Abdullahi AbdulRahman of the Department of Plant Biology, University of Ilorin, says plants can be used as an efficient environmental cleaning system.

Mr AbdulRahman made the submission on Thursday in Ilorin while delivering the 229th Inaugural Lecture of the university, titled ‘The Tiny Giant of the Unseen That Explains The Seen’.

According to him, the world is now facing an unprecedented climate change crisis from the accumulation of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

Mr AbdulRahman, who teaches in the Faculty of Life Sciences of the university, said that the atmosphere was becoming polluted at a higher rate as it was partly related to urbanisation and industrialisation.

“Many impurities are released into the atmosphere uncontrollably. The rise in earth’s temperature referred to as global warming or greenhouse effects has caused, with increased frequency and intensity, such events as droughts, windstorm, wildfire and flooding,” he said.

The plant biologist stated that plants were used in a purification system known as “phytoremediation”, which could be done via various techniques in which plants clear the environment of pollutants.

Mr AbdulRahman also observed that cement factories close to human habitats could be hazardous to the health of the inhabitants and the vegetation in such areas.

He highlighted the dangers of humans living close to such industries and the impact on plants and vegetation.

The expert, therefore, advised the federal government on the need to establish plant anatomy laboratories with modern equipment to research plants and their benefits.

He also advised putting a herbarium in place to aid the plant identification process for the benefit of plant biology researchers and students.

Herbarium is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data for scientific study.

(NAN)