Earth Day: Save trees for they give us life
“What an irony it is that these living beings whose shade we sit in, whose fruit we eat, whose limbs we climb, whose roots we water, to whom most of us rarely give a second thought, are so poorly understood. We need to come, as soon as possible, to a profound understanding and appreciation for trees and forests and the vital role they play, for they are among our best allies in the uncertain future that is unfolding.”
—Jim Robbins, author of “The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet”.
Trees provide an essential part of life for all living things. A tree is composed of its leaves, stems, trunk and its roots. About 05 percent of the tree consists of its leaves, 15 percent its stems, 60 percent goes into its trunk and 20 percent is devoted to its roots.
Great ecologist prof CC Raunkiaer, in his book “The Life Form of Plants and Statistical Plant Geography [1934] “classified plants into six broad life-form categories on the basis of the position of perennating buds on plants and degree of their protection during adverse conditions. These are epiphytes (air plants), phanerophytes (aerial plants), chamaephytes (surface plants), hemi-cryptophytes (tussock plants), cryptophytes or geophytes (earth plants) and therophytes (annuals).
The majority of species which govern biodiversity, rain, human lives and earth’s carbon balance belong to phanerophytes. Trees are essential to our ecosystem. They’re often referred to as the “lungs” of the Earth because they’re able to store carbon and produce additional oxygen for our planet.
Hardwood trees absorb the most carbon dioxide. Over a lifetime of 100 years, one tree could absorb around a tonne of CO2. Teak has the highest capacity for carbon sequestration among trees in India.
Why is climate change harmful for trees?
Trees also need a healthy climate, like other life forms, to survive and to provide their ecological services to humans and biodiversity. Trees have the incredible ability to grow continually for hundreds of years. But new stimuli from current climate change are disrupting the normal growth of plants. These new environmental parameters stress wild trees, other flora and agricultural crops by disrupting their growth.
We humans are responsible for anthropogenic climate change. Our trees are being threatened every day. Trees are dying before they’re big enough to store a significant amount of carbon from our atmosphere. Increasing population density, urbanisation, industrialisation and per capita consumption are the main causes of deforestation.
Benefits of trees
But trees are selflessly serving to provide benefits to humans who are solely responsible for degradation of trees and forests. Apart from being source of food, fodder, medicines, fuels and homes to biodiversity, here are some more benefits of trees:
It is proposed that leaves of a large tree can provide a day’s supply of oxygen for up to four people.
Roadside trees reduce nearby indoor air pollution by more than 50%.
Community forests save an average of one life each year. In New York city, trees save an average of eight lives every year. Office workers with a view of trees report significantly less stress and more satisfaction. More than 20 percent of world’s oxygen is produced in the Amazon rainforest. Evaporated water from trees and forests helps cool the earth as a whole and not just the local area of evaporation.
Forest soil 36 inches deep can absorb 18 inches of precipitation, then gradually releases it into natural channels. This way, forests slow the volume of rainwater discharged into streams and rivers immediately after rainstorm or snowfall.
In one year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the amount of CO2 produced by a car driven 26,000 miles.
Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30%. Many animals have a range of hundreds of square miles. Trees and forests provide important species range.
Trees also help reduce crime. According to a report, public housing buildings with greater amounts of vegetation had 52% fewer total crimes, 48% fewer property crimes and 56% fewer violent crimes than buildings with low amounts of vegetation. Exposure to green surroundings reduces mental fatigue and related feelings of irritability. The ability to concentrate and to deal with problems thoughtfully is improved by green views. Trees increase our property values. Mature trees positively influenced home sale prices. Homes in neighbourhoods with mature trees have more value than the ones without them.
We wouldn’t be able to live on this planet at all without trees. The benefits include cleaner air, lower energy costs, improved water quality, storm control and increased property values. So, next time when you take a deep breath, give credit to a tree or hug a tree in gratitude for what it gives us— life. Save trees.