FEATURE STORY
T
rees are valuable. Ask anyone and they will agree this is clear and undisputable. Valuable to who? How much value and what type of value? The answers to those questions should be clear, but often are not. So, let’s take a look. Valuable to who? Everyone! Everywhere! Whether you realize it or not. We would have a very hard time living on planet Earth without trees. How much value and what type? Well, that depends on what’s important to you and what you are measuring to determine value. What are the benefits and services trees provide, and which ones are most valuable to you?
Provisioning Services
The
VALUE TREES of
By Dr. Laurie Fox Virginia Tech Hampton Roads Agricultural Research & Extension Center
• food – trees provide food for people, wildlife, and insects in the form of fruit, nuts, and leaves • fresh water – tree canopies transpire clean water into the atmosphere where it falls to replenish drinking water supplies • wood – trees provide wood for building, heating, mulching and much more • genetics – tree genetics are critical for survival, pest resistance, growing in diverse climates, reproduction and long-term ecological planning and restoration • medicines – an example is salicylic acid from the willow tree which is in aspirin and acne treatments
Regulating Services • climate regulation – trees are important in moderating temperature in landscapes, regulating city heat islands, carbon sequestration, creating oxygen, and reducing climate change • natural hazard regulation – trees moderate the impact of storm winds and flooding • water purification – a mature tree can absorb 500 – 4000 gallons of water a year preventing it from becoming runoff, and canopies and roots clean pollutants out of rainfall and stormwater runoff • waste management – through the process of phytoremediation trees filter, break down or deactivate many pollutants in the air, soil, and water • pollination – trees provide pollen and nectar for many pollinators like the tulip poplar tree blooms for hummingbirds and black tupelo and sourwood for honey bees • pest control – trees provide food and habitat for many beneficial insects and wildlife that control undesirable pests in the landscape
Habitat Benefits • migratory species – trees provide essential places to rest and refuel for migrating birds and insects like monarch butterflies • green corridors – trees connect landscapes to neighborhood and city parks to larger natural areas creating corridors for wildlife to live and move around (like our beautiful songbirds) • gene-pools – because certain trees have evolved with specific wildlife and insects, those creatures can’t live anywhere else or with different trees
20 • VNLA News • Summer 2021
