Tree Facts
Photo by ecstatist
Some Statistics for You to Consider…
- 2-5,000,000,000,000 $ - the annual cost of forest loss, determined by a 2008 EU study16
see Tree Economics - 10,000,000,000 acres of trees have been cleared by humans since 1492. This is more than half of the world's forests at that time, and is a greater factor in Climate Change than all other human activity combined.17
- 10,000,000,000 cubic metres of oxygen are lost every year in the athmosphere, being replaced by carbon dioxide. In other words, the supply is being depleted. see Trees & Climate
- 820,000,000 acres : The amount of forested land in North America when the Europeans landed. Today there is not one tenth of this left…
- 214,016,000 hectares of forest in Europe have been lost due to acid rain2
- 75 % of the world's people rely upon wood for their energy needs15
- 200,000,000 poeple lack enough wood to cook their food properly15
- 36,000,000 - Estimated number of Christmas trees sold each year in the US3
- 35,000,000 litres (10,000,000 gallons) - the amount of rainwater retained by a typical community forest of 10,000 trees, preventing runoff and flooding
see Trees & Flooding - 30,000,000 : number of trees planted on schoolgrounds, roadsides and open spaces in Kenya as well as elsewhere in Africa by The Green Belt Movement inspired by Wangari Maathai.
see Wangari Maathaii, Africa's Forest Goddess - 23,000,000 : number of leaves of Oak Trees in an Oak Wood shed per hectare ~ that makes one ton of leaves per acre (2.5 tons per hectare)
- 23,000,000 kg-calories - the amount of energy stored in a 100-year-old tree (a calorific value equivalent to 3,500 kg of hard pit coal)
- 18,000,000 cubic metres of air are purified by every acre of woodland
see Trees as Atmospheric De-Polluters - 15,000,000 hectares of forest are lost each year, globally
- 7,000,000 leaves on a mature beech
- 1,000,000 - the number of seeds produced by a healthy mature birch tree in a good year4
- 90,000 acorns can be produced by a single mature oak in a good year see A Single Oak
- 48,000 € worth of air pollution control delivered by a single garden tree over an average 50-year lifetime5
see Tree Economics - 250,000 - the number of leaves grown and shed by a mature oak tree every year
- 52,500 cubic ft - the volume of the world’s largest tree, a Giant Redwood called ‘General Sherman’ in northern California
- 38,680 tonnes of fresh apples are imported to Ireland annually. The apple is a native Irish tree, grown since pre-historic times.6
- 18,651 km - the distance between Ireland and New Zealand. Think of this when eating apples from New Zealand.
- 30,000 km - the distance driven by an average-size car to take up 100 years of a tree’s oxygen-production
- 21,000 : Number of Christmas tree growers in the United States
- 13,000 town lands in Ireland are named after trees
- 1,200 place names in Ireland are named after the oak7
- 9,000 years ago, Ireland was covered by forest
- 100 years ago, less than 1% of Ireland was forest
- 9 % - the amount of Ireland covered by forest today, of which
- 85 % is non-native conifers grown only for timber 8
- 31 % - the average of forested area in the European Union
- 7,000 edible, medicinal and useful plants and their properties have been collected in a database by Ken Fern at Plants for a Future, most of which can be grown in a climate such as the UK or Ireland.
see Forest Farming & Gardening - 7,000 Oaks were planted in Kassel, Germany between 1982 and 1987 as the result of an art installation by Joseph Beuys. Projects have since happened in New York, Minnesota, Ireland and elsewhere, resulting in tens of thousants of Oak-plantings.
see Joseph Beuys - 6,600 kg - the amount of molecular oxygen (O2) made available for human respiration by a 100-year-old tree
see The Contributions of a Single Living Tree - 7,000 - 12,000 years - the age of the oldest living single tree known on Earth, a Redwood known as called ‘Eternal God’ in California
- 5,000 years - The age of the oldest Yew trees in Scotland. The Yew can live forever as long as there is no interference from humans.
- 4,800 years - the age of a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine called ‘Methuselah’ in California, until recently thought to be the oldest living thing on Earth. Samples from the ancient bristlecone pines provide the foundation for the science of dendrochronology, a way to accurately understand changes in climate since the last ice age.
- 3,044: trees planted per day (on average) since 1985 by Trees for Life, to meet a goal of planting 10,000,000 trees by the end of 2010.
see Alan Watson, founder of Trees for Life - 2,500 tons - the amount of water drawn up from the ground and evaporated into the atmosphere by a 100-year-old tree see Trees as Atmospheric De-Polluters
- 2,500 kg of pure carbon fixed in the wood of a 100-year-old tree
- 2004 : Year in which Glorian Arroyo, President of the Philippines declared: “Illegal logging must now be placed in the category of the most serious crime against our people.”
