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All About Trees

We Depend on Trees

Trees are our breathing partners.You may not live in a forest, but you need trees in order to live. People and animals depend on treesand other plants for oxygen. As you breathe in, your body uses oxygen. As you breathe out, it gives off carbon dioxide (CO₂). Trees do just the  opposite.They take in CO₂, then release Oxygen, which helps clean the air.

Trees also help cool the earth. They give off moisture, and more moisture in the air means more rain. All living things—plants, animals, insects, birds and people —need water to live. In fact, most living things are made largely of water. About 70 percent of a person’s body is water, and about 70 percent of a tree is water. Even the earth is 70% water.

Trees help cool the air by shading and through water evaporation. They act like huge pumps to cycle water up from the soil back into the air. The 200,000 leaves on a healthy 100 foot tree can take 11,000 gallons of water from the soil and breathe it into the air in a single growing season.

The average American uses 18 cubic feet of wood and 749 pounds of paper—equal to a 100-foot tree with an 18 inch trunk—each year. People depend on forest products.We eat the many fruits and nuts produced by trees. We burn wood for heat, and use it to make houses, furniture and thousands of other things we use each day. Paper is used to make the books we read, the letters we write, the boxes we ship, the bags we bring home from the grocery store and the cartons which hold our crackers and breakfast cereal.

Almost a third of the world’s total land area is covered by forests. Arbor Day is a special day when people learn about, plant and care for trees. Find out when your community celebrates Arbor Day and get involved! About 1.5 million tons of cacao beans, from the tropical cacao tree, are used each year to make chocolate and cocoa products. That’s greater than the weight of 300,000 elephants. By reusing and recycling your used paper, you can help conserve an important renewable resource—trees!