Plant behavior: an evolutionary response to the environment?

Plants are not just passive living beings that exist in nature. They are complex and highly adaptable species that react sensitively to environmental forces/stimuli with movement, morphological changes and through the communication of volatile molecules. In a way, plants mimic some traits of animal and human behavior; they compete for limited resources by gaining more area for more sunlight and spreading their roots underground. Furthermore, in order to survive and thrive, they evolve and "learn" to control various environmental stress factors in order to increase the yield of flowering, fertilization and germination processes. The concept of associating complex behavior, such as intelligence, with plants is still a highly debatable topic among researchers worldwide. Recent studies have shown that plants are able to discriminate between positive and negative experiences and "learn" from them. Some botanists have interpreted these behavioral data as a form of primordial cognitive processes. Others have evaluated these responses as biological automatisms of plants determined by adaptation to the environment and absence of intelligence. This review aimed to explore adaptive behavioral aspects of various plant species distributed in different ecosystems by emphasizing their biological complexity and survival instinct.