The main importance of algae in nature and human life. Application in various industries and agriculture.

To overestimate the importance of algae in nature and human life is impossible. Thanks to the processes of photosynthesis, they are the main producers of a huge amount of organic substances in fresh and salt water bodies. Special attention should be paid to the fact that algae intensively produce oxygen in the water, which is so necessary for river and sea inhabitants. Man has long appreciated these plants and found them in many branches of industry and agriculture.

The importance of algae in nature and human life

Perhaps the most important function performed by absolutely all kinds of algae is the absorption of carbon dioxide from the water. In exchange, they secrete oxygen, without which it is impossible to imagine the life of modern plants and animals. Equally important is the participation of algae in the cycle of substances on the planet. Its cyclical nature allows all kinds of living creatures to exist on earth for more than one thousand years. In addition, algae - the main source of water in organic substances, which are an excellent food base. A huge number of animals depend on it. Equally important is the evolutionary importance of algae. They significantly influenced not only the composition of the Earth's atmosphere , but also the formation of its relief. In addition, these plant organisms (both unicellular and multicellular) play an important role in the self-purification of rivers, lakes and ponds, as well as sewage. Algae, especially their unicellular representatives, are an excellent indicator of salinization and pollution of the reservoir. But they live not only in water, but also in soil. By participating in the circulation of silicon and calcium, they actively enrich the earth with these components.

The importance of algae in agriculture

The great importance of algae in nature and human life is explained by their ability to produce organic matter. Therefore, they found wide application in the perfume, food, pharmaceutical industry. But even more of them are used in agriculture. In developed countries, fertilizers are produced on the basis of algae. If they sprinkle them with seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and melons, they not only grow faster, but they also give a big harvest. In addition to vegetable growing, algae also penetrated livestock. Cows, geese, chickens, ducks become more productive with a particularly balanced diet. Organic components of algae are introduced into food for agricultural animals.

The importance of algae in the food industry

Annually on all continents of the planet people eat several billion tons of processed algae. First of all, we are talking about sea kale. It belongs to the kelp. It contains a huge number of nutritious and, importantly, useful substances. These are the compounds of iodine, and calcium, which is necessary for normal metabolism. The importance of algae in nature and human life is enormous. Cultivation of marine and freshwater crops gives very encouraging results. They are increasingly used in the food industry. For example, Japanese cuisine uses algae flour when baking bread. And this is the main product on the table in each family. Algae is added to puddings, cakes and even ice cream. Recently, their application in conservation is no less relevant. In many countries, more and more cafes open every year, where you can order different dishes exclusively from seaweed.

Unicellular algae and their importance in cosmonautics

Strangely enough, but it is a simple unicellular alga Chlorella that plays a huge role in modern space exploration. It is able to produce a large amount of oxygen. In this it is inferior to almost all types of plants. Important is the fact that it has microscopic dimensions, which means it will not take much space. It has a short vegetative process and a very high rate of reproduction. All the obtained biomass of chlorella can be used in orbital stations not only for the production of oxygen, but also as food. Its nutritional qualities are really impressive. The protein content of chlorella is not less than 50 percent of the dry weight. In addition, this alga contains essential amino acids and vitamins for human life. All this makes the use of chlorella in space flights very promising.

Application of algae in microbiology

Great variety and importance of algae. They found their application even in microbiology. From brown and red algae produce the substance agar-agar. It is able to freeze at room temperature and turn into jelly. It is this property that has become decisive in the choice between gelatin and agar in the production of nutrient media for the cultivation of microorganisms. This substance has good nutritional properties and does not melt under thermostat conditions. Therefore, at present all artificial nutrient media are prepared on the basis of agar.

Use of algae for wastewater treatment

Recently, the importance of algae in human life in the communal sphere has increased. They are cultivated in industrial wastewater in order to activate the processes of self-purification. In the future, excess organic mass will be used to produce methane, which is planned to be used in agricultural and industrial production. It is best to deal with contamination of chlamydomonas. It is able to choose organic substances from water, cleaning it.