Would you have known what trees do for us? Without them, we'd be pretty much screwed and wouldn't survive a week on this earth. Time to properly acknowledge the green wonders for once: Thank you for your great work, dear trees!
1. trees provide good air
Take a deep breath - ah, that feels so good! When you go for a walk in the forest, you enjoy the noticeably purer air under the canopy of leaves. As the planet's "green lungs," trees are instrumental in keeping our air clean and breathable:
- Trees bind the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and thus protect our climate. A beech tree stores 3.5 tons of CO2 in its lifetime. [1]
- At the same time, trees and other plants produce the oxygen without which we cannot survive. Every hour, a tree produces up to 12,000 liters of oxygen - exactly the amount that a human consumes in a day.[2]
- Trees filter dust and the finest particles out of the air. A fully grown tree manages about 100 kilograms per year![3]
- Trees provide pleasantly humid air to breathe. A large deciduous tree humidifies the air with about 30 liters of water per day.[4]
2. trees function as habitat and source of food
Trees are living creatures and habitats at the same time. Many thousands of animal species from worms to jaguars live on, in, under or from trees.
Almost everything on trees can be eaten: Needles, leaves, buds and blossoms, but also nuts, fruits and seeds provide a rich buffet for humans and animals all year round.
3. trees keep the water cycle in motion
The fact that we can enjoy our coffee and a refreshing shower in the morning is largely thanks to trees. They work every day to ensure that rainwater from the ground is returned to the air. With their roots, they draw water from the earth, supply themselves and release some back into the atmosphere through their leaves. In this way, they crank up the water cycle that is vital to us.
4. trees keep the earth in place
Without trees, the soil is defenceless against the weather. Wind and water lead to erosion: storms and floods then carry away valuable humus unchecked, so that nothing can grow anymore and the areas become desolate. Trees provide a natural barrier with their roots, protecting the fertility and shape of our landscape.
5. trees cool and dampen light as well as noise
An environment without trees would be a lot warmer, noisier and brighter. This is because trees buffer the noise and light pollution we create with their leaves. In addition, they protect us from the sun and cool as well as any air conditioner. Have you ever sat down under a tree canopy on a hot day? You can clearly feel the fresh breeze.
6. trees offer us places of recreation for body and soul
Even for the most convinced city dweller, it's time to get out into nature, preferably into the forest! Forest bathing is booming. Because under trees we find what we have lost between concrete and asphalt: Relaxation and connection with ourselves. Trees help us slow down, take a deep breath and reconnect with our needs. The phytocydes emitted by trees regulate our immune system by the way.
7. wood supplier
And last but not least, man has relied for thousands of years on the valuable raw material wood, which trees so generously and tirelessly supply us with. We use it to heat our homes, build furniture, ships ... Who knows if we as humans would ever have made it out of the Neolithic without wood?
Trees are very close to our hearts. With the FLSK Future Fund, we support, among others, the Kasuku Organics community forest in Uganda.
Learn more about this valuable reforestation project!
[1] https://www.wald.de/waldwissen/wie-viel-kohlendioxid-co2-speichert-der-wald-bzw-ein-baum/
[2] https://www.weltderwunder.de/grune-kraftwerke-wie-viele-menschen-konnen-von-einem-baum-leben/
[3] https://treellionaire.com/de/ueber-uns/10-gruende-fuer-baeume/
[4] https://naturwald-akademie.org/waldwissen/wissenschaft-und-politik-fuer-den-wald/wie-viel-wasser-braucht-der-wald/