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Chemical Composition - sporopollenin [edit]
The chemical composition of sporopollenin is not exactly known, due to its unusual chemical stability and resistance to degradation by enzymes and strong chemical reagents. Analyses have revealed a mixture of biopolymers, containing mainly long chain fatty acids, phenylpropanoids, phenolics and traces of carotenoids. Tracer experiments have shown that phenylalanine is a major precursor, but other carbon sources also contribute. It is likely that sporopollenin derives from several precursors that are chemically cross-linked to form a rigid structure.

Electron microscopy shows that the tapetal cells that surround the developing pollen grain in the anther have a highly active secretory system containing lipophilic globules. These globules are believed to contain sporopollenin precursors. Chemical inhibitors of pollen development and many male sterile mutants have effects on the secretion of these globules by the tapetal cells.

Health Benefits - sporopollenin[edit]
Sporopollenin has been applied in the nutrition and pharmaceutical fields, where it is claimed to have medicinal and health benefits.[citation needed]Sporopollenin is one of many constituents found in lycopodium and chlorella, which tend to have antioxidant properties. Along with lignin, it is also a phenolic containing compound, these compounds are important to plant's metabolic and environmental plasticity and are also linked to health benefits. Pollen is also unfortunately linked to health restrictions such as asthma and allergies.

=                           Effects of climate change on plant diversity = Human actions are currently triggering the sixth major mass extinction our earth has seen, changing the distribution and abundance of many plants.

Higher level changes - climate change[edit]
Species respond in very different ways to climate change. Variation in the distribution, phenology and abundance of species will lead to inevitable changes in the relative abundance of species and their interactions. These changes will flow on to affect the structure and function of ecosystems. Bird migration patterns are already showing a change in flying south sooner, this could overtime affect the over all ecosystem. If birds are leaving sooner this would decrease the pollination rates of plants over time.

With certain species of plants having a disadvantage with a warmer climate, their insect herbivores may also be taking a hit. Temperature will directly affect diversity, persistence and survival in both the plants and their insect herbivores. As these insect herbivores decrease, so will the higher levels of species that eat those insects.

Effects of CO2 [edit]
Recent increases in atmospheric CO2.

Increased CO2 can also lead to increased Carbon : Nitrogen ratios in the leaves of plants or in other aspects of leaf chemistry, possibly changing herbivore nutrition. Studies show that doubled concentrations of CO2 will show an increase in photosynthesis in C3 plants but not in C4 plants. However, it is also shown that C4 plants are able to persist in drought better than the C3 plants.

Effects of temperature[edit]
Extreme temperatures can be harmful when beyond the physiological limits of a plant which will eventually lead to higher desiccation rates.

One common hypothesis among scientists is that the warmer an area is, the higher the plant diversity. This hypothesis can be observed in nature, where higher plant biodiversity is often located at certain latitudes (which often correlates with a specific climate/temperature).

Effects of water[edit]
As water supply is critical for plant growth, it plays a key role in determining the distribution of plants. Changes in precipitation are predicted to be less consistent than for temperature and more variable between regions, with predictions for some areas to become much wetter, and some much drier. A change in water availability would show a direct correlation to the growth rates and persistences of plant species in that region.

Genetic diversity
Species richness and species evenness play a key role in how quickly and/or productively an ecosystem can adapt to change. By increasing the possibly of a population bottleneck, genetic diversity in the population would drastically decrease. Since genetic diversity is a main contributor of how an ecosystem can evolve, an ecosystem would be much more susceptible to getting wiped out since each individual would be similar to the next. An absence of mutation  and decrease in species richness greatly enhances the possibility of extinction.

Altering the environment puts stress on a plant to increase its phenotypic plasticity, causing species to change faster than predicted. These plastic responses will help the plants respond to a fast changing environment. Understanding how native species change in response to the environment will help gather conclusions of how mutualistic relationships will react.