Benefits of Trees: Our Best Friends

The benefits of trees are enormous. From the environment to economics to mental and social health, trees are rooted in just about everything we do. We explain everything in detail below. 

Trees have a lot of benefits most people don't even realize. Though you may walk down the street and appreciate the subtle aesthetic of a tree, you may not realize it is doing things like mitigating stormwater. More on that later.



But the benefits of trees break down into four main categories:

• Environmental
• Economic
• Social
• Health

We go over each detail in depth below. 

Trees are known for their positive environmental effects. Seriously, everyone knows that trees are good for the environment. But what does that mean? The environmental benefits break down into six major categories.

• Air quality
• Stormwater
• Soil erosion
• Local cool effect
• Wildlife support
• Climate change mitigation

Air Quality

Whenever you are in the woods or a forest, or just a place with a lot of trees, you can literally feel the lightness of the air. It's incredible. Compared to a city where the air feels heavy, muggy, and dank. You feel like you are breathing poison. Carbon dioxide is no bueno for humans but trees love the stuff.

That's because trees absorb pollutants in the air, and their leaves even filter and collect particulate matter. It's no wonder why when you go to a treeless city, it feels so heavy. Cities are known for their pollution, and there are no trees around to clean the air. Planting trees in local environments can do wonders for air pollution.

Stormwater

Stormwater is another benefit that most people fail to even realize. Trees slow the flooding of stormwater.

The leaves and branches of trees will actually catch and slow the rainwater. When they do this, they help prevent the drains and sewage pipes from being overwhelmed.



Similarly, trees prevent streams from taking on too much water. They reduce the impact of flooding.

Soil Erosion

By mitigating the effects of storms (as seen above), trees are critical to preventing soil erosion. The tree roots hold the soil in place and prevent it from eroding.

Local Cooling Effect

You might be more privy to the local cooling effect if you have some trees on your property. Shade and leaf transpiration reduce the localized air temperature, providing ecological and human health benefits.

Also, consider how many people enjoy the shade under a tree on a hot day. Trees cool you down and are an instant relief from the hot sun. Now think about how having tree shade on your house can help with cooling costs.

Wildlife Support

Everyone knows that wildlife love trees. For many species, trees are their home. They provide numerous species of wildlife with food and shelter critical to their survival.

Trees provide food and so much more to animal and plant species that they live near. They are a vital habitat to so many living organisms.

Climate Change Mitigation

Climate change is a hot topic, but whether you believe it or not, you know that trees sequester and store carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the key suspects in climate change, so without trees, we would literally not be able to breathe.



Also, as we said above, trees provide shade to streets and homes. If temperatures are rising, then we need more shade to help communities mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Economic

Believe it or not, trees (aka nature) can have some unknown positive economic effects. While most people might think it could be better to have a parking lot, we encourage people to look deeper into the economic potential of having trees. The economic benefits of trees come to do the following:

• Reduced Energy Costs
• Urban Wood and Biomass Reutilization
• Increased Property values
• Retail and Commercial Revenues
• Reduced Damage to Infrastructure
• Health Service Savings

Reduced Energy Costs

We mentioned this a bit above, but tree canopies around buildings do wonders to reduce heating or cooling costs in the summer or winter months. Tree canopies provide shade from the sun in the summer, and not only that, but they can act as windbreaks in colder climates.

Think about how hot it is to stand outside directly in the sun compared to the shade. An unpleasant, hot experience is completely altered with just a little shade. The same thing happens to your house during the summer.

Now think about how cold the winter can get (especially if you live in the North). Now think about the hairs on your neck whenever you hear someone say it will be colder due to windchill. Again, the same thing happens to your house during the winter.



Tree coverage does wonders for reducing your energy costs. From young trees, to mature trees, nothing beats these natural power plants. 

Urban Wood and Biomass Reuse

As we have covered before, trees are used in many different products. When trees get removed from a property, wood waste is processed and used in things like mulch, lumber, recyclables, etc.

Increased Property Values

Trees increase property value. Residential properties with trees often have higher appraisal and sales than similar treeless properties. Don't fade the trees.

Of course, things like transplanting tree costs can have hidden fees, but we'll review the costs of trees below. Some of the best front yard trees can drastically increase your curb appeal.

