Transcript 1.01 The Biological Components

1.01
The Ecology
of
Planting Design
The Biological Components
1
The common thread that links us, as
landscape architects, to the environments
we design, is plant materials.
It is important, therefore, to begin an
understanding of the elements of
planting design with the processes of
plants as they occur in natural spaces.
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Solving intricate design problems
with plants requires an understanding of
- how plants live
- where they live
- why they live where they do
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The biological
components of the
physical world
consist of a variety
of interrelated
energy levels.
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The Producer
The first level is
green vegetation, the part
of the system that collects
and stores energy from the
sun.
Green vegetation
thus becomes the producer
level for the system.
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The Herbivores
The second level, the
herbivores, ranges in size
from a parasitic fungus
to an elephant and is
dependent upon the first
level for its energy and
food.
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The Carnivores
Levels three and
four are both comprised
of carnivores – animals
that eat herbivores.
Man, the
omnivore, eats both
plants and animals.
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The
Decomposers
Level five is
made up of bacteria,
fungi, and protozoa
– the decomposers –
which use dead
plants and animals
for food and energy.
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The Basic Communities
The community of green vegetation known broadly as
plants is divided into four groups or sub-communities known
as divisions:
– Thallophyta (thallophytes) are non-chlorophyll-bearing
comprised of bacteria, lichens, and fungi.
– Bryophyta (mosses and liverworts) are small green plants
without flowers .
– Pteridophyta (ferns and fern families) are green plants with
vascular tissue.
– Spermatophyta (seed plants) are distinct flowering plants and
considered to be the most highly organized.
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