Global Warming

Source: www.tcia.org

Global warming poses potential significant problems for landscapes. Predictions related to extreme and unpredictable weather include coastal flooding, regional droughts, species extinctions, ecosystem disruptions and reduced plant pollination. These issues are serious – and many land use managers around the world believe they are already witnessing such effects.

Trees and shrubs are unique among plants in that they have woody stems and roots that get bigger every year for decades or even centuries, making them excellent long-term storage sites for carbon. Since wood is composed primarily of carbon derived from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, trees are actually solidified, long-lasting lumps (beautiful nonetheless) of carbon.

A planting of 50 million trees in urban areas next year could result in the sequestration of approximately 170 million tons of carbon dioxide after 50 years. Tree care professionals recognize that growing trees in the suburban and urban landscape presents a vast opportunity to draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Trees can also play other indirect roles in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the heat of summer, about half of U.S. electrical production powers air conditioners, resulting in annual power plant emissions of 100 million tons of carbon. Trees planted to shade buildings, cooling the air through transpiration, can reduce this energy use by up to 70 percent. Conversely, well-placed trees blocking frigid winter winds can reduce heating energy use by 30 percent. These are just a few examples of how trees can collaterally offset carbon dioxide emissions.

The simple act of mulching around a tree can help conserve water, moderate soil temperatures and add significant amounts of carbon to the soil. As the mulch breaks down, it contributes nutrients for the tree, reducing the need for polluting, energy-intensive fertilizers.

Trees play an important part in reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas reduction. Few tools in the global warming fight provide such diverse, long-term benefits at such a low cost.

But it’s not too late to turn things around. The green industry can make a palpable and substantial difference. The perception is that reducing global warming requires sacrifice and extra work, but when it comes to landscape management, the reverse is often true.

The use of organic fertilizers, appropriate biological inoculants, compost and mulch are among the easy and effective methods these industries can embrace to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store significant amounts of carbon. Not only are these practices ecologically sound, they are often more efficient, productive and healthy than conventional approaches.

For example, our culture’s obsession with perfectly green and manicured lawns notwithstanding, replacing large expanses of intensively managed turf with environmental-friendly native grasses and plants can be safe, sustainable, less pest and disease-prone and equally beautiful, while reducing the time and expense of mowing, fertilizing and watering.

Interesting Tree Facts

The oldest tree in the in the world is a Bristlecone Pine tree in California. It’s been alive for more than 4700 years.

The tallest tree in the country is a Coast Redwood growing in northern California’s Redwood National Park. It is 369 feet tall and over 2000 years old.

There are about 20,000 different species of trees in the world. More than 1000 of these different species can be found in North America (not counting Mexico)

Some types of trees can warn other trees of danger. When their leaves are chewed on by caterpillars and other insects, they give off chemicals that nearby trees can detect. Those nearby trees then produce a kind of acid that makes their leaves hard to digest for insects.

Who Knew?!

Fire Resistant Trees for Southern California

The Metropolitan Water District recommends these shrubs as fire-resistant and suited to Southern California conditions:

California Redbud
Ceanothus ‘concha’
California Lilac
Sage
French Lavender
Yarro
Wild Strawberry ground cover
Monkey Flower

Oak Trees

Oak trees can live 200 years or more! All the more reason to take good care of them!

Oaks can start producing acorns when they are 20 years old but sometimes can go all the way to 50 years before the first production. By the time the tree is 70 – 80 years old, it will produce thousands of acorns.
The chances of one acorn making it to become an Oak tree are 1/10,000. that means that for every 10,000 acorns, only one becomes a tree.



Source: www.arcytech.org