Trees are a wonderful part of the natural environment. They are also amazingly efficient machines, constantly working to make the earth a healthier planet, giving us oxygen, storing carbon, stabilise soil, and giving life to wildlife.
Essential for life and the longest living species on earth. Here are ten ways that trees make a big difference.
1. Trees improve air quality.
Trees are called the lungs of the earth because they absorb pollutants through their leaves, trapping (or “sequestering”) and filtering contaminants in the air. Like all green plants, trees also produce oxygen through photosynthesis.
2. Trees improve water quality, and reduce flooding and erosion.
A tree’s leafy canopy catches precipitation before it reaches the ground, allowing some of it to drip gently and the rest to evaporate. Tree roots hold soil in place, reducing erosion. In these ways, trees lessen the force of storms and reduce the amount of runoff into sewers, streams, and rivers, improving water quality. One hundred mature trees can intercept about 100,000 gallons of rainfall per year.
3. Trees temper climate.
Trees lower air temperatures and humidity; they can also influence wind speed. Evaporation of water from trees, or transpiration, has a cooling effect. Cities develop “heat islands” because dark roofs and pavement absorb solar energy and radiate it back. Trees in car parks have been shown to reduce asphalt temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius and car interiors by up to 8 degrees Celsius. Trees also help prevent flooding and soil erosion, absorbing thousands of litres of stormwater.
4. Trees conserve energy.
Three or more large trees strategically placed on sunny sides of a house shade it from the hot summer sun, reducing air-conditioning costs by as much as 30 percent. Deciduous trees are best for this use because they lose their leaves in winter, exposing the house to the warming winter sun, which lowers the energy needed to heat the house. Coniferous trees, because they retain their needles year-round, serve to reduce wind when placed on the north and northwest sides of a building, resulting in significantly lower winter heating costs.
5. Trees are good for the economy.
Economic analyses have found that the value of homes near trees is 5 to 18 percent higher than homes without. Research shows that shoppers linger longer along a shaded avenue than one barren of trees and are even willing to pay more for goods and services. Companies benefit from a healthier, happier workforce if parks and trees are nearby.
6. Trees create habitat for plants and animals.
Wherever trees are established, wildlife and other plants are sure to follow. Trees host complex microhabitats. When young, they offer habitation and food to amazing birds, insects, lichen, and fungi communities. When ancient, their trunks also provide the hollow cover needed by species such as bats, woodboring beetles, tawny owls, and woodpeckers. One mature oak can be home to as many as 500 different species.
7. Trees improve health.
Research demonstrates that exposure to trees and green space your blood pressure drops, heart rate slows, and stress levels reduce. The canopies of trees act as a physical filter, trapping dust and absorbing pollutants from the air. Each tree removes up to 1.7 kilos every year. They also provide shade from solar radiation and reduce noise. Hospital patients with a window view of trees recover faster than those without. Children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) can better concentrate after time spent in outdoor green settings. Over 20 species of British trees and shrubs are known to have medicinal properties. The oil from birch bark, for example, has antiseptic properties.
8. Trees reduce crime.
Data show that apartment buildings with high levels of greenery had significantly fewer crimes than those without trees.
9. Trees reduce noise pollution and can serve as screens.
A belt of trees 100 feet wide and 50 feet tall can reduce highway noise by up to 10 decibels, reducing the sound volume by half. Densely planted trees can also block unsightly views.
10. Trees promote community.
Trees can enhance a community’s sense of pride and ownership. Active involvement in tree planting programs leads to a stronger sense of community and the promotion of environmental responsibility and ethics. Planting programs also project a visible sign of change and instigate other community renewal and action programs.
Forests all around the globe, which are already shrinking at an alarming rate, are slowly reaching their maximum carbon storage capacity - they won’t be able to absorb much more carbon for the decades to come. At the very least, we need new sources of carbon capture to take up the burden of human industry.
There are lots of different approaches to this problem. But it's only by planting trees that we can increase carbon capture, revitalise species and provide social and economic benefits to local communities.
Teaming up with Treeapp will allow us to plant a tree with every order and help protect fully grown trees.
BUT. You can help! Treeapp is FREE. Just download the app and plant a tree a day, every day.