Decaying leaves that fall onto the ground turn into nutrients for tree growth and promote microorganism development. Erosion Control. Rain and wind are two primary erosion forces that damage the bare soil.
As they fall from heights, drops of rain gain power and momentum which is strong enough to penetrate soil once they hit the ground.
On the other hand, if the land is dried out, then wind can do significant damage. Trees break droplets of rain and weaken their strength while roots hold the soil together and protect it from effects of wind. Plant a tree, and you and your community will thrive from the benefits. Final Thoughts. There are many environmental benefits of planting a tree. Strategically planting trees around your home can have tremendous benefits on the environment. Not only will you help restore life quality in your community , contribute to the environment and help fight climate change, but you will also set an example.
Therefore, planting a beautiful tree is always a good idea! Keen to support our tree-planting projects? Sign up to MyPlanet for free, and support us! Add us as a beneficiary! Link it to MyPlanet to support us! We are Nature! Greenpop Foundation NPC is a registered non-profit organisation. MAY, By Mattea Jacobs Mattea Jacobs is a freelance writer at Zip Recruiter who mostly writes about both interior and exterior home design, and environmentally-friendly ways to improve homes.
Many people decide to enrich their gardens by planting trees. Most of them do it for the beauty or to provide extra shade in summer months. However, there are more benefits from trees than you might think.
Except for relaxing, connecting us with nature and their calming effect, trees do a lot when it comes to the environment. If you are thinking about planting a tree around your home, keep reading to find out what trees do for our environment. Reducing Climate Change If people are good at something, then it is building up excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Cooling Down the Streets Every year we listen to the shocking global warming news. Natural Air Conditioning Did you know that strategically placed trees around your home can significantly cut air conditioning needs?
Saving Water Except for cooling, trees also help to save water. Preventing Water Pollution Stormwater can be full of phosphorus pollutants and nitrogen. Providing Shelters for Wildlife Trees also contribute to boosting biodiversity as they become a food source and natural habitat for wildlife. This gave households, leaseholders and village collectives control over forested areas and boosted their willingness to invest in afforestation.
As a result, China has increased its total forest area by at least 74 million hectares over the past decade. India, Pakistan and Rwanda have also implemented tree-planting campaigns, while more than 20 countries in Africa have embarked on the construction of an 8, km wall of trees — known as the Great Green Wall — across the continent from Djibouti in the east to Senegal in the west. Previously, the emphasis was on exotic species, but we are now seeing the successful promotion of Indigenous species, such as baobab and zizyphus , in West Africa.
With respect to large-scale restoration, as in Ethiopia, there is still a reliance on fast-growing exotics because they are available, but a program is now being built up to include many more Indigenous species. While many of the successful planting initiatives have taken place in developing nations, industrialized countries have also committed themselves to tree-based climate solutions.
In , the United States announced its intention to join the Trillion Trees pledge, and the European Union released its plan to plant 3 billion trees over the coming decade. However, restoration efforts can take many years, or even decades, to have a meaningful impact.
Sweden — more than 70 percent of whose land area is covered by forest — has long been a role model for such programs. The Scandinavian nation has doubled the size of its forests over the past hundred years. South Korea has also demonstrated long-term success with land restoration, managing to almost double its forested area over a year period. Scientists estimate that about twice as many trees existed on Earth before human civilization.
International efforts are now under way to reverse the deforestation and land degradation inflicted over many centuries. By planting the right tree in the right place for the right purpose, countries and people can help repair ecosystems and halt the advance of climate change. Dispelling the top seven tree planting misconceptions.
Community-based forest monitoring effective for tracking deforestation in Peru. Respect for Indigenous land rights key in fight against climate change. Environmental strategies must maintain focus on greenhouse gas emissions. Share Tweet 0 Engagements.
David Henry. Pact prioritizes forests and biodiversity conservation in Papua New Guinea. COP26 deforestation pledges a win, but only if they are upheld.
Balancing livelihoods, conservation and biodiversity through landscape approaches evaluated at GLF Climate. Read also Trees: To plant or not to plant. The first 5 years after the establishment of plantation measurements are repeated each year.
