This picture shows me standing in the foyer of my house with a tree. My parents purchased this tree when I was a baby. It sits in our foyer and has grown quite a bit since when we first bought it. You may be wondering what kind of relationship I could possibly have with a tree. Well, this tree and I represent an example of mutualism. Mutualism is a relationship between two organisms in which both benefit greatly from the association. This association is necessary for the organisms to survive. Without plants and trees, humans could not survive. Plants and trees produce oxygen which is the most important nutrient to the human body because life could not exist without oxygen. Every cell in our body uses oxygen. Brain function decreases dramatically when it does not have enough oxygen. Humans cannot survive without the oxygen produced from plants and trees. On the other hand, plants could not survive without humans. Humans produce carbon dioxide when we exhale. Plants take the carbon dioxide to make their food. The carbon dioxide is combined with water and sunlight in a process called photosynthesis. Oxygen is a byproduct of that process. Without the carbon dioxide produced from humans, plants could not produce food to survive. Plants (and trees) and humans are dependent on each other for their survival.
