About Trees
Did You Know That?
An area of a rainforest the size of a football field is being destroyed each second.
The forests of Central Africa are home to more than 8,000 different species of plants.
More than 5,000 things are made from trees such as houses, furniture, pencils, utensils, fences, books, newspaper, movie tickets even clothing and toothpaste.
Three-quarters of the world's people rely on wood as their main source of energy.
In Ethiopia, between 100,000 and 200,000 hectares of forest are cut down every year. Still, at least 200 million people lack enough wood to cook their food properly.
Destruction of forests creates numerous environmental catastrophes, including altering local rainfall patterns, accelerating soil erosion, causing the flooding of rivers, and threatening millions of species of plants, animals and insects with extinction.
Tropical forests cover 23 per cent of the Earth's land surface, but they are disappearing at a rate of 4.6 million hectares a year. Asia leads losses with 2.2 million hectares a year, Latin America and the Caribbean together lose 1.9 million and Africa loses 470,000 hectares of rain forest every year.
About 6.1 million hectares of moist deciduous forest disappear every year, of which the largest regional share is in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 3.2 million hectares lost.
More than 1.8 million hectares of dry deciduous forest disappear every year, 40 per cent of which is lost in the Sudan, Paraguay, Brazil and India.
Annual losses of very dry forest total some 341,000 hectares. The Sudan loses 81,000 hectares of this type of forest every year, followed closely by Botswana, with 58,000 hectares
Global annual deforestation for desert forest stands at an estimated 82,000 hectares, 60 per cent of which is lost in Mexico and Pakistan.
Hills and mountains lose about 2.5 million hectares of forest annually, 640,000 of which are lost in Brazil, 370,000 in Mexico, and 150,000 hectares in Indonesia.
Facts and figures
The Largest Forests
At 2.7 billion acres, the coniferous forests of northern Russia are the world's largest forests, covering 25% of the world's total. The Amazon Basin is the largest forest in the tropics with about 815 million acres.
Tree Product Consumption
On average, each American uses more than 600 pounds of paper and almost 200 board feet of timber per year.
Forest Debris
More than 2000 pounds of leaves, twigs, seeds, tree trunks, and branches may rain down each year upon an acre of forest floor. This debris is later returned to the soil by organisms that aid in decomposition.
Forest Fires
Despite the fact that forest fires serve an important purpose in ecosystems, they can nonetheless endanger wildlife and homes not to mention take a huge human and financial toll to control. About 3 million acres of American forest are destroyed each year by fire, killing animals and plants and burning off the humus from the forest floor. Human carelessness accounts for about 90% of all forest fires.
Philippine Reforestation Program
In 1977, a law forcing every capable man, woman, and child over the age of 10 to plant one tree every month for five years was passed in hope to reduce the country's deforestation by planting 360 million saplings per year.. Violation of this law results in the loss of a citizen's rights and a fine of up to $175. The seedlings and certificates for each tree planted are provided by the government.
Wildlife Uses
Many different forms of wildlife depend highly on trees for survival. Every part of a tree can be used as food for wildlife. Many animals consume the nuts and fruits of trees. Others chew on bark and twigs. Some insects and burrowing animals will feed on the roots. Even the flower provides food for many species of insects and birds. Most of this feeding is damaging to a tree, but in some cases it is highly beneficial. Animals aid in the dispersal of species by feeding on the fruits and depositing the seeds in other locations. Many animals also find shelter in trees. Birds and squirrels build nests in the crown or the trunk. Even fish will use the roots of tree roots that are submerged in water.
Human Uses
Trees are used by humans as sources of food and shelter. Parts of the tree, such as its fruits and nuts are more commonly consumed as well as are its bark, wood, leaves, and roots in many areas of the world. Lumber products from trees are used for most paper products; also in some parts of the world, trees are still used for firewood. Other products that come from trees include coffee, herbal medicines, rubber, soaps, perfumes, cosmetics etc.
Trees will also help reduce air pollution and can help conserve energy by shading a home in the summer and creating a windbreak for the winter.
