An Ode to the Tree
When well known historical author Thomas Pakenham (winner of the Alan Paton Award for his critically acclaimed book The Struggle for Africa) told his publishers that he wanted the focus of his next book to be trees and not history, they thought he was completely mad. However, the result – Meetings with Remarkable Trees – turned out to be an international best seller and spawned a much loved TV series of the same name. This is not altogether surprising, however, when one stops to consider just what incredible things trees are.
Trees are the longest living organisms on the planet and one of our greatest, though perhaps most undervalued, resources. They provide shade and shelter from the elements; their wood is used to make a multitude of products that we use on a daily basis (think paper, pencils, furniture); and they provide us with a bounty of food and products to fill both our tables and our medicine cabinets.
Without trees there would be very little fruit to eat and less honey to spread on our toast; we would have no pepper or cinnamon or many of our other favourite spices to add zest to our meals; nor would we have a multitude of the modern medicines that we now take for granted. We wouldn’t have camphor cream to rub on our aching muscles or Eucalyptus oil to add to our cough lozenges. We would also have to learn to live without two of our favourite addictions – coffee and chocolate – both of which we have trees to thank for.
With global warming and pollution on the rise, the role of trees in stabilising our fragile eco systems is becoming increasingly important. Trees help to prevent soil erosion in sensitive areas, and without the presence of trees (such as the African Baobab which can hold several thousands of litres of water in its trunk), many desert areas would be completely uninhabitable to people or animals.
Trees help to cool the atmosphere and to improve water quality. Perhaps their most vital function, however, is their ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen in its place. Studies have shown that a single tree (depending on its species) can produce enough oxygen every year to meet the needs of a four person family, and over the course of its life could absorb as much as a ton of carbon dioxide! As we release more and more carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere (through heavy industry and transport), planting more and more trees (in carbon sinks for example – see sidebar) may be mankind’s only hope for long term survival on this planet.
The Tree Oscars
Trees are undoubtedly essential to our survival on earth, but they can actually be quite fascinating as well, with the world being full of remarkable specimens.
Thanks to fossils found in sedimentary rocks dated to between 135 to 210 million years old, the Gingko Biloba is recognised as the world’s oldest living tree species, surviving from a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The honour of the oldest currently living tree specimen is thought to belong to a particular Redwood tree in California known as “Eternal God”, which is believed to be between 7,000 and 12,000 years old. Other trees that have been soldiering on for decades include “Methuselah”, a Bristlecone Pine tree also found in California (thought to be close to 5,000 years old), a Fortingall Yew Tree in Scotland (approximately 9,000 years old), and South Africa’s own Sunland Baobab, which is believed to be about 6,000 years old.
Adhering to their country’s oft repeated saying of “bigger is better”, all of the world’s tallest and biggest trees are found in the USA. The tallest living tree is currently believed to be a Coast Redwood tree in Northern California which is over 115 metres tall. Redwoods also claim the prize for the largest trees (in volume), with the biggest specimen being close to 85 metres in height and the staggering volume of its trunk close to 1,500 cubic metres. Named after an American Civil War hero, General Sherman is not only the world’s largest tree, but based on its volume, is also believed to be the world’s largest known single organism. That makes even whales look petite in comparison!
A wild Fig tree at Echo Caves in Mpumalanga is thought to have the world’s deepest roots (they reach down almost 122 metres underground), while a Montezuma Cypress in Mexico – the Santa Maria del Tule – with a diameter of almost 12 metres, has the world’s widest trunk.
Trees can also be quite wily. The Mopani tree, for example, doesn’t like to share its space with other trees, and so when threatened by “invaders” it simply drops its leaves, the high acidity of which make the ground uninhabitable for any other species. Other trees have built in defence mechanisms, such as thorns or poisonous sap, to protect them from animals intent on eating their leaves or fruit, while some have the ability to thrive where nothing else could, like the diminutive Dwarf Willow which clings to life on the Arctic’s frozen tundra. At barely 6 feet tall, it also has the distinction of being the world’s shortest tree, and yet it continues to thrive in its own small way.
The earth is full of amazing trees, but even those that may not be the tallest or widest, oldest or shortest, add value to our world and make our lives infinitely easier and more pleasant. So as Arbour Month comes around again this year, make a real effort to plant a tree and watch it grow. It will give you so much more than you will ever give it credit for.
Curbing Carbon
Greening Your Future is a forest restoration and climate change mitigation initiative, implemented by the Wildlands Conservation Trust; a non-profit organisation in KwaZulu-Natal. Trees grown by “tree-preneurs” from previously disadvantaged communities are used to reforest degraded land. These restored eco-systems then also act as ‘carbon sinks’ whereby trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, thus ‘sinking’ the carbon. Wildlands currently work at four re-forestation sites – the Mkhuze Floodplain, Buffelsdraai Landfill Site & Inanda Mountain (both eThekwini Municipality projects) and the Ongoye Forest – more than 130,000 trees have been planted to date.
CO2 trapped through the Mkhuze and Ongoye sinks will be traded through the voluntary market to generate funding for the care of the trees. The CO2 trapped through the Buffelsdraai & Inanda sinks will be offset against eThekwini Municipality’s carbon footprint as part of their Greening Durban 2010 initiative. Wildlands calculates that on average for every hectare of the 1,000 hectares being re-forested at the four sites, 3 to 4 ½ tonnes of CO2 will be sequestered per year over a 20 year period. This amounts to 60 – 90,000 tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere over the projects’ lifespan.
To learn more about the Wildlands Conservation Trust, visit www.wildlands.co.za.
Story by Nicky Furniss
