Saving Water for the Future Via Increasing Plant Literacy of Pupils

Pokorný, Jan; Ryplová, Renata

doi:10.14207/ejsd.2020.v9n3p313

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Accordingly, these factors contribute to enhancing the student knowledge of the schoolyards tree species and therefore increase the students' botanical literacy as noted by [43,44]. Since the study revealed that most students had low botanical knowledge of the tree species existing in their schoolyards, this might pose a serious hindrance to the students' discussion about tree species, which can affect negatively the student's observational skills and conceptual learning as noted by [45,46]. Furthermore, poor botanical knowledge could augment the risk of the students consuming toxic fruits [47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Woody species in the urban schoolyards in West Africa Sahel cities in Niger: diversity and benefits for green schools

2022

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Urban schoolyards are essential in biodiversity conservation; they provide numerous ecosystem services to students, school managers, and the city where the schools are located. However, limited or no studies have explored the role of urban schoolyards in both biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. This study, therefore, assessed the structure and values of urban schoolyards forest in the cities of Niamey and Maradi in the Niger Republic. A total of 60 schools was selected purposively from Maradi and Niamey (30 schools in each city), where the data were collected through a face-to-face survey. Additionally, a forest inventory and participatory observations were conducted to gather the dendrometric data and animal biodiversity. The findings revealed that, a total of 97 different tree species belonging to 35 families and 81 genera. In addition, neem tree and Fabaceae (22 species) were found to be the dominant tree species and botanical family respectively in the schoolyards of both cities. The similarity index was 64% indicating high similarity between the floras of the schoolyards in the two cities. The biomass value equals about 48.91 t/ha and 27.49 t/ha carbon stock in the primary schools of Niamey and Maradi respectively. Furthermore, the analysis of the structure of the urban schoolyard forests showed high values of structural parameters indicating the vitality/health/integrity of the forest. The ability of students to name plants, animals, and ecosystem services of their schoolyards is significantly low. This study recommends the use of multipurpose woody plant species in urban greening school initiatives for quality education. Furthermore, the study recommends a further investigation of the effects of the school urban forest structure on the students' academic performance and the allergenic potential of woody species found in urban schools.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Woody species in the urban schoolyards in West Africa Sahel cities in Niger: diversity and benefits for green schools

2022

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“…The energy distribution function of the hydrological cycle is well known by experts, however there is limited public awareness of this fact and about the magnitude of the climatic energy that is being distributed [4]. Evapotranspiration (ET) has a key role in transporting energy by picking it up as latent heat from the surface and deploying it in the clouds via condensation.…”

Section: Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widening Gap of Land Evaporation to Reference Evapotranspiration Implies Increasing Vulnerability to Droughts in Hungary

Báder

Szilágyi

2023

Period. Polytech. Civil Eng.

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Severe droughts of 2022 in Europe raise the question if one has sufficient knowledge and tools to predict and prevent such events. Analysis of 40 years of meteorological data for Hungary between 1981 and 2020 confirms significant upward trends with p = 0.05 in temperature, relative humidity, and net radiation. Shortwave net radiation has increased by 89.6 mm in water equivalent. Estimates of land evaporation and reference evapotranspiration also show a significantly increasing trend. The gap between them is widening with a significant trend in northeast Hungary. The demand (reference evapotranspiration) is increasing by 2.23 ± 0.3 mm yr–1, while supply (land evaporation) by 1.64 ± 0.2 mm yr–1. The opening gap can be interpreted as a decreasing stability of the energy distribution system, where water is the dominant energy transfer medium for climatic energy. This change could lead to an increased risk of droughts, a symptom of system underperformance. The climatic energy distribution process – a key environmental service - is shifting to a new operating point where more water would be needed to transport energy. These trends call for a process capability approach. Desertification cannot be stopped by chasing water use efficiency and using less water, but vice versa: water scarcity can only be eliminated by ensuring that there is sufficient water available for evapotranspiration. This will raise the priority for initiatives to design and implement a wide range of preventing actions, such as nature-based solutions and water retention measures.

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“…The potential impacts extend to the level of funding allocated to plant conservation efforts (Balding & Williams, 2016), plant science research and enhanced participation in plant‐focused citizen science projects. To raise plant awareness and appreciation, an impressive diversity of approaches promoting botany in educational settings, as well as outside the classroom, has been proposed and developed (Crisci et al, 2020; Fančovičová & Prokop, 2011; Friesner et al, 2021; Jose et al, 2019; Levesley et al, 2012; McDonough Mackenzie et al, 2020; Moores et al, 2021; Pany et al, 2019; Thorogood, 2020; Woodland, 2007) with many demonstrating a measurable increase in botanical literacy among participants (Pinkerton et al, 2021; Ryplova & Pokorny, 2020; Stagg & Donkin, 2013; Wells et al, 2021). The growing number of initiatives run by plant scientists, such as international Fascination of Plants Day (https://plantday18may.org/), PlantLoveStories (https://www.plantlovestories.com) or More Than Weeds (https://morethanweeds.co.uk/), as well as relentless work of botanical gardens around the world, also continues to promote an awareness and appreciation of plants among the general public.…”

Section: Challenge: the End Of Botany?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Botanical boom: A new opportunity to promote the public appreciation of botany

Burke

Sherwood

Clune

et al. 2022

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact Statement Plants are indispensable to life on Earth. Securing our future requires protecting plant biodiversity and the development of climate‐resilient crops. Activities fostering public appreciation of plant science, and promoting plant‐related professions, are therefore critical. These efforts can be hindered by plant awareness disparity, manifesting as difficulty in recognizing the presence and importance of plants. However, interest in plants as a hobby and as lifestyle elements has rapidly increased in younger demographics over the last decade. We suggest these topics should be exploited urgently by researchers and educators to increase further the reach of science communication, thereby enhancing societal awareness of botany and stimulating interest in plant‐related degrees and career pathways. Summary Plants are the basis of life on Earth as we know it and the study of plants is essential to protect our future. Yet botany and plant science are in crisis and suffer a low uptake at the level of undergraduate degrees. Increasing science communication about exciting advances in our knowledge of plants and their importance to society may be a strategy to counteract this. Here, we comment on the recent trends in the public perception of plants and explore them using infoveillance tools. Our observations highlight that paradoxically over the last decade public interest in plant‐related topics has increased considerably, with the advent of a new type of social media influencer—‘plantfluencers’. Additionally, recent studies demonstrate that the COVID‐19 pandemic has boosted awareness of the therapeutic value of interacting with plants and their positive effect on human well‐being. We suggest that this offers a window of opportunity to develop an appreciation of plant science among the wider public, who are reconnecting with plants in new ways. Plant‐focused communities and online groups on social media platforms can facilitate engagement with new audiences. In particular, trends relating to houseplants, plant‐based diets and the benefits of interacting with plants on mental health and well‐being together provide an attractive springboard for science outreach and botany‐focused conversations. Here, we discuss these trends and make recommendations for researchers and educators.

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Saving Water for the Future Via Increasing Plant Literacy of Pupils

Cited by 10 publications

References 17 publications

Woody species in the urban schoolyards in West Africa Sahel cities in Niger: diversity and benefits for green schools

Woody species in the urban schoolyards in West Africa Sahel cities in Niger: diversity and benefits for green schools

Widening Gap of Land Evaporation to Reference Evapotranspiration Implies Increasing Vulnerability to Droughts in Hungary

Botanical boom: A new opportunity to promote the public appreciation of botany

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