The total monitoring period was 15 years. In each sample plot, the standing volume has been calculated [ 46 ] and the volume of mean tree, standing volume current annual increment, biomass of each tree component stem, branches, leaves , and freshly cut biomass were calculated per unit area. Individual tree stem volume has been calculated with the formula [ 46 ]:. Using the sample tree data, the stand volume current annual increment has been calculated with the formula [ 46 ]:.
To determine the volume of the above-ground biomass produced by various tree species, three sample trees were cut down in each plantation at the root collar—one Kraft class I and two Kraft class II. After felling the tree height has been measured using a tape measure with precision to 1 cm , and the stem is pruned and cut into metre-long sections.
The sample tree weight is determined on site by weighing separately: stem wood, dry branches, and live branches. Wood samples of each tree were collected for drying in the laboratory—dry branch, three live branches from different sections of the crown , and three discs from various sections of the stem. Soil properties in the sample plots were examined every 3—5 years taking soil samples at the specified locations.
The samples were taken in the active tree root zone at a depth of 0—40 cm 0—10, 10—20, 20—30, 30—40 cm in five replications in each sample plot with one averaged sample made for each soil horizon.
In this study, variations in the soil humus content and acidity in the active root zone of trees 0—40 cm were analysed before planting, and analyses were repeated at specified intervals till the age of 15 years. On the afforested sites, vegetation was inventoried before forest establishment and then after each 3 years in order to study the changes in ground-cover vegetation of the agricultural ecosystems meadow, fallow land gradually turning into forest.
A full list of flora species was compiled for each site, including the species found next to the survey plot. The projective cover of each plant species in the tree, shrub, and herbaceous and bryophyte layer was assessed as a percentage of the respective species, using the Braun-Blanquet method [ 49 ].
The mean indicator values were calculated for each plot from all present vascular plant species, from which an indicator value was calculated according to Ellenberg et al. Data validation and mathematical calculations were performed with Microsoft Excel The formulas of 1 and 2 were used to calculate the stem volume for different tree species [ 46 ].
Changing the type of land use causes changes in the ecosystem, as a result of the changes in biotic factors the impact of microorganisms on other organisms of the biological community , as well as changes in abiotic factors temperature, light, humidity, soil, acidity of the soil, amount of salts, amount of minerals, etc. As we know, the most important parameters of growth conditions are determined by the interaction of several factors—physical, chemical, and biological soil properties—as well as climate, which ensure soil fertility.
The analysis of Holubik et al. The research indicates that basic properties of the soil are comparatively stable; they have developed over a long period of soil formation processes under the influence of climate, terrain, geological substratum, flora, and fauna and are characterised by their granulometric composition, ion exchange capacity, depth of geological substratum, and drainage.
Human economic activity has a minor effect on this or no effect at all [ 53 , 54 ]. However, a series of soil characteristics exist that can change significantly over a short period of time: content of soil organic matter, soil structure, bulk density, water infiltration capacity, reaction, plant nutrient resources, etc. Changes in these characteristics are mainly determined by human economic activity: type of land use, soil tillage technology, and cultivated crops or trees.
According to the assessment of scientists, organic matter in soil is one of the main indicators of soil quality and productivity [ 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ]. The accumulation of organic carbon in the soil occurs in forest and grassland ecosystems. Furthermore, the biomass of the forest ecosystem accumulates more carbon than crops grown on agricultural land, thus reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and improving the global environment.
Studies conducted by the Latvian State Forest Research Institute LSFRI Silava indicate that the concentration of nutrients in soil, as well as physical properties of soil, have great importance in ensuring the optimum growth of new stands of different tree species in mineral soils of former agricultural lands [ 1 ].
Trials suggest that it is advisable to choose naturally dry mineral soils or soils with a controlled moisture regime to create productive plantations. According to the studies of LSFRI Silava, aeration, temperature, and humidity regime deteriorate significantly in compacted soils [ 56 , 57 ]. The scientists have concluded that the optimal soil density for the development of trees, especially at an early stage, is 1.
