In our pursuit of knowledge about the ways plants can contribute to environmental and economic sustainability, we have found the following links to be useful as sources for scientific and practical information and as networking tools with organizations working toward similar or related environmental goals.

Click on a general list to the right to find a range of resources sorted by topic. Featured resources are listed below.

Sustainable Industries announces release of the 2009 supplement "Plants at Work: Growing the Living Market," a leading-edge custom publication sponsored by SPROut. The guide highlights public works projects that use phytotechnology solutions to improve both environmental goals and economic bottom lines, including surveys of several emerging environmental markets for plants that have not yet gained mainstream attention.

"Plants at Work" has been mailed this week with the March edition of Sustainable Industries and is available for free electronic download at the SIJ website.

The guide showcases several groundbreaking applications for plants in environmental services and includes current research, science, education programs and design engineering. Plants are a valuable resource in numerous projects including using wetland plants to clean and reuse greywater from modern buildings and the development of "green streets," but are too often overlooked in the big picture of sustainability.

"Plants are the ultimate renewable resource. They can tolerate or adapt to most of the urban pressures or environmental pollutants we throw at them, and still they remain green and growing and producing harvestable resources while cleaning our water, soil, and air," says Renee Stoops, SPROut Director. "Really, plants are so incredibly functional and beautiful that we should be putting green roofs on cars and wetlands inside buildings."

The "Plants at Work" publication is an opportunity to expand the market and bridge relationships in plant-based environmental solutions. "We continue to believe that 'putting plants to work' is an idea on the leading edge, and we wanted to provide our readers with the latest developments," says Brian Back, Founding Editor & Publisher of Sustainable Industries. "Our editorial team did a fantastic job on this project."

About Sustainable Industries

Sustainable Industries is an independent, award-winning business magazine, web site, event and media company serving top-of-the-pyramid sustainable business leaders on the West Coast and beyond. With offices in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco, Sustainable Industries connects the dots between the environmental and social components of the region's economy, just as it connects the dots between leading sectors, to raise the stakes in a working definition of sustainable industries. For more information, visit www.sustainableindustries.com

Sustainable Industries announced the release of the 2008 supplement "Plants at Work: how nurseries are growing greentech," a leading-edge custom publication sponsored by SPROut. The guide highlights Oregon's leadership in phytotechnology development and expands the conversation among growers and users in plant-based sustainable industries.

This supplement has been mailed to subscribers with the August issue and is available for free electronic download from the SIJ website.

The guide showcases several groundbreaking applications for plants in environmental services and includes current research, science, education programs and design engineering. Plants are a valuable resource in numerous cleantech projects such as wastewater management and green rooftop construction, but are too often overlooked in the big picture of sustainability.

"We do not give plants enough credit for the dynamic, integrated, renewable services they provide in our everyday lives -- services we depend on for life and health," says Renee Stoops, SPROut Coordinator.

The "Plants at Work" publication is an opportunity to expand the market and bridge relationships in plant-based environmental solutions. "We believe 'putting plants to work' is an idea on the leading edge, if not slightly ahead of its boom time; and that's exactly what our readers are seeking," says Brian Back, Founding Editor & Publisher of Sustainable Industries. "Our editorial team did a superb job on this project."

About Sustainable Industries

Sustainable Industries is an independent, award-winning business magazine, web site, event and media company serving top-of-the-pyramid sustainable business leaders on the West Coast and beyond. With offices in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco , Sustainable Industries connects the dots between the environmental and social components of the region's economy, just as it connects the dots between leading sectors, to raise the stakes in a working definition of sustainable industries. For more information, visit www.sustainableindustries.com.

SPROut will soon publish its "Phytotechnology Resource Book: an Oregon User's Guide to Plant-Based Solutions". The book is largely designed for the user who needs to implement a project to solve an environmental problem, such as a city planner/manager constructing a wetland or greenroof to handle stormwater. The book will contain references and descriptions of useful organizations, laws and regulations, and current research. This book will be equally useful to the consultant or landscape architect who ends up doing the design or construction work for the project. Relevant education, training, and certification programs will be profiled. For all those who may be new to the concepts of phytotechnology, this Resource Book will offer a ‘primer’ on terms, concepts, significance, pollutants, and methods and mechanisms for environmental solutions in three major media- water, soil, air. And for growers who want to learn more about marketing their plants for particular environmental uses, there will be some special profiles. Stay tuned for more information on how to order this book.

The Green Fuse: using plants to provide ecosystem services

by Rene Kane
commissioned by SPROut

This Literature Review offers a look at work that has been done or is being done with plants in environmental contexts. Below is a sample from the Introduction. For the full review, click here.

"Plants are uniquely designed to provide a variety of ecosystem services. At their most primary level, plants absorb, filter and release water and oxygen back into the atmosphere. Through their roots, plants take up water and nutrients from the soil, simultaneously absorbing numerous naturally occurring as well as anthropogenic substances. Through transpiration, plants cool their immediate environment and provide shade for surfaces below. Plants reduce wind speed in urbanized areas, and create microclimates that mitigate extremes in temperature and noise. Plants provide essential habitat for many species of insects and birds, many of which are recognized as important to a healthy ecosystem. From the most diminutive algae to the tallest urban canopy, plants are both “lungs” and ‘liver” for our environment. Increasingly, we are relying on plants to provide valuable ecosystem services across all scales of human activity. "