Trees play an important role in the fight against climate change. As the seedling your sow grows, it captures carbon dioxide, a common greenhouse gas, from the air, storing it in its trunks and roots as well as the soil beneath. As such, forests keep as much as 45% of all land carbon.
However, the expansion of the population needed more space for the development of homes, roads, schools, malls, etc. Trees were cut down in order for houses and buildings to be erected.
And, as a result, there was nothing to absorb the excess carbon dioxide from the air. CO2 emitted through various activities by humans does not get stored in trees or in the soil. It ends up in the atmosphere where it allows the sunshine to pass through but prevents heat from getting out. This phenomenon pushed the Earth toward a “hothouse” state, the term used in gardening and refers to the artificial heating of a space to cultivate tropical plants. Once the planet passes through the hothouse state due to CO2, the average global temperature will rise, melting ice from both poles, causing the sea level to rise.
Why Plant Trees
The consequences of climate change will be tragic, but there is still time to reverse it. Although more needs to be done, plenty of individuals and organizations are pooling resources to plant more trees. Turning the entire planet green with trees will not solve ongoing environmental problems, but it will still help nature recover from the destruction. There are still tons of benefits if you plant a tree in your backyard.
You might reap more benefits by planting fruit-bearing trees in your backyard. Caring for fruit-bearing trees does not require extra attention. You would need to feed it fertilizer occasionally to encourage a bountiful harvest. The tree needs pruning to protect it from diseases such as brown rot and bacterial canker.
Moreover, fruit-bearing trees can help the fight against climate change. Here’s how.
It Reduces Your Carbon Footprint
Your carbon footprint is the measure of greenhouse gases generated by your actions. Your carbon footprint, for example, increases when you travel to another place by plane or you purchased a product imported from a far away source.
When you buy fruits at your local grocery store, there is no assurance that they were grown locally. Likely, it was shipped from another state or country which means that buying it increases your carbon footprint.
For this reason, buying locally from a farmer’s market or growing fruits in your own backyard can reduce your carbon footprint without removing products from your diet. It also decreases your single-use plastic consumption, which typically comes with the fruit you buy from grocery stores.
It Provides Shelter and Food to Local Animals
Most people would want to keep wild animals away from their fruit trees. These critters eat the produce before you can make your harvest.
However, fruit trees keep the ecosystem alive. Birds, especially, will use the tree for nesting as well as a source of food. It encourages healthy biodiversity in your backyard, especially in places where nature parks are being replaced by houses and parking lots.
Biodiversity allows creatures that are integral in the ecosystem to survive in an increasingly urban world. It saves animals and insects from extinction.
Trees Provide Shade
Trees in general can reduce a household’s energy consumption. Because the U.S. grid still relies on fossil fuels and other non-renewable sources that emit greenhouse gases, the families that want to reduce their carbon footprint would benefit from planting trees.
Trees provide shade. On a hot summer day, it shields your home from direct sunlight. It prevents heat from entering your home through windows and walls. A tree in your backyard, therefore, would mean that you would use less energy to cool the interior of your home.
In addition, if you plant shade-loving vegetation near a tree, it will lose less water through evaporation. You would not have to water your flowers or shrubs as often if you place them near a tree, even in the middle of summer, because they are safe from the wrath of the sun. Not only will you lower your electricity bills, but you also will be using less water to keep your garden green.
Trees take time to grow, but the wait is usually worth it. It provides an oasis, not just for wild animals, but for the members of the household, too. When the skies are blue, its shade creates a spot for children to play and for adults to hang out.
Fruit trees offer even more benefits for the planet and for the people who had the patience to plant them.
