The Book of Trees – Book Review

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The Book of Trees
by Piotr Socha  (Author), Wojciech Grajkowski (Author)
Published by Thames and Hudson (Big Books) (13 Sept. 2018)
Hardcover: 80 pages
Size: 15 x 2.2 x 21 cm
ISBN-13: 978-0500651698

Why are trees so important? How many types are there? How do they benefit the environment and wildlife?

This book, by the award-winning author Piotr Socha, answers these questions and more, tracking the history of trees from the time of the dinosaurs to the current day.

A very nice and informative, and beautifully color-illustrated book, that should especially be interesting for younger readers.

The one thing that is, unfortunately, missing as far as the uses of trees and wood are concerned is wood for kitchen utensils and much more. But then there is only so much one can get into an 80-page book, even a large format one as this.

A well written – and well translated – book with an easy text that should appeal to any reader, but one that is also easy enough to be understood by younger ones and with great double-page illustrations.

A very nice and informative book.

© 2018

Sycamore tree and Sycamore wood

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

When we are talking here about the Sycamore we are talking about Acer pseudoplantanus, the “European” Sycamore and not the American one, which is Platanus occidentalis.

Sycamore (Acer pseudoplantanus) (in the USA called Sycamore maple) is a very underrated and undervalued tree and wood in Britain where it is continuously referred to as a non-native species and some call for its eradication.

While it is true that in the UK, Sycamore frequently suffers from sooty bark disease (further citation) to all intents and purposes, however, is – fingers tightly crossed it remains that way – otherwise very resilient. Sooty bark is, however, fatal for the tree once it has been affected. Having said that, however, it would appear that Britain has just managed, probably, to import a plant disease, Xylella fastidiosa, from the European Union that, unfortunately, does attack Sycamore, along with Oak and Bird Cherry.

In my opinion Sycamore if one of the best woods for treen, and that not only because of its high antibacterial and antiviral properties, though it may be rather plain and lack interesting grain feature rater, in comparison to other hardwoods.

On the European mainland, especially in Germany, where it is called “Mountain Maple”, Sycamore is regarded as a noble timer tree and highly valued.

With Ash Dieback (ADB) making itself rather felt in woodlands across Britain UK forestry bodies are looking abroad for foreign replacement completely disregarding the Sycamore and, still more often than not, rejecting any suggestion of looking at that tree, which does so well, bar for sooty bark, in the UK where it tends to grow like a weed, with the comment that it is not a native tree. But Southern Beech, and other suggested replacements, also from the USA, obviously are. I rest my case here, as it is getting rather heavy (the case that is).

Personally, but then this is me, and I love Sycamore, I cannot see why the Forestry Commission and the Royal Forestry Society, and others, are looking at American maples, for instance, as a possible replacement for Ash, when we already have a, more or less, perfect specimen of the maple family in our midst that also likes living and multiplying here. Anyone who has seen how that tree multiplies will know what I mean.

German forestry sources refer, as said earlier, to Acer pseudoplantanus as a noble timer tree, or even as Edelholz, meaning precious wood, and there, apparently, it tends to only grow in mountainous regions and not so well in the lower areas. Maybe they need some British Sycamore seed... just jesting. So why the permanent rejection of Sycamore in Britain as a “non-native” tree, especially considering that it once, before the last ice age, apparently, was native here but did not return on its own steam.

© 2018

Pruning your trees

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Once the leaves have fallen in late autumn/early winter, take the opportunity to get in there to remove any congested growth. For some fruit trees, however, the time to do any real pruning and cutting back is not that time of year but much earlier or somewhat later.

Trees of the prunus species, cherries, plums, damsons, and related, should be pruned – pardon the almost pun – while the sap is rising, after they have flowered. While that may reduce any fruit production for that year it is r4eckoned to reduce the risk of any infection entering the tree.

Apple trees have a very narrow window, so to speak, in which pruning should take place and that is about from mid to late January to the end of February (in Europe at least). Others can be pruned more or less immediately after the leaves have all fallen off and this also goes for the majority of ornamental shrubs and trees.

© 2017

6 Dos and Don'ts Of Pruning

It could cause more harm than good to your bushes and trees.

There's something about this time of the year that makes people crave pruning more than vampires yearn for blood. With fall garden cleanup in full swing, maybe it's all the raking and mulching that has people going bananas. But before you start hacking at your trees and bushes, take a tip from a seasoned gardening expert. "The rules of fall pruning are simple: Prune nothing in the fall! That’s N-O-T-H-I-N-G! Nada! Bupkiss! Zilch! Zero! Ladies—hide the pruners from 'helpful husbands!'" pleads emphatic gardening expert Mike McGrath, author of Mike McGrath's Book of Compost, and radio host of WYYY FM Philadelphia's You Bet Your Garden radio show. That goes for shrubs and plants as well as trees, McGrath insists. "Hang little signs on your roses that say, 'Leave me alone until midwinter; or even better, spring.' There are no exceptions! Do not prune anything now. Got it?"

Do you feel like you just got scolded by a third-grade teacher? Let it serve as a reminder that fall is not the right time to trim trees and shrubs, even though the fallen leaves have exposed all their imperfections. That's right, put your pruning shears back in the shed for at least a month or so. Here are some pruning basics, to be used when it's a safer time to trim back trees and shrubs:

Read more here.