In dense, heavy soils exceeding 1. However, as the trees grow, the ability of their roots to penetrate into the denser layers of bedrock increases, and, already at the age of a maturing stand at the age of around 30—40 years , productive plantations can be grown in heavy clay soils [ 56 , 57 ].
An important parameter for ensuring the successful growth of trees is soil pH, which does not always conform to the optimum. Scientists have found that mildly acidic soils pH 5. An important condition to ensure optimal tree growth is the selection of a suitable site with appropriate hydrological conditions for planting to ensure that the groundwater table in spring and autumn does not rise above the average depth of 30 cm from the ground surface [ 61 , 62 ].
Coniferous, as well as many deciduous, species, such as silver birch, oak, and sweet cherry can tolerate flooding of active roots for a period that is no longer than 5 days; after this period, growth disorders may develop.
In contrast, tree species like black alder and downy birch are more suitable for wet areas and can withstand 7—9 days of root flooding, even though the largest growth in these species is registered in medium wet loam and sandy loam soils [ 61 , 62 ].
Therefore, soil preparation and further plantation care are required to ensure the introduction of trees and faster initial growth. Agrochemical soil properties are equally important prerequisites for the successful cultivation of trees: content of organic substance, amount of minerals phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, calcium , and trace elements magnesium, manganese, boron, iron, copper, sulphur, zinc, etc. As scientists report, afforestation of agricultural land leads to considerable changes in processes that occur in the soil, including the circulation of plant nutrients: depending on the species of trees cultivated, biomass that is accumulated in the soil differs in terms of quantity and chemical composition.
The rate of soil mineralisation, which is affected by the C and N ratio, as well as the presence of lignin and other secondary carbon compounds, determines the circulation and supply of nitrogen and other plant nutrients in the soil [ 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 64 , 65 ].
According to the studies of Sanborn[ 62 ], soil acidity pH and total N, available to plants P, Ca, Mg and K, have considerably increased 23 years after the afforestation of agricultural land, where mixed stand of paper birch Betula papyrifera Marsh. The trials on changes in soil properties after the afforestation of agricultural lands conducted in Latvia have indicated that the physical and agrochemical properties of soil have changed—the bulk density of topsoil has decreased, and its total porosity and relative water retention potential have increased [ 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ].
After 15 years of accumulation of the humus in the soil horizon caused by afforestation, the acidification of soil and an increase in the content of organic matter have occurred in comparison with arable soil, while the proportion of total nitrogen in organic matter has decreased, and the amount of phosphorus and potassium in the soil under the pine stands that is available to plants has been higher than in the nearby non-afforested agricultural land [ 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ].
Soil agrochemical properties N, P, K changes were evaluated prior to the establishment of tree plantations and then in year 4 and year 15 after the establishment of plantations [ 1 ].
In all objects, the plantations were set up in uncultivated agricultural land—fallow land that has not been cultivated for 1—3 years, with the dominant species being creeping thistle and couch grass. Variation in the proportion of soil organic matter and acidity in the active root zone at a depth from 0 to 40 cm over a period of 15 years since the establishment of the plantation forest on the respective site were chosen as the indicators to evaluate the impact of afforestation on soil agrochemical properties.
The amount of soil humus has changed on sites with a high volume of above-ground vegetation biomass, both trees and ground-cover vegetation trial plots 1—12, 14, and No significant changes in soil humus content are recorded for sites with a relatively small volume of above-ground biomass trial plots 3, 10, 11, 12, and 16 Table 2.
Changes in soil chemical properties in the active root layer 0—40 cm in the year plantations. Similar results are also quoted by researchers of other countries [ 52 , 64 , 65 ]. As concluded in a number of studies, forest floor humus on the soil surface is completely new [ 65 ].
The field data show that 15 years after the establishment of plantation forest on farmlands, the soil tends to become more acidic. On sites, where trees were planted on arable land right after harvesting the previous crops, the soil acidity in most cases was close to neutral trial plots 2, 4, 6, 10, 16 and in the 15 years had reduced by 1.