Forests charge the Earth's magnetic field
Although little known trees play a major in helping to conserve the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field. A Forest has a variety of countless parallel vegetable electrical conductors. Because of their sap flow, Plants and trees constantly release the air electrical tension voltage between the earth and the ionosphere
"The electromagnetic influence of the forests is conducted through magnetic fields in the core where it induces electrical currents, thus in turn creating magnetic fields. In this way the vegetation has a charging effect on the Earth's magnetic fields. This becomes evident by the correlation between the density of vegetation and the declination of the Earth's magnetic field."
Endangered Species
A
African Blackwood, which is also known as Mpingo in Swahili is considered to be the national tree of Tanzania, despite the fact that it is native to 26 African countries, ranging from northern Ethiopia, to the south in Angola, also spreading from Senegal across to Tanzania.
Mpingo not only improves soil fertility, but is also good at maintaining soil stability. Its leaves offer feed for migrating herbivores and for domestic livestock. The mature African Blackwood trees are capable of surviving fires that destroy other vegetation in grasslands. The dark heartwood of Mpingo, is one of the most economically valuable timbers in the world.
B
Bois dentelle is a beautiful tree, endemic to the high cloud forest of Mauritius. Despite the fact that it has no commercial value, only two individuals are left. The most remarkable thing about the species are the flowers - sprays of white bell flowers with fine lacy petals that cover the tree in summer (January -March).
C
The Clanwilliam cedar is a species endemic to the Cederberg Mountains in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A majestic tree of 6-18 meters in height, the Clanwilliam cedar is a rot-resistant, fragrant and visually beautiful timber that was extensively exploited for building, furniture and later on telegraph poles by European settlers in the eighteenth century.
D
The Dragon Tree is found on the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, Madeira and Morocco. The Guanche people of the Canary Islands used the sap for mummification purposes. In Ancient Rome, Sangre de Drago (Dragon Tree) was used as a colorant and across Europe it has been used as a varnish for iron tools.The species is classified as being "Endangered" by Cape Verde, while it is identified as being extinct in the wild on Brava and Santiago where only planted specimens exist today.
H
The Honduras rosewood is found in Belize in Central America and produces timber, which is extremely valued on the world market because of its use in musical instrument production.
Since the Honduras Rosewood supplies hard, heavy, durable and very resonant timber, when struck, it gives off a clear, loud note and making it itself most highly valued in the production of orchestral xylophones and claves. It is also used to make thin covering for fine furniture and cabinets, , knife handles etc.
L
The Loulu is a palm endemic to the northernmost of the Hawaiian Islands chain with the most variety of plant species of any island in Hawaii. There are fewer than 300 individuals of the Loulu left, because of limited regeneration caused by seed predation by rats and pigs as well as competing plants.
M
The Monkey Puzzle is the National Tree of Chile. Nevertheless, there is at least of these trees in every botanical garden in Europe. Its local name is Pehuén and its existence has great historical and social importance to the people living in that area known as the Pehuenche, which means "people of Pehuén". The seeds of the tree shape an important part of their diet.
The Monkey puzzle is also valued for its unique and natural beauty, which makes it an emblem of a national parks and provinces in both Chile and Argentina. The timber found from the Pehuén has a high mechanical resistance and moderate resistance to fungal decay, hence for its being used for beams in buildings, bridges, roofs, furniture, boat structures, thin covering etc. Monkey puzzle forests have been fast destroyed and degraded due to logging, fire and grazing.
N
Nubian Dragon Tree is found in Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda and was once a widespread and abundant species.
It is one of the few species that can survive wide periods of drought in all parts of its scope, hence making it an important part of the desert ecosystem. The mature fruits of the Nubian Dragon tree are eaten and its sap and fruit may also have medicinal properties.
P
Pau brasil is the national tree of Brazil, making it have strong cultural links to Brazil's social and economic history. The species is known for the dye extract taken from the heartwood, for which it has been exploited since 1501. Presently, the dye extract and its bark are used locally for medicinal purposes. Research is being carried out to find out whether the bark of this tree can be used as a cure for cancer.
