How Trees Improve Environment

Trees are ancient living organisms that existed since the creation of the Earth and have been crucial to the Earth’s ecosystem. The age of a tree is determined by cambium, a layer of growing bark, which forms a ring in the wood of the tree. Each ring of cambium, tells the age of the tree. The climate can also determine how fast a tree grows. For instance, in cool climates, cambium only grows in the spring and summer. But there are some cases where you cannot determine the age of trees, like the trees in a tropical rain forest. The cambium grows all year round. Yet these trees do not have rings. Consequently without the cambium rings, it is difficult to tell the age of these species trees. Since trees have an s As told in the Holy Bible, â€Å"And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. † Just as is stated in the Bible, there are all kinds of trees, in all kinds of shapes and sizes. But how important are trees? If all the trees were removed from the Earth, what impact would this have on the environment? Determining the answers to these questions will be a guide in learning about the importance and value of trees in the ecosystem. Trees can have a positive effect on the climate, by shading the ground, trees cool off the Earth’s temperature. Strategically planting trees around air conditioners, windows and the walls which receive the most sun will help in reducing energy costs. Normally, the best position to plant trees is on the west, east and south. It really depends on a specific geographical location. However, according to American Forests’ research, even urban cities get the benefit of cooler temperatures from trees within distances of 35 miles. In fact, American Forests’ research determined that trees saved approximately $2. 8 million annually to Atlanta’s metro city as well as an annual savings for other metro areas across the United States. In addition, in 1991 a partnership between American Forests and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) along with other partners developed the Cool Communities program to promote trees as energy conservation tools. This program was a great success. It helped to educate the public on the ecological and economical importance of trees. But how do trees cleanse the air we breathe? Trees actually eat up the carbon dioxide that is emitted by cars, trucks and factories then releases oxygen (clean air) for us to breathe. Its almost like we feed them the carbon and they repay us with clean breathable air. The fact is one tree can absorb 48lbs of carbon annually and at the same time release enough oxygen to support two human beings. An acre of trees absorb 2. 6 tons annually which is enough carbon dioxide to cover the emissions from a car that is driven 26,000 miles. It is safe to say that we can all aid in having pure breathable air just by planting one tree. The U. S. Forest Service states that during a period of 40 years (1952 to 1992) an estimated 309 million tons of carbon was removed by trees. This is another reason why trees improve our environment.