Inside:  When we plant trees we do a great service for our environment. Improve your microclimate, improve your mood, Plant trees today!  This post contains affiliate links.  If you click, I may make some coffee money at no cost to you.

When we plant trees, we do a great service to our environment.  Trees are important for a number of reasons.  Biologically, they do the process of photosynthesis.  By using the sun’s energy, plants can store it as chemical energy using water and carbon dioxide to create glucose.  For most living things, glucose is their source of energy.  A by-product of photosynthesis is oxygen.  Plants release this oxygen into the atmosphere. This release is important because most living things, including the plants themselves, use the oxygen during respiration to release the energy stored in glucose in a form that they can use for all life-sustaining processes.

Plant Trees, Keep Happy

So, trees as huge plants, take in tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide much of which gets stored in their body mass.  Most people agree that less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a good thing for the climate.  We all need oxygen to stay alive.  We like our animal friends to stay that way too so again, trees contribute greatly to that happiness and health.

There are many other factors contributing to trees’ importance, not just biological but also economical and spiritual.  Here are ten excellent reasons you should plant a tree or two or many.  After you read this go plant one today!

Reasons to Plant Trees

  1. Trees make oxygen and release it (covered above), store carbon dioxide (also covered above) and improve air quality by absorbing toxins and trapping dust and pollen (however, some trees also release an awful lot of pollen in the spring – not so good for those of us allergic – but they can’t be perfect).
  2. When we plant trees we give shade for ourselves and local wildlife.  A row of trees especially give a wind break.  Trees moderate the climate around them (microclimates).
  3. Tree planting when done strategically around buildings can cut air-conditioning costs in the summer and cut heating costs in the winter (especially evergreens in this case).
  4. Trees provide shelter, habitat and food for local wildlife.
  5. Trees hold soil in place, reducing erosion around water courses and around your property as well.  They absorb and store rainwater, as well as reducing runoff and sediment deposit after storms.  Near water bodies, tree roots trap chemicals and reduce the deposit of these chemicals into the water.
  6. Mature trees around a home increases the property value.
  7. Trees improve your mood.  The sight of trees reduces anxiety and depression, reduces heart rate and puts you in relaxation mode.  It would be interesting to study the effects of trees on adrenalin production which gets overproduced when we are continually stressed-out.
  8. Very old trees give a source of pride for cities and towns and are often seen as historical landmarks.
  10. Trees can give sentimental memories, especially if we have grown up with them.  Memory of tree swings and climbing in the summer and chasing fireflies in late spring bring back cherished memories as we age.

To Plant Trees Properly, Knowledge is Key

Sometimes knowing the age of trees around your property can be helpful in deciding on what trees to plant next.  If you have a really unique, very large tree it may be of historical and ecological significance in your neighborhood.  Knowing its age may be helpful in the event your municipality wants to cut it down and you disagree with their reasoning.  Check out this article, How to Determine Tree Age and Really Why it Matters, for some methods of determining the age of trees.  There are ways of doing this without cutting your favorite trees down!

Do you want to learn the steps to properly plant a tree on your property?  Follow these tree planting tips from ChopDoc and you’ll have a healthy new tree flourishing in your yard in no time.

Want to learn more about planting trees and shrubs?  Check out Great Courses Plus and search this title: How to Grow Anything: Make Your Trees and Shrubs Thrive.  Learn tree planting tips from a certified arborist!


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