- 1,775: The number of aerial roots of one Bo Tree in India
- 1,000 species go extinct every week. That's one species every 10 minutes16
- 738: The number of days that Julia Butterfly lived on a two-by-three-platform in a giant redwood to protest the destruction of an ancient forest being destroyed by loggers.
see more about Julia Butterfly Hill - 613 : Number of seeds in each Pomegranate / also : the number of Commandments in the Torah
- 600 pounds - the amount of paper consumed annually by an average American9
- 336 : number of pages in The Gospel of the Living Tree, for Mystics, Lovers, Poets & Warriors, where much of this information is gathered
- 284 different insect species may be found feeding on a single oak
- 100 different species of moss, lichen, and liverwort may grow on a single oak
see A Single Oak - 200 people can shelter under the shade of a single Bo Tree
- 175 $ - the fine for any citizen of the Philippines who neglects to plant one tree per month for 5 years. Saplings are supplied by the government.
- 60 % of global warming is due to carbon dioxide (CO2) 10
- 54 tons of dust settled from the air by a hectare of oak forest see Trees as Atmospheric De-Polluters
- 52 % fewer crimes in apartment buildings with high levels of greenery than those without trees 11
- 23 % more incidence of illness reported in desk workers without views of nature than those with12
- 12 % greater value of properties with trees than those without in Dublin
- 12 % more - the amount shoppers are willing to pay for goods and services in well-landscaped business districts13
see Trees & Cities - 25 lbs of fruit are yielded by each mature Olive Tree annually
- 22:2 : Book of Revelations: “The leaves of the Trees are for the healing of Nations”
- 20 times more oxygen is consumed by the industries which could be called “the Technosphere” than by all living organisms together see Trees & Oxygen
- 20 years - the supply of oxygen given to a member of consumer society by a 100-year-old tree
see The Contributions of a Single Tree - 12 - the number of trees consumed annually by an average member of the UK
- 15 % of annual greenhouse-gas emissions is the result of deforestation – more than all the world's cars, trucks, planes, trains, and ships combined14
- 10 years: A single tree such as a mature Beech can produce enough oxygen for 10 people a year. This means: cut down a beech and you condemn 10 people. Cut down a hundred and you condemn a village. Cut down a forest and you are committing genocide; aside from destroying wild-life habitats.
- 6.5 tons of carbon dioxide absorbed annually by a hectare of well-working forestry
see Trees & Carbon Dioxide - 1.47 hectares - the amount of evaporative surface area of the leaves of a mature beech
- 7 tree species classified as “Nobles of the Wood” by ancient Irish Law: Oak, Ash, Pine, Yew, Holly, Hazel, or Apple
see Classification of Native Irish Trees
- 3 - the number of cows demanded as retribution under ancient Irish law for the felling of a “Noble of the woods”
see Brehon Law
- 1 - the number of known planets that support life. If we can't take care of this one…
- 0 - the number of existing institutions of higher learning which teach about the true nature of trees and their many values (apart from timber), include a respect for their sacredness, and encourage direct experience and education in nature. 0, that is, until a University of the Living Tree is brought into being.
see Tree University
Acknowledgements
The above extracts are from Gospel of the Living Tree: for Mystics, Lovers, Poets & Warriors by Roderic Knowles, published by (and available online from) Earth Cosmos Press
References
1. Knowles, Roderic. Gospel of the Living Tree, for Mystics, Lovers, Poets & Warriors. 2009, Earth Cosmos Press: Link. ↑
2. As of 1996. United Nations Environmental Program. Key Facts on Atmospheric Issues: Link. ↑
3. Originally published in Winter 2007 BirdTracks, written by BirdWatchers' Digest for Wild Birds Unlimited. ↑
4. Cawley, Ashley. Natural Bushcraft. Tree Facts: Link. ↑
5 Ó Nualláin, Fiann. 10 good reasons or more to plant a tree. Bord Bía, the Irish Food Board: Link. ↑
6. Based on estimates from 2005. Apple & Pear World News, Vol. 10 Issue 17, 25-5-07. Link. ↑
7. Project Forest. Culture - Names and Surnames. Link . ↑
8. IPCC information sheets. Irish Woodlands: Link. ↑
9. United Nations Environmental Program. Common Facts: Link. ↑
10. As of 1996. United Nations Environmental Program. Key Facts on Atmospheric Issues: Link. ↑
11. Kuo, F.; Sullivan,W. 2001. Environment and Crime in the Inner City: Does Vegetation Reduce Crime? Environment and Behavior 33(3).↑
12. Kaplan, R.; Kaplan, S. 1989. The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.↑
13. Wolf, K. L. 1999. Nature and Commerce: Human Ecology in Business Districts. In: Kollins, C., ed. Building Cities of Green: Proceedings of the 9th National Urban Forest Conference.Washington, DC: American Forests.↑
14. Theil, Stefan. Forests Save the Day. Newsweek, Jan 11 2010.↑
15. United Nations Environmental Program. Tree Trivia: Link. ↑
16. Gibbons, John. Six reasons why Earth won't cope for long. The Irish Times, Dec 17 2009.↑
17. The 10 Billion Acre Story. 10 Billion Acres: Reforest the World for Human Survival: Link. ↑
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