Can Indoor Plants Promote Global Warming?

Plants are vital for life and our long-term survival. However, despite the main use of plants for the environment and human beings, which Is photosynthesis, there are few secondary uses. Using plants for decorative purposes is one of them.

Plants can be used as decor differently. They are primarily used in garden scaping and landscaping. However, there is a trend of using plants for interior design.

With this trend, there are several misconceptions among people regarding houseplants stating that,

Plants kept indoors are dangerous for the environment and the health of householders.

The Climate Fact Checks team investigated this statement and its relevance to Climate Change.

 Is it safe to keep plants indoors?

Typically, plants absorb CO₂ from the air during day time and release oxygen to the environment through photosynthesis. But, at night, plants cannot proceed with photosynthesis due to the lack of sunlight. So, cellular respiration is the only process that happens inside a plant at night.

During cellular respiration, O₂ in the atmosphere is absorbed by tree cells and gives CO₂ as a by-product. Though this action also takes place during day time, CO₂ is used in the plant’s photosynthesis process as its reactant.

With these mechanisms, plants are considered good O₂ suppliers under daylight. But at night, it is different. This is why people mostly worry about keeping plants inside their houses.

At night, most houses are enclosed. The atmosphere in the area becomes limited. The paths for fresh air to arrive and mix are limited as well. So, if a plant has been kept inside a house overnight, the O₂ consumption of the area will be increased, and the people inside the house may have a regression with offensive atmosphere conditions inside the house during the night with a higher level of CO₂ and lower level of O₂.

So, there is an opinion in society that keeping indoor plants is not healthy at night time, and they increase the atmospheric temperature by releasing CO₂.

But…

Though most plants release CO₂ during the night is factually correct, according to a study in 2015 using a few plant types, the levels of CO₂ released and the levels of O₂ absorbed bya plant at night while it remains inside is a smaller quantity comparatively. More details can be taken here.

More suitable alternative plants

In 1989, a team at NASA conducted a ‘clean air study’ to investigate plants’ natural air filtering properties. From these investigations, they were able to determine the plants which are most effective to keep indoors. Snake plant varieties, Aloe Vera, Peace Lily, and English ivy are some examples from the ‘clean air study’ investigation result.

The best plant from that investigation and their details can be found here Archived.

How do some indoor plants produce oxygen even at night?

Above mentioned plants can perform a special type of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM).

Normally, during photosynthesis, carbon dioxide absorption and oxygen release happen via the same stomata. In CAM, the stomata are closed in the daytime to minimize evapotranspiration. And these plants collect carbon dioxide for photosynthesis by opening the stomata only at night time. The oxygen produced by the plant during the daytime is stored and escapes at night through the open stomata.

Benefits of keeping indoor plants

Normally, every plant can improve air quality in the daytime. And some plants can improve air quality by producing oxygen during the night and regulating the air’s carbon dioxide and oxygen levels.

Above mentioned plants which the data had confirmed by research done at NASA, had the ability to remove cancer-causing chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene in the air. Also, it can decrease the temperature of the air by minimizing the greenhouse gases in the air.

Also, planting indoors is a better way to improve human mental health as well. Additionally, Indoor plants add beauty to the household.

What is the congruity between indoor plants and climate change?

The main benefit of plants to the environment is releasing oxygen into the atmosphere and absorbing carbon dioxide, also known as photosynthesis. This is the main reason that helps maintain the atmosphere’s balance and control the environment’s temperature.

With climate change, global warming has become a pressing issue in the world. People, especially those living in urban areas, face great danger due to decreased indoor air quality and higher temperatures. This can even cause health issues in people.

People use air conditioning, fans, and other mechanical methods to overcome global warming and the higher temperatures indoors. These methods affect climate change circularly. For example, old air conditioner machines used Chloro Fluoro Carbon (CFC) as the cooling gas. These gases were released into the atmosphere when the machines were disposed of and destroyed the ozone layer. Chloro fluoro carbons could destroy the ozone layer continuously, even with a single molecule. Additionally, these cooling methods can add to global warming during power production.

But, indoor planting helps people overcome or control these issues without using any methods harmful to the environment. At least indoor plants are able to address the problem slightly.

Indoor plants, especially those introduced by  NASA, control the temperature more effectively.  This supports minimizing global warming and climate change by producing more oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, especially during both day and night, and keeping the humidity level in the area at an optimum level.

Does Indoor Plant positively influence Climate Change?

Indoor plants increase the temperature inside houses and cause global warming, especially at night, due to their oxygen and carbon dioxide exchanging mechanism and limited space.

As this misinformation was proven wrong at the beginning, not only specific plants that release oxygen at night but also other plants can support temperature control more than people think. Indoor plants do not increase the temperature to high and sensibility levels though they release carbon dioxide at night.

So, planting always discourages temperature increases and always supports reducing global warming to help humans tolerate higher temperatures.

Are there any disadvantages of Indoor Plants?

Some plants have many needs, such as regular watering, fertilization, and sunlight. So, maintaining indoor plants is hard work. Also, they may be able to attract bugs that are not very suitable for indoor environments.  

Some indoor plants, like peace lily and devil’s ivy, are toxic for humans and animals. They have toxins in their structure, and consuming them accidentally may become harmful.

Also, indoor plants have limited access to sun and airflow, so they may start to provide a space for mold and bacteria. They can cause aggressive allergies in humans.

So, selecting a good plant for an indoor plantation, it should be done in a way to minimize these disadvantages.

(With Inputs from Mihiri Saparamadu )