Overview
Plants and trees are a great way to help the environment. Plants don’t just help the environment, they also provide nutrients that we need to survive. Some struggles in the environment can be reduced simply by having more trees and plants in the environment.
What Plants Can Achieve
One thing plants do is they greatly improve our air quality by filtering out harmful dust and pollutants. One of the biggest threats to the Earth is the high amount of carbon within the atmosphere from fossil fuels. However, through photosynthesis, plants can reduce the amount of carbon. Plants are natural air purifiers. Without fresh air we wouldn’t be here.
Another thing plants can do is they save money. They absorb water after a storm, which saves communities money. Without plants cities would continuously be maintaining and pumping out excessive amounts of runoff water from a storm. Reports have shown that 100 trees can reduce 400,000 liters of runoff water caused by rain.
Trees and plants also provide food, protection, and homes for many birds and mammals. A study shows that about 32 percent of all animals, along with many reptiles are herbivores. This means that if there were many fewer trees and plants, 32 percent of animals would die off, along with many reptiles. Not just from the lack of food but also protection. Pine, spruce and hemlock trees have year-round dense foliage, creating ideal cover from predators and shelter from the seasonal elements. Trees also provide nesting areas for birds. Almost all if not all birds will make a nest in a tree. They also will make their nest with tree branches. Trees can provide a great place to live for birds and some mammals.
One more thing that plants do is they reinforce soil. They increase fertility and help soil retain moisture. Decaying leaves that fall onto the ground turn into nutrients for tree growth. Trees also reduce soil erosion. Rain and wind are two causes of erosion that damage soil. As rain falls to the ground it builds up power and momentum, and it will become strong enough to penetrate the soil once they hit the ground. If land happens to be very dry, wind can do great damage. Trees can break apart those powerful drops of rain and weaken them, while the roots help hold the soil together and protect the soil from the effects of wind.
How You Can Help
Obviously plants and trees don’t just come into life by themselves. They are planted. You can do some pretty easy stuff to help the environment around you.
One way you can help is by maintaining a garden. It doesn’t have to be anything special. If you want fresh produce along with helping the environment you can plant fruits and vegetables.
If you don’t want to maintain a garden you can also donate some money for trees to be planted. Many organizations will have you donate a certain amount of money and then they will either plant the trees themself or they will work with another organization to fund the resources. Tree planting organizations are a great way to help reforestation products.
