高中三年级英语(人教版)全一册 Unit 4 Integrating Skills 2

　　Plants grow in communities, and plant sociology is the branch of botany that studies this phenomenon. By making a careful analysis of the plant growth in a square metre, it is possible to find out what type of plant community occupies the land. Some plant communities are made up of very common plant species. Others may contain very special, endangered plant species. Knowing more about nature will help us realise which parts of our environment deserve our protection.

　　It is not necessary for you to live in the countryside to take an active interest in botany. Any environment, whether urban or rural, offers a variety of different habitats, in which plants can be studied. Nature often has to put up a fierce struggle to survive in the city. Still, every city contains natural habitats, in which wild plants have found their home. To study, describe and protect them makes an important contribution to science and an effort to care for the environment.