10 Reasons Living Trees Are Valuable
1. Trees Produce Oxygen
We could not exist as we
do if there were no trees. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a
season as 10 people inhale in a year.
2. Trees Clean the Soil
Trees can either store
harmful pollutants or actually change the pollutant into less harmful forms.
Trees filter sewage and farm chemicals, reduce the effects of animal wastes,
clean roadside spills and clean water runoff into streams.
3. Trees Control Noise Pollution
Trees muffle urban noise
almost as effectively as stone walls. Trees, planted at strategic points in a
neighborhood or around your house, can abate major noises from freeways and
airports.
4. Trees Slow Storm Water Runoff
Flash flooding can be
dramatically reduced by a forest or by planting trees. One Colorado blue
spruce, either planted or growing wild, can intercept more than 1000 gallons of
water annually when fully grown. Underground water-holding aquifers are
recharged with this slowing down of water runoff.
5. Trees Are Carbon Sinks
To produce its food, a
tree absorbs and locks away carbon dioxide in the wood, roots and leaves. This
locking-up process "stores" carbon as wood and not as an available
"greenhouse" gas.
6. Trees Clean the Air
Trees help cleanse the air
by intercepting airborne particles, reducing heat, and absorbing such
pollutants as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Trees
remove this air pollution by lowering air temperature, through respiration, and
by retaining particulates.
7. Trees Shade and Cool
Shade from trees reduces
the need for air conditioning in summer. In winter, trees break the force of
winter winds, lowering heating costs. Studies have shown that parts of cities
without cooling shade from trees can literally be "heat islands" with
temperatures as much as 12 degrees Fahrenheit higher than surrounding areas.
8. Trees Act as Windbreaks
During windy and cold
seasons, trees located on the windward side act as windbreaks. A windbreak can
lower home heating bills up to 30. A reduction in wind can also reduce the
drying effect on soil and vegetation behind the windbreak and help keep
precious topsoil in place.
9. Trees Fight Soil Erosion
Tree roots bind the soil
and their leaves break the force of wind and rain on soil. Trees fight soil
erosion, conserve rainwater and reduce water runoff and sediment deposit after
storms.
10. Trees Increase Property Values
Real
estate values increase when trees beautify a property or neighborhood. Trees
can increase the property value of your home by 15% or more.
