Trees have been taking care of our planet for 350 years & luckily when modern cities started to develop. Someone had a brilliant idea of planting trees there too so that future generations could reap their benefits. They are a source of beauty & interest and provide various environmental benefits & a place where city dwellers can relax. Currently, our urban trees are under increased threat as more than 50 trees in India are disappearing due to aging, disease, or city sprawl. We need trees more than ever as now the majority of the population is living in urban settings.
Now, let’s discuss how the plantation trees project can benefit us:
1) Produce oxygen
People would be planting trees like crazy if they produced wifi. Unfortunately, they do not have wifi, but they do produce oxygen which is the ultimate reason for our survival on this planet. Planting a tree can produce oxygen sufficient for ten people in a single season. They play a vital role in polluted & highly populated cities, where oxygen levels are expected to be at least 6% lower than usual.
2) Soaking carbon dioxide
They play an essential role as carbon sinks where they store carbon dioxide as part of the carbon cycle, which is extremely important to mitigate the effects of climate change. A single mature tree is known to absorb up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year. Therefore, planting a tree is much better than growing a plant due to its size & density.
3) Purify our air
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air, but they also soak up other pollutants & toxic gases emitted from our everyday activities, which have become extremely important these days due to the increase in toxic levels. While all the trees can do this, the most successful ones are suited to their location, having long lives & free from diseases.
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4) Protects from flooding
A tree that is mature & leafy is known to absorb 450 liters of water every day through its root. They help reduce soil erosion in the ground & also in slowing down the filtration of the water into the drainage network, which is extremely important in cities whose ground surface is majorly made of waterproof materials like concrete & tarmac. The tree comes to the rescue if there is a sudden downpour and the water has nowhere to go!
5) Keep environment cool
Tree absorb water and release it as water vapor through a process known as evapotranspiration from their leaves, creating a cooling effect. They also provide shade which results in further cooling and usage of less energy. A single tree can create a cooling effect equivalent to 10 air conditioning units running 20 hrs in a day. This cooling protects cities from the urban heat island effect known to increase the temperature by 7 degrees.
6) Helping wildlife
Trees work as a source of food & provide habitat to a large number of species in our urban environment, including plants, birds, bats, & many more.
7) Good for mental health & well being
It is about the physical environment, but Trees also help people cope mentally with life. Being around trees or in a green setting is known to increase your smartness & decrease the levels of cortisol in your brain. Trees & green spaces also entice us to leave our home & exercise.
8) Getting old
Most of the trees we see today are due to the hard work of our ancestors who planted them 100 years ago. But these trees have now reached their old age & coming to the end of their life cycle. Unfortunately, we face the duration a tree takes to reach its maturity, where it provides maximum benefit to us. So if we don’t increase our pace of planting trees, we may have to wait long before we have some more iconic, beautiful trees replacing the population of old-aged trees.
9) People love them
People have a deep, innate desire to be around trees without them being aware of it. Think, how would it feel if we didn’t get a glimpse of greenery as we walk down the street? Would you prefer grey or greenery?
10) Majority of them are heading to the cities
80% of the current population lives in an urban setting, and this number is expected to grow, considering global population growth.