Pau brasil wood is hard and compact, which is almost indestructible and was traditionally used to make hunting tools; commercially, it was harvested for use as a construction timber and in craftwork. It is also highly valued by musical instrument makers and still being exported for the production of bows for stringed instruments.
The various uses acquired from the Pau Brasil have made it target to extensive collection and export of the dyewood, resulting in the loss of large areas of forest and the enslavement of local people and later on the demand for its timber by bow manufacturers has contributed to a great loss.
Q
Quercus hintonii, also known as Encino of Hinton (Hinton's Oak), is endemic to Mexico. Some of the wood's uses range from locally made tool handles, to beams and fencing poles, and primarily for firewood. Traditionally the wood is used to bake bread known as "las finas", which the distinctive taste is brought on by the smoke.
The species has also been highly affected by grazing, which prevents regeneration as well as the coming up of agriculture, coffee plantation and road construction have all contributed to the decline in the Quercus hintonii populations.
S
St Helena gumwood was selected as St. Helena's national tree in 1977. The endemic floras of St Helena are not only of great biogeographical significance, but they are also home for equally rare and unusual animal species. The St. Helena gumwood is one of the fourteen most globally endangered and endemic tree species in St Helena. It is threatened by human presence and their use of the timber for firewood and building.
W
The Wollemi pine belongs to the ancient Araucariaceae species, thought to be over 200 million years old. Until 1994, the Wollemi pine was believed to have become extinct about 2 million years ago, but it was rediscovered in a gorge 150 km north-west of Sydney, Australia. There are less than 100 mature trees in the wild, making it one of the rarest species in the world. Because of this rarity, the Wollemi attracts a lot of tourism, which threatens its existence because of the therefore threatened by tourism, for it may be disturbed by human activities, also exposing it to seeds being trampled, compaction of the soil, the introduction of weeds and an increase in the possibility of fires.
Facts about Certain Species
The Baobab Tree
Found in Africa, including Madagascar, and northwest Australia, the baobab is thought to be a relic of the flora of Gondwanaland, the super-continent that was once comprised of Africa, Antarctica, Australia and South America. According to African folklore, when the gods gave every animal a tree, the hyena, having arrived late, received the Baobab. He was so disgusted that he planted it upside down.
Bristle-Cone Pines
Individual trees in this species are thought to be over 4500 years old, making it a species that is capable of living the longest of any known species.
Douglas Fir
This species has been renamed many times since its discovery. They have also been falsely labeled a spruce, hemlock, and even a pine; they actually are not even true firs. Its new name means "false hemlock." The Douglas Fir comprises over 50% of western forests and produces more timber than any other American species.
Eastern Cottonwoods
They reach to up to thirteen feet its first year and grow to five feet a year, being able to They're one of the fastest growing trees.
Ginko
This species are the only survivor of an entire plant family. They are the world's oldest living tree species, their origins dating back to the Age of Dinosaurs. They were thought to have been extinct by the western world until 7 preserved Ginko trees were found in an ancient monastery in China. Years later, they were discovered growing wild in the remote valleys of eastern China.
Scotch Pines
These are the most widespread pine in the world.
Sequoias
The giant Sequoias average 10-15 feet in diameter when mature and can grow to heights of 250-300 feet. The largest Sequoia, known as the General Sherman Tree, can be found in Sequoia National Park in California. It has a trunk 30 feet across at the base and has a height of 275 feet. General Sherman, with a volume of 52,500 square feet, is considered the largest living thing in the world.
Witch hazel
The Witch hazel has seed pods that will contract as they dry and shoot out their contents like "bullets" over surprising distances. The forked branches of this shrub or small tree were used as divining rods to detect underground sources of water. In addition, several well preserved mammoth specimens were discovered with Witch hazel leaves in their stomachs, indicating a dependence on the plant for food.
White Mulberry
The leaves of this tree are the primary source of food for silkworms. Therefore, the cultivation of this tree is very widespread throughout many Asian nations due to the importance of silk to their economies.
White Oak
This tree's wood is often used to make barrels for whiskey and sherry, giving rise to its alternate name, Stave Oak.