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Trees are our lifeline. Perhaps their greatest benefit to us is keeping the air clean.
Published Dec 26, 2025 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • 2 minute read
Bags of charcoal are for sale at the roadside in the neighbourhood of Gulu, Uganda. Tree harvesting for cooking fuel, agriculture and lumber is putting the world’s forests at risk. (John DeGroot photo) HandoutArticle content
Trees are our lifeline.
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Perhaps their greatest benefit to us is keeping the air clean. Trees pull carbon from the atmosphere and through the process of photosynthesis, trees absorb air pollutants and release clean oxygen.
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Trees provide habitat and food for wildlife, keep the Earth cool by providing shade, stabilize soil and are a food and medicine source for animals, including people.
Forests cover nearly a third of the world’s land mass. About half of that area remains undisturbed and untouched. More than half of the world’s forests are found Russia, Canada, U.S., China and Brazil.
Years ago, when the world began to recognize the value of forests, many countries set aside protected areas such as national parks and conservation areas.
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We continue to remove valuable forests, although we are doing so at a slower rate than in the ‘90s.
Expansion of farmland is the main cause of deforestation and subsistence lifestyle is a close second.
In the poorer countries of Africa and South America, where trees are most scarce, people spend much of their day gathering firewood for fuel or making charcoal. This removal of trees will continue until developing countries find an alternative fuel source for cooking.
Trees take up a tremendous amount of water. Only a small amount is kept for their own growth, while the rest is released into the air through their leaves.
If trees did not have a built-in moisture management system, their leaves would dry out as quickly as laundry hanging out to dry.
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Soil stabilization is an oft-forgotten benefit trees provide for us.
A few other cool facts about trees: Evergreens replace up to one-third of their needles every year.
Trees grow from the ends of their limbs unlike human hair which is pushed out from its roots.
Trees don’t consume soil. Soil is simply a vehicle to provide water and nutrients for the trees above.
Trees do not grow up from their roots. If you splash some paint on a tree at one metre above ground level and visit the tree a decade later, the colour will still be at its original height.
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