Trees: Update on trees
Sent: 2/18/2023 10:53:11 AM

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An Update on Trees

I love studying trees, especially old-growth trees with limbs that twist and bend over like old people. The day I discovered that they communicate with each other for protection against insects and to nurture young seedlings, I was hooked. I'll go out of my way to pass maritime pines with bark that resembles armadillo plates. The holes woodpeckers peck into pawpaw trees, forming rings around the trunk are fascinating. How do they manage to keep them in such straight lines?

Forests are special places I go to contemplate the variety in nature. Forest walks are calming and fill my psyche with inspiration. But with so much talk about how forests are being destroyed, I decided to dig into the current state of affairs. What I discovered, you might also find interesting.

The United States accounts for 8-10 percent of the world's forests with its approximately 228 billion trees. According to the North American Forest Commission, the number is two-thirds of what was here in 1600. As cities grew, acreage was added to their boundaries. Farmland and forested areas were converted to cement and asphalt pavings and housing. With 89 percent of the population projected to live in urban areas by 2030, it is likely that urban forests will be decimated.

In the 1940s, the east coast began adding back forests where woodlands were heavily logged. Reforesting succeeded because of the forest department's control over how much timber can be cut annually. The designation of national parks also plays a role by preserving woodlands that teem with biodiversity. Though the U.S. is replanting its forests, forests worldwide tell a different story.

Dr. Thomas Crowther, when a fellow In Forestry and Environmental Sciences at Yale in 2015, organized crews to count trees in given geographic areas around the globe. The information collected was compared with satellite imaging to give the best survey to date. His estimates showed approximately 3.04 trillion trees on the planet today, half as many as thought to be on earth when homo sapiens first appeared.

Though Dr. Crowther's numbers make it seem like there are a lot of trees in the world, there's a huge catch. Demand for wood continues to grow along with the population. Humans currently harvest 15 billion trees annually but only re-plant five billion. With a net loss of 10 billion a year, all trees will be gone within the next 300 years. Deforestation is one of the greatest challenges that face humanity today. Agricultural expansion in the tropics is swallowing up vast parts of the rainforest.

Interestingly, climate change has allowed trees to grow in places that were previously too cold for survival. Russia added 790,000 square kilometers of trees and China 324, balancing the losses in Brazil, though not its biodiversity. Foresters commonly remove eight or more species in clear cuts and replant the acreage with only one. By disturbing the ecosystem, soil is degraded and becomes susceptible to disease and fire. Activists label monoculture tree plantations as"green deserts." These plantations have expanded fivefold since 1980 causing the flora and fauna in tropical forests and savannas to disappear forever.

That trees grow faster as global temperatures rise and growing seasons lengthen is not good news. A study of central Europe's forests show that pollution and higher temperatures are making wood weaker. The trees break more easily in storms, the lumber produced is less dense and less durable, and their CO2 content drops. Trees globally are sucking up less CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

Oregon lost 1.1 million acres of trees in 2022 due to drought and extreme heat. At first, it was thought that the deaths were due to fungi and insect infestations. Scientists now agree it's because of climate change. Though more obvious in fir trees where they die from the tip of their leaves and roots inward, all species show signs of stress. The western red cedar's range will soon disappear at lower elevations west of the Cascades and western Washington and move north. Forest entomologist, Christine Buhl warns to start shifting expectations of what tree species to plant in the state. for those common in California will move to our region.

It is a lot to take in, but the following are a few additional tidbits of information.

a) Trees are the world's longest-living species. Some of California's giant sequoias and Bristlecone pines are between 3,000 and 5000-years-old.

b) Planting trees in urban areas lower vandalism, graffiti, and littering.

c) The earth will receive an additional 260 million tons of oxygen and remove 10 million tons of CO2 by planting 20 million trees.

d) Trees that grow in the sun have thicker bark than those in the shade.

e) Patients with a view of green trees from their hospital bed, spend 8% less time in the hospital than those who don't.

f) Customers spend more money in shopping districts with trees. They stay longer and perceive products and stores as being of higher quality.

g) Tree limbs are not exactly spherical. They feature an upper (compression) and lower (tension) side that allows them to sustain their own weight as well as the weight of the leaves, nuts, or fruits dangling in mid-air.

h) Utah is home to the world's oldest clonal tree cluster. According to DNA tests, the Pando group of quaking aspens is roughly 80,000 years old, wishing over 6,000 tons. . It features over 40,000 stems that are branches of a single tree. It is only the world's oldest living creature but also the biggest.

i) A 2022 threat assessment of 881 native tree species in the U.S. shows that 11-16% are threatened with invasive pests and diseases. The most threatened are Oaks and Hawthorns.

j) The tallest in Redwood Mountain Grove is as tall as a 31-story building, the Widest is in Kings Canyon National Park with a circumference the length of two Toyota Priuses, and the Biggest Tree in Sequoia National Park weighs the same as 107 elephants.

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Please share your observations of trees in your area and let followers of this newsletter know about your favorite parks. Comment on my blog site at www. eichingerfineart.com/bolg

I do hope you find time to enjoy outings to national and state parks and forests. If the weather is too cold or wet, you are invited to "Walk in the Woods with me this April at Lake Oswego Library. Twenty-six of my tree paintings will be on display during the Arbor Month exhibit.

16" X 20" Canvas prints of the originals are on sale and delivered to your door for $99. Choose your favorites to make your own forest walk. Go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/collections/182747. Click on the ones you like. Purchasing is easy.

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References:

How Many Trees are in the World Today vs 1000 Years Ago? retrieved from The Environmentor

Supriya, L. (2018) Climate change is making trees big, but weaker. Science.

Earth has more trees than it did 35 years ago- but there's a huge catch. World Economic Forum. retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/08/planet-earth-has-more-trees-than-it-did-35-years-ago/

Firmageddon" Researchers find 1.1 million acres of dead trees in Oregon. News. retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/firmageddon-researchers-find-11-million-acres-dead-trees-oregon-rcna59671

Kilgore, G. (2022) How Many trees Are in the United States? Shocking Stats. RForestry, Trees, and Tree Planting. retrieved from https://8billiontrees.com/trees/how-many-trees-are-in-the-united-states/

NatureSuErve website. (2022) Researchers complete first comprehensive threat assessment of all U.S. trees. retrieved from https://www.natureserve.org/news-releases/researchers-complete-first-comprehensive-threat-assessment-all-us-trees

Hance, H. (2008) Monoculture tree plantations are " green deserts" not forests, say Activists.Mongabay; news and inspiration from Nature's Frontline. retrieved from https://news.mongabay.com/2008/09/monoculture-tree-plantations-are-green-deserts-not-forests-say-activists/