Tree of life versus less-than-lyrical tree of loot?
LAY OF THE LAND
‘ITHINK that I shall never see. A poem lovely as a tree.” Richard Tauber’s sublime rendition of Joyce Kilmer’s verse comes to mind this May, especially in a nearby wood, bluebells and ferns growing beneath sun dappling new leaves.
Though it’s unlikely this convert to Catholicism and World War I posthumous recipient of the Croix de Guerre would have penned a poem had he happened upon one of the vast coniferous plantations that are spreading across our land, including around this country town, recognisable by their dense appearance.
Because draw nearer and you will search, in vain, for “a tree that may in summer wear, a nest of robins in her hair”. For there is little sign of life in these dark forests, let alone “a tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray”.
Unless the God is gold — because talk about evergreen pension plans and financial forests as investors take advantage of the money growing on the estimated 34.5 million Sitka spruces, originally from North America, that now account for half of Ireland’s trees.
On top of grants and tax breaks, these trees that mature in 30 years yield further profits as supply wood, much of it exported to Britain. Business is booming, as this Government aims to plant the size of 5,000 Croke Park pitches of predominantly spruce a year to absorb carbon.
Yet critics question the carbon sequestration impact. “If it is to be useful, we have to think about the lifespan of CO2 in the atmosphere — so when we plant these forests we have to see them as something that won’t be shifted for
500 years,” according to Dr Ken Boyle, lecturer at the School of Planning and Environmental Management in TU Dublin. “A lot of thought has to go into what type of trees we plant, and for what purpose. These decisions have implications for biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems, as well as how successful it will be in trapping carbon.”
Otherwise, we risk “swapping a climate problem for a biodiversity problem” as ecologist Yvonne Buckley, professor of zoology at TCD, puts it.
As occurred last month in part of Co Leitrim, when Cypermethrin was sprayed to wipe out the pine weevil, bane of forestry companies. Unfortunately, it can also wipe out other insects, from butterflies to bees. Categorised in the US as a “possible human carcinogen”, Cypermethrin is also considered “extremely toxic” to fish and aquatic invertebrates if it gets into the water.
As Boyle notes, “the business as usual model isn’t really what we should be thinking about”.
Yet commercial forestry companies aren’t exactly heaving with tree huggers, those involved ranging from former asset management bankers to specialists in chainsaws and trucks who describe their clients as “forest owners from private and public bodies to larger corporate clients”.
A long way from Kilmer’s humble observation that “poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree”.