The Japanese love cultivating moss. I once made a moss terrarium as a kid. I didn't understand how those worked. So, it looked good for a week or two, then died.

The oceans absorb more carbon dioxide than all contributions from land-based plants.

Those oceans are fed by the leaf-litter and other vegetation that is washed out into the oceans. That requires big forests. Big forests need large frugivores, in particular their poop, in order to not just fertilise the soil, but to provide a place for insects to incubate and then be born, at which time they begin pollinating plants. It's an entire system that has to be preserved.

Yes it's all part of an ecosystem. My point is that we don't often concentrate on small creatures like the moss here or the algae in the sea; we highlight trees. Trees are beautiful and magnificent in their own right and also form a vital part of biodiversity and habitat for other plants, animals and fungi. But we usually overlook the small guys who do most of the heavy lifting, so to speak.

Oh, I wasn't trying diminish how much phytoplankton do for us. I just find the whole chain of connections amazingly cool!

Hi Muse, I would expect nothing but a civil discourse from you and so I was just clarifying things, rather than trying to win an argument for the sake of a fragile ego. Have a nice weekend!

@Khurram Wadee I have a speech in one of my plays where a character goes into how important elephant poop is to the planetary ecosystem. The poop fertilises and disperses seeds, it also provides for critical insects who pollinate everything. Go elephant poop! hehehe!