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Science Fair Project Topic Ideas

Science fair project topic ideas should be shared with your friends. You could try growing plants without soil. This could be a very educational science fair topic. No digging. No soil. No furry creatures to shoo away.  Other science fair project topics might include forecasting the weather by yourself.  Science fair project topic ideas like this  enable you to make careful observations of nature.  This science fair project topic, with a few helpful devices that you can make yourself, will help you make sure you dress correctly for the forecasted weather.  Science fair project ideas like this, if you get really good at forecasting weather, might help you to get a job on television.  Other science fair project topics to consider is to determine how good a detective you are.

A science fair project ideas like this will show you how sensitive your senses of touch, hearing, sight and smell really are. What a fun science fair project topic this can be.  It may be one of the best science fair project topic ideas of all!

We now consider the plant richness of each of the world's continents. We begin with the Americas – North, Middle and South.

The Americas (“The New World”) hold an estimated 133-138,000 species of the c. 250,000 higher plants, the richest flora of any continent. The flora of Middle and tropical South America, with an estimated 85,000 species, is the largest of all tropical floras, yet is the least explored botanically. Even the adjacent Caribbean Islands have a richer flora than that of Europe.

Brazil (56,000 species), Colombia (35,000), the two countries with the largest floras of all, and Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, continental USA and Bolivia are among the twelve countries with most plant species (see Fact 15). Six of the 18 ‘Hot Spots’ proposed by conservationist Norman Myers, together holding some 20% of world plant diversity, are in the Americas – Atlantic Coast of Brazil, California Floristic Province, Central Chile, Colombian Choco, Western Amazonia Uplands and Western Ecuador.

Most of Middle America, except Mexico, was forested until 40 or so years ago, but today only 27-28% forest cover remains. Amazonia has fared better, remaining largely intact despite much local destruction; at 5-6 million acres it is much the largest tropical forest in the world. But the highland Andean forests have been destroyed for centuries, and now have one of world's most diverse but threatened floras.

7 vascular plants are presumed extinct in the United States, 164 possibly extinct, 2530 imperiled or critically imperiled and 2556 vulnerable. Highest concentrations of threatened plants are in Texas, California and Hawaii. Just over 3500 threatened plants have been recorded in Middle America, 1119 of them endemic to Mexico.

Middle and South America, from S Mexico to Brazil, Paraguay and Peru, is one of eight world centres of cultivated plant diversity (as proposed by Vavilov). The Americas have given the Old World many staple vegetables. Food crops of Middle and South American origin include Avocado, Cacao, Manioc (Cassava), Papaya (Pawpaw), Peanut (Groundnut), Pineapple and Vanilla. Sunflower, from Mexico and W North America, is the one of world's largest oil crops. Major non-food crops of tropical American origin include Rubber, Sea Island Cotton and Tobacco. Those of us who grow kidney and lima beans, maize (corn), peppers, potatoes and sweet potatoes, squashes and tomatoes are continuing the ancient gardening tradition of the native American peoples.

Many popular plants of temperate gardens come from North America, both annuals (California Poppy, Clarkia, Gaillardia or Blanket-Flower) and perennials (Golden Rod, Michaelmas Daisy, Perennial Phlox). Garden species of Cosmos, Dahlia, Tagetes ('French' and 'African' Marigolds) and Zinnia come from Middle America. Tropical plants from the Americas that have become cosmopolitan ornamentals include Bougainvillea, Datura and Jacaranda.

Almost all cacti (Cactaceae family) are restricted to the Americas. This family of succulents contains 1650 species in 130 genera, mostly in hot, dry desert habitats. Only Rhipsalis ('mistletoe cactus') extends to the Old World. Soon after Colombus reached America in 1492, American plants began to impact on the Old World, both as crops and weeds. Peppers (Capsicum), immediately popular, were first mentioned in writing in 1493. Within a century they had spread across Europe and the Portuguese had taken them to Africa and India. Ironically, Colombus had sailed west in search of the fabled spices of the East!