All the plants seem to be able to adapt to predation levels, reproducing more in areas heavily populated with deer, while doing less in areas with no predators, thus keeping themselves from overpopulating and draining the mud of nutrients. Without plants, every species in the ecosystem would quickly become extinct. As mentioned, their roots hold the shifting mud together and give the land animals a firm surface to stand on. Also, the rodents and deer, who are themselves food for so many other species, would starve wihout the plants, their one source of food. Most importantly, the Altoidian plants convert exhaled carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen, and provide the organisms around them with the atmosphere they need to survive.
Plants fill undeniably one of the most crucial niches in the ecosystem.