All people say that dont kill the tree but if we dont cut them so we dont get useful products. Discuss on this Topic
Answers
Explanation:
With no trees, the land will heat up and dry out and the dead wood will inevitably result in enormous wildfires. This will fill the sky with soot that blocks out the Sun, causing failed harvests for several years and leading to worldwide famine.
Answer:
Agricultural systems would likewise swing wildly out of whack. Shade crops like coffee would drastically decline, as would ones that rely on tree-dwelling pollinators. Due to temperature and precipitation fluctuations, places that formerly produced crops would suddenly fail while others that were previously unsuitable might become desirable. Over time, though, soils everywhere would become depleted, requiring significant amounts of fertiliser for crops to survive. Further heating would eventually render most places uncultivatable and unliveable.
On top of these devastating changes would be health impacts. Trees clean the air by absorbing pollutants and trapping particulate matter on their leaves, branches and trunks. Researchers from the US Forest Service have calculated that trees in the US alone remove 17.4 million tonnes of air pollution each year, a service valued at $6.8bn (£5.6bn). At least 850 lives are saved as a result and at least 670,000 cases of acute respiratory issues are avoided.
Trees help to absorb air pollution by trapping particulates in their tissues (Credit: Getty Images)
Trees help to absorb air pollution by trapping particulates in their tissues (Credit: Getty Images)
D’Odorico adds that we might also see outbreaks of rare or novel diseases transferred from species that we normally do not come into contact with. He and his colleagues found that Ebola’s transfer into humans occurs in hotspots of forest fragmentation. A sudden loss of forests everywhere could trigger a temporary spike in our exposure to zoonotic infections such as Ebola, Nipah virus and West Nile virus, he says, as well as to mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever.
A growing body of research also points to the fact that trees and nature are good for our mental wellbeing. New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation, for example, recommends walking in forests to boost overall health, including for reducing stress, increasing energy levels and improving sleep. Trees also seem to help the body recover: a famous study from 1984 revealed that patients recuperating from surgery experienced shorter hospital stays if they had a green view rather than one of a brick wall. More recent research revealed that spending time around grass and trees reduces symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and numerous studies have also documented a positive correlation between green space and kids’ performances in school. Trees may even help to combat crime: one study found that a 10% increase in tree cover was associated with a 12% reduction in crime in Baltimore.
‘Forest bathing’ is now a medical prescription in Japan – Kathy Willis
“So many things that lead to physical and mental wellbeing issues can be significantly reduced by spending time in a forested environment,” says Kathy Willis, a professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford. “That’s why ‘forest bathing’ is now a medical prescription in Japan.”
Trees play a vital role in many cultures - if lost, they would be deeply mourned (Credit: Getty Images)
Trees play a vital role in many cultures - if lost, they would be deeply mourned (Credit: Getty Images)
The loss of trees would also be mourned on a deep, cultural level. Trees are staples of countless childhoods and feature heavily in art, literature, poetry, music and more. They have factored into animistic religions since prehistory and play prominent roles in other major religions practiced today. Buddha attained enlightenment after sitting beneath the Bodhi Tree for 49 days, while Hindus worship at Peepal trees, which serve as a symbol for Vishnu. In the Torah and Old Testament, God makes trees on the third day of creation – even before animals or humans – and in the Bible, Jesus dies on a wooden cross built from trees.
“A lot of people view forests with dollar signs,” Lowman says. “But we’ve never come up with a monetary figure for the spiritual importance of forests.”
Even if we could live in a world without trees, who would want to? – Thomas Crowther
All told, human beings would struggle to survive in a world without trees. Urbanised, Western lifestyles would quickly become a thing of the past and many of us would die from starvation, heat, drought and floods. Surviving communities, Lowman believes, would likely be those that have retained traditional knowledge about how to live in treeless environments, such as Australia’s Aboriginals. Crowther,