Retail and Commercial Revenues

Trees in commercial areas have been proven to affect the environment for consumers positively. Positive experiences encourage consumers to travel longer and farther to experience that feeling and, therefore, shop more.

Reduced Damage to Infrastructure

As we mentioned in environmental benefits, trees also shade and protect things like pavement or other hardscapes from the harsh effects of solar exposure and weather. Trees cool urban structures down reducing wear and tear over time.

Health Service Savings

Trees are known to reduce disease incidences by promoting wellness and generating cost savings for individuals and households.

Social and Health Benefits

While most people are aware of the environmental benefits of trees and some of the economic benefits, most people don't realize the social impact of having more trees around. It's crazy to think how much of an impact nature has on own health.

Having trees nearby can have significant social benefits, including but not limited to the following:

• Stronger Communities
• Mental Health and Function
• Physical Health and Wellness
• Therapy and Healing
• Cultural Connections

We'll cover each category in depth below.

Stronger Communities

Trees are great for building stronger communities. They provide important spaces for communities to gather, meet and work together. Trees lead to less aggressive households and even reduced crime in neighborhoods.

Mental Health

Experiences with trees or any nature are known to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Spending time in nature can be restorative, leading to less anger and frustration.

Physical Health & Wellness

Having more trees on the street makes things like running and cycling more enjoyable. Trees promote physical activity and recreation, and nature-based playgrounds are excellent places for children to develop social skills. Heat related deaths are largely due to a lack of water, but also a lack of shade.

Therapy & Healing

Spending time in forests does wonders for the human psyche. If you just got out of surgery, you can recover faster with a view of trees. Green spaces are great for all kinds of mental health.

Stronger Communities

Trees are often planted in memorials and celebrations. They live for hundreds or even thousands of years, and their great heights bear witness to history passing through time.

Of course, trees have some negatives we must consider, especially when planning to or planting trees in our cities or home. We'll cover the same categories as above but we go into the potential drawbacks of having trees around.

Environmental

Air Quality

Even though mature trees can purify the air we breathe and protect us from many pollutant gases, everyone knows how severe allergies can be. Certain species of trees will aggravate conditions like asthma or allergies with pollen release.

Invasive Species

Nonnative tree species introduced in cities pose serious threats to the local environment. Why? Because they are invasive species. Invasive species cause significant damage to valuable natural areas by damaging and pushing out natural species.

Economic

Maintenance Costs

Of course, every tree needs to be adequately maintained to ensure it has the most optimal life. Maintaining newly planted trees requires significant investment for long-term gain.

But what does maintenance include? It includes irrigation, pruning, health care, and risk management (power lines, broken limbs, trees that fall). Hiring arborists to maintain tree health can be expensive.

If you plant new trees, you need to be able to protect the young saplings with either tree shelters or support them with tree stakes.

Risk

Each tree has one inherent risk: the tree or its branches can fall and damage surrounding areas. Urban trees can come into conflict with sidewalks, utilities, and buildings. Trees can be a liability if their planting isn't adequately planned.

Be sure to contact your local arborist before doing any extensive tree planting. Having a professional do the job is much safer and will save you a lot of money in the long term.

Social

Risk

Like economic risk, trees that fall and damage structures can also fall and hit people. Tree owners need to do routine risk assessments for trees to make sure they are okay long term.

Vision Hazard

Trees can block lines of sight critical to public safety, i.e. trees on public corners can prevent drivers from seeing oncoming traffic or pedestrians.

Nuisances

Trees can be nuisances. Think of all the leaves you may have raked in your lifetime. While they may be awesome to gaze at, cleaning leaves or fruits can be a cumbersome experience. Even though we all love a green space, we need to consider the potential downsides.

Since we already covered the large number of benefits trees provide, we hope you can now see the massive importance of planting trees. Newly planted trees are critical to maintaining a health balance on the planet for generations to come.

Trees Are Important For Our Lives

Tree planting is so critically important for our life. It is no secret that rainforests are getting deforested on a daily basis. One of the major ways to combat is with regulation, and tree planting. You can already see the positive effects of green space. 

Sweet New Earth's Final Word

Thanks for stopping by! We hope you understand now just some of the benefits of trees! It's important for us to maintain a healthy balance of humanity and nature while we spend our short time here on the planet.