Investigations show that 15 years after afforestation, the content of organic matter in active root layer 0—40 cm increases by In all afforested objects, species of vascular plants, 32 species of moss, and 1 species of lichens were listed during the latest inventories. The following trends of changes in ground cover have been observed: the occurrence of grassland and fallow land grass species has decreased, while at some sites, the introduction of up to 20 new ground-cover species has been observed.
In fertile soils, meadow species have been replaced by eurybiont nitrophytes Anthriscus sylvestris , Artemisia vulgaris , and Urtica dioica.
However, grassland specific grasses have still been present at almost all research sites: Agrostis gigantea , A. Mosses have disappeared—species colonising bare soils Barbula unguiculata , Pleuridium subulatum , and Pohlia wahlenbergii.
The flora of mosses is still most widely represented by species that are common in forests, as well as grasslands, Sciuro-hypnum curtum , Plagiomnium affine , and P. Introduction of typical boreal coniferous forest cover species Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens occurs faster at the objects where dry and low-fertility fallow lands have been afforested, while dwarf shrubs Vaccinium myrtillus and V. Herbaceous vegetation has changed as a result of afforestation at all objects: the replacement of original ground cover of grassland and fallow land species with forest-specific plants has begun.
Most species belong to native flora; however, certain garden escaping plants and adventive species have been registered: Lupinus polyphyllus , Oxalis stricta , Sambucus racemosa , Solidago canadensis , Symphytum asperum , and Heracleum sosnowskyi. Among the aforementioned species, only Lupinus polyphyllus plays a significant role in the phytocoenosis of some objects.
Some indicator species of natural grasslands can still be found: Agrimonia eupatoria , Linum catharticum , Pimpinella saxifraga , Polygala vulgaris , and Primula veris. Rare and protected species are represented by individual orchid specimens— Dactylorhiza sp. So, the diameter of the mean tree of year plantation pine is comparable to that of 25—year forest pine of site index I, with the mean height corresponding to that of 16—year forest pine of site index I Table 3 [ 67 ].
When evaluating the growth of above-ground biomass of plantation pines by analysing sample trees, the biomass weight for a single tree is found to be on average To gain an appreciable stock volume of plantation pine already by the age of 40, purposeful and properly timed tending, including the pruning of future crop trees, should be started no later than at the age of 14—15 Table 4.
It is to be noted that in fertile agricultural soils cultivated, alluvial, calcareous , the plantation pines develop twin stems and thick branches that adversely affect the potential height and diameter growth and, consequently, the mean stem volume, quality, and the stock volume anticipated. When tending pine in similar growing conditions, the emphasis should be on removing all low-quality stems or using the plantation for short-rotation 15—20 years cultivation of pinewood biomass.
To get high-quality sawlogs from pine plantations, branches of the lowest whorl should be pruned no later than at the age of 5—7 years, followed by removing in each ensuing year the branches of the next whorl. In highly productive pine plantations, the protection of trees against the damage of artiodactyls is a must. For this purpose we may use repellents and stem protection tubes or fence the site in.
Investigations show that Norway spruce may be successfully cultivated in open farmland areas. Its rooting and growth in intensively managed additional fertilisation and soil liming in case of need and duly tended sites should be evaluated as good and excellent. However, spruce as a shade-tolerant species adapts itself much slower to the growing conditions of open farmlands.
As it follows from the field data, the growth in height of spruce in the first 5—6 years after planting is stunted on average 0. The data acquired in experiments show that by carrying out timely agrotechnical tending in sod-podzolic agricultural lands, the exp.
The current standing volume increment in these trials constitutes 6. Dry in year-old Norway spruce plantations. The profitability of plantation cultivation of spruce may be raised by delivering foliage biomass to the manufacturers of medicinal preparations and food additives.
The research on the growth of silver birch and productivity on former AL, in naturally dry mineral soils, it is suggested that overall, compared to conifers, the growth of silver birch in these plantations is more dynamic [ 1 , 17 , 27 , 28 , 31 , 33 ]. In the plantations in SPG soil trials No 3, 8, 10, 12, 14 , the mean height of silver birch varies from Growth and productivity of birch Betula pendula Roth plantations on agricultural lands.
0コメント