant breeder
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Landscape scientist
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Environmental scientist
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Pathologist
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Entomologist
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Chemist
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Horticultural scientist
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Plant biologist
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Crop consultant
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Grower
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Golf course superintendent
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Plant researcher
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Horticulturist
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Seed sales representative
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Production consultant
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Professor
Possible careers:
When asking professors, scientists what they have studied, where and with what they have worked with, the answers range from studying tadpoles and ending up in plant breeding and such. All science degrees teach general scientific skills, the way of sampling, testing, doing statistics and representing findings. So it is perfectly normal to study Biology in the beginning and specialise later.
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However, most of the degrees do concentrate on animals due to student feedback or the number of zoologists, or animal behaviourists outweighing the number of plant biologists at the university. Starting with a Plant Biology undergraduate degree is an enormous advantage as there might be only one or two modules on plants (if any) during a Biology degree. Also it is a good a kick start for the future career as the degree provides with specific skills that are much needed. Even if animals and conservation look more attractive subjects, but for these studies, plant biology will also be crucial.
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Read the 100 most important questions in Plant Science to see which ones interest You the most
Best part of being a scientist is being surrounded by like-minded, enthusiastic and well - equally nerdy people.
At conferences, and events plant biologists tend to easily find each other and at specialised plant biology meetings, everyone is thrilled to be sharing their research with each other. At university as well, class numbers might be smaller which allows the course leader to keep an eye on everyone and spend more time supporting them. Watch a few videos below about undergraduate and graduate experiences.