Planting trees - is there really a point?

[muddyfingers]

In my own point of vie, trees are truly important because without it, there would be an interruption to food chain that would cause a great imbalance in nature. If the problem here is it produces carbon dioxide, the only solution is to stop cutting them down and plant more instead so that when the others die, there would be the remaining trees to absorb the carbon dioxide instead of piling them up in the atmosphere.

 

[tasha]

Trees bring life and yes there is an absolute point toi growing them. We need bees to pollinate and we also need trees for oxygen. I agree we should go back to the beginning where we do not use fuels and pollute the air as we do need to think about saving our planet as the beauty in it is something we take for granted. So to save our earth, plant a tree!

 

[Cereus]

Well there's other factors too as well. Not only do they help filter CO2, but depending where you live trees are invaluable natural wind blocks during winter/summer if planted around the property line. Also during summer having trees shade an area can drop temperatures by 10F because they block out the sun, meaning less electricity used to cool off. Not only that but the deep roots help retain soil. Then they're also pretty aesthetically pleasing to boot.

 

[zigs]

I've just re read the opening post and it's not as simple as that, over the course of a trees life it produces thousands of leaves, the carbon in those goes on to feed bacteria, plants and creatures of the leaf litter, then when it rots the carbon goes into fungi and insects feeding on it.

So while it might give off carbon when it dies, a whole lot more is locked up and goes into the food chain.

If all the carbon was released when a tree dies, we wouldn't have any coal or peat.

 

[Twinsmommy31]

I have also found it quite enjoyable to plant a tree and watch it grow. I do agree that we need to be doing things that will make the world healthier for all of us. It's the little things that can really make a difference. I even had my children and husband help me plants trees.

 

[Jewell]

I really hate this question. Mainly because people look at the question too simplistically. The world is full of very different ecosystems that are of great value for the diversity of the planet. Biodiversity has declined by more than a quarter in the last 35 years. Are you aiding your ecosystem or changing it even more by planting trees and introducing foreign species?

http://www.americanforests.org/magazine/article/backyard-biodiversity/

What you plant really depends on where you live and your enviroment. I live where I have to pull tens if not hundreds of tree seedlings to maintain my yard with native plants and keep my home maintained. Neighbors have planted fir and sequoia trees along their north and my south property lines. This has made even passive solar energy impossible even though our 80 year old home was built for it. The large trees have also shaded out a small orchard. Over 15-20 years we have gone from a sunny lot to full shade. Without enough sunlight I can't grow a vegetable, herb or flower garden except in a very small area of a third acre lot. I have no grass and much of my yard is woodland with a good mix of native plants.

If you are willing to take your own sunlight away by planting trees it is OK. But please be aware of your neighborhood and all enviromental needs. Sunlight is the basis for photosynthesis and plant life. Maybe building a self substaining water feature could add more diversity to your personal and the planets diversity? Trees are really only a very small part of the total equation. Maybe you could think more in terms of a food forest?

http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/about_gardening Maybe a way to provide urban biodiversity and gardens.

 

[zigs]

Planted a Horse Chestnut with my Son when he was a toddler, it's now about 20 foot high, and he's slightly taller than me

 

[Arielphf]

I'm a forester so I'm probably biased, but the facts are that trees are very important to the planet. They are the second most important oxygen producing type of plant on the planet, they reduce global temperatures, hold soils in place and fix carbon dioxide into the biosphere. In tropical climates, like the ones you point out, trees have up to 90% of the biomass locked up in canopy and trunk. Unlike temperate climates like the northern US and Canada, which have more than 60% of their biomass in the soil and duff layers (though that percentage is changing due to non-native earthworm species that are chewing through our organic layer like wildfire). Many terrestrial animal species require forests for at least a part of their lifespan and the trees provide food and shelter to lots of critters. I could go on about the economic and biologic benefits of trees, but this would get to be a very long post.

As for planting them, a properly managed forest should reseed itself, but I'm a service forester (the person who comes out and looks at your forests when you need advice) and I will tell you the VAST majority of private forest land that I see is NOT properly managed. Way too many people fall prey to the logger who comes knocking at their door, offering them a few thousand for their trees with no forester involved, no management plan in place, no reserve trees, no no landowner protections, no security deposit and no recourse once the logger has whacked anything of value on your land and left you with nothing to even get seed from. Fully 90% of the house calls I make are to lands that already got the ax and the landowner is asking me what he should do now to get his beautiful forest back (uh, call me sooner?).

Even when you do know what you are doing, sometimes things happen and your regeneration fails. Having trees to plant and people willing to plant them helps keep those failures from being a long term ecologic desert.

It would be very nice if we cut down on fossil fuels, but there are very large and profitable companies that are working diligently for that not to happen. And on top of that, we pay them subsidies... *sigh* Until those companies squeeze every drop of fossil fuels out of the ground and every dime they can out of us in the process, the economic incentives just aren't going to be on the side of trees.

It would be easier if we treated our natural resources with the respect and reverence they deserve. Then maybe we wouldn't allow them to be abused. Unfortunately, people don't respect what they don't understand. They need to learn about natural resources and trees in order to gain that respect. One of the first ways a child learns about trees is to plant them.

I have seen this happen first hand. I plant thousands of seedlings every year with our local high schools. I present the 'Birth of a Tree' program to several hundred 3rd graders every winter. When kids plant trees, they learn a bit more respect for the world they are going to inherit.

So, yeah, it's worth planting trees.

 

[cabbiel0ver19]

Yes, there is a point to planting trees, the thing is, for every sapling you plant, more cars, factories, and waste emiting establishments are being built. Here in Sweden, one of our goals by 2020 is to have a sufficient amount of forests,.we may be a small country, however, big or small, any contribution to the environment is still useful.