Why Plants Need Space Too

All living things need certain resources to live and grow. What does your body need to be healthly? Plants need sunlight, nutrients, water, and air. The roots bring nutrients and water, from the ground, to the tree, and the leaves absorb the sun's rays for energy. When plants don't have enough space, they cannot meet their needs. So, the plants protect their resources by using allelopathy.

Here are four major reasons that trees need their own space:


Plants need to protect themselves from harm. Fire is always a threat to plants in the wild. If trees are too close to one another fire can spread from one to another very easily, so they create space for themselves, to remain safe.
In some areas, there is not a lot of water. The less plants there are around you, the more of your roots can slurp up precious water.
If you are a plant, you want to have as much dirt to yourself as possible. One way to do this is to make everyone else's roots die off using allellopathy.
Plants need sun to live. If other plants grow nearby, their shade means less sunlight for the tree. If only you could think of a way to make the other plants move away...

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