Benefits of Trees
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Keep your trees . . . keep your benefits
10 good reasons to plant trees and care for the ones you already have
Trees intercept airborne pollutants by absorbing them. Airborne pollutants include carbon monoxide, ground level ozone, sulfur dioxide, and other greenhouse gases. Trees also trap particulates on their leaves and bark. Trees provide shade which lowers temperature thus lowering emissions of any pollutants.
Trees, through the process of photosynthesis, clean the air by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. One large tree can provide a day's supply of oxygen for up to four people.*
* Writix Tree Facts
Trees provide a healthy environment for children with clean air, shade against harmful rays of the sun, and a calming effect resulting in better behavior and concentration. Trees also give children opportunity to observe wildlife in all seasons and to enjoy their beauty year round. They will have a life-long appreciation of nature.
Using trees as a natural screen softens the look of landscaping and hides unsightly views. Evergreen trees, such as arborvitae or junipers, can become a living wall when planted next to each other. The canopies of deciduous trees can also block a view that is undesirable three seasons a year, thus creating privacy. In addition, we can be able to appreciate nature surrounding us with beauty while performing a function of creating our own garden retreat.
When planting trees and shrubs close together, one can also effectively block noise. Using trees this way would absorb sound. Also, wildlife in trees, such as singing or chirping birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees may soften unwanted sounds. Larger leaves of deciduous trees absorb sound better than smaller leaf trees. Evergreens can help year round due to their dense branches. Moreover, sometimes not being able to see the source of noise can lessen our perception of noise.
Trees can help in reducing energy costs, depending on their placement on your property. Trees can shade your house in the summer and block cold winds in the winter. In the summer deciduous trees placed on the east, west, and northwest sides of your property can help keep your home cooler by shading the sun's rays. Shading your air conditioners can increase their efficiency too. Planting evergreens on the north and north west sides of your house can help protect your home from cold, winter winds.* As a result energy costs can be reduced.
* Arbor Day Foundation
Many factors are considered when a person decides to buy a home. Before a potential buyer even steps into a home, landscaping surrounding the home is taken into consideration. Curb appeal is, therefore, an important factor to arouse interest. Good landscaping with mature trees and shrubs is very important because it can add value to a home and possibly a quicker sale of the home. Trees are an integral component of landscaping. In addition to other benefits, trees add beauty from a visual perspective, enhancing the home/property and surrounding neighborhood. In fact, according to the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers, a sound, mature tree can add from $1000- $10,000 to the value of a home.
We benefit from four distinct seasons. In spring, our natural world starts to come to life. Buds, then leaves, start to form on previously bare branches. Some trees such as dogwoods, cherry, and magnolias start to bloom. Nature is beckoning us to be a part of this awakening if we allow our senses to experience it.
By summer, leaves on the trees have fully opened. They sometimes rustle in the gentle, warm breeze and invite us to be outdoors, to take a stroll, or enjoy a picnic under the shade of a tree.
As autumn approaches, daylight begins to shorten and there is a crispness in the air. Chlorophyll, the green pigment in leaves, is slowing down its production. Then, a pallet of reds, yellows, and oranges begins to appear, painting our world in a spectacular way! The leaves start to fall and blanket the earth.
With the waning days and longer nights, trees come to rest, their bare branches silhouetted against winter's setting sun. Sometimes we may experience a winter wonderland scene when a snowfall occurs, coating everything in white. The cycle of life will soon bring a new season and with it, a re-birth, a promise of more beginnings.
Trees are essential to providing shelter and food to many species of wildlife.
As shelter - they are a place for birds and squirrels to nest and bring up their young, and for turkeys to roost high in the trees at night for protection from predators. Trees also provide shade near streams to prevent water temperature from rising in summer, thus protecting fish.
As foods - some trees, such as the river birch, produce seeds for birds, turkeys, deer, grouse and rodents. Another example is the native dogwood. Oak trees, including the northern red oak, white and pin oak, provide acorns for wildlife to eat. Woodpeckers are dependent on trees for the insects they find under bark. Other trees, such as the flowering cherry, attract bees and butterflies for nectar. Some trees are host plants for butterflies. Tulip trees and ash trees are host plants for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Eggs are laid on the branches and the caterpillars eat the leaves as they grow. Take a look at our Field Guide to find the location of many of these trees around Alpine's Borough Hall.