When Is The Best Time To Plant Trees?

Give them the best chance of survival.

Many trees grow well when planted in fall, says arborist Tom Tyler of Bartlett Tree Experts. Although people often associate planting with spring, fall offers some advantages, he explains. "Warm soil encourages root growth prior to the onset of winter, while air temperatures tend to be cooler and more stable, reducing the amount of stress on newly planted trees. Fall rains make it easier to dig and provide ample moisture." Container-grown and balled-and-burlapped trees are best for fall planting; bare-root plants should be planted while they’re dormant.

Read more here.

We need more trees

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

More woodlands, properly managed – oh dear, the dreaded “m” word, as far as many misguided environmentalists are concerned, I know – is what we needed, and also more trees in other locations.

But mention the word management and those those above mentioned environmentalists will scream blue murder and dare you say that trees will be cut, even under proper coppice management, they call it slaughter.

We need trees where people live and even well managed coppice woods in towns and cities; anywhere where there is space for them, from parks to cemeteries and anywhere else between. In some places this is beginning to happen but we need more of it, much more. In fact, we need it to happen everywhere.

The problem being encountered with establishing and especially managing woods in parks and cemeteries by way of coppicing and making use of the wood time and again runs foul of interfering misguided and misinformed environmentalists who believe that cutting down a tree and that management of woods is bad for the environment. They jump up and down and make a hullabaloo and frighten the authorities to abandon such schemes quite frequently. It is almost impossible to reason with such folks who suffer from cognitive dissonance as they will not even listen to even the most learned men and women in the field, and not just “ordinary” foresters and woodsmen, if it does not conform to their beliefs.

However, regardless of their beliefs and their cognitive dissonance, we need to first of all bring all our woods, whether in the countryside or in our parks wherever they may be, including the city, and the woods and trees of cemeteries, into production through proper management, and then we need to plant more trees and woods, including and especially where people live. And we need to start it the day before yesterday, not tomorrow or even today. But as today really is the possible option today it has to be.

Let us start, before even getting into planting new woodlands, to look at properly managing our existing woods and woodlands, however large or small, private or “public”, and do that is such way that benefits the ecology and the local economy. It can be done. We have done so for many thousands of years in this country, by coppicing and pollarding trees and managing the trees and woods in a way that benefits all.

The great majority of our woods and woodlands, private and “public”, in the British Isles today have not seen any proper management for around half a century or even more because people rather bought plastic – as it was cheaper – than products made from homegrown sustainably cut wood.

*While plastic products that replaced those traditionally made from (coppiced) wood have led to the deterioration of our woods nothing has done more damage as the already mentioned misinformed and misguided self-styled and self-proclaimed “environmentalists” who vociferously insisted that the woods be left to fend for themselves and often interfered, by direct action even, with any management attempt.

The tide needs turning and the neglect of our woods and woodlands reversed by, once again, taking them in hand through proper management though, alas, this will, to some extent will look rather drastic and may cause some more complaints from certain quarters. Restarting coppice management will throw wide open areas, especially if they are of overstood coppice, which many of them will be, that previously have been full of rather large, though more often than not multi-stemmed, trees and this will look rather strange to start with.

But, in order to revitalize our woods and woodlands and make them healthy and productive again this is something that we must accept. It also does not last for very long and the prolific regrowth, general, of everything that before was in the dark on the woodland floor will soon make up for this change in scenery and especially the amount of butterflies and other insects and birds that will, suddenly, conquer those opened up areas.

Once we have done this, have restarted the proper management of our woods, then we must think about, and not just think about it but do it, planting more trees and woods wherever at all possible, and this must include parks and cemeteries, but also roads and other places in towns and cities. Agricultural land that does not grow crops well and that may thus not be is use should also be converted to woodland. In this way areas of woods should and would be created around the towns and cities and also the villages everywhere.

While such newly established coppice woods will require time to establish themselves, even with the most intensive management, and can never replace the ecosystems that are ancient woods, they will, over time, become valuable habitat and a source for raw materials for the new wood culture. Thus they are good for the (local) environment as well as local industry. At the same time they will be good for all of us for, as scientists have discovered, not that it should have taken much of an effort, living near and around trees makes us feel better and also act better.

© 2015

For more on woodland management and especially coppicing and why, etc. see “Managing our Woods”, a small book that explains the whys and wherefores of managing our woods in this way and calls for us to return to that way.

Monkey puzzles: an iconic tree under threat

The monkey puzzle tree is under threat in its native Chile, but UK gardeners can help. Robbie Blackhall-Miles explains how

Listen to Robbie Blackhall-Miles talk about monkey puzzles in our new podcast on trees

I sat in a state of dismay as I read about the forest fires threatening Chile. Climate change has been causing the country’s Araucanía region to become increasingly hotter and drier and the forest fires it sees to become ever more frequent. The impact is being felt greatly by the native monkey puzzle trees, Araucaria araucana; over 1 million of them have been burned in the most recent fire that spread through Chile’s China Muerta National Park. The thought that these trees, some more than 1,000 years old, could be wiped out in a moment fills me with anguish; especially as I know that the ones that are left cover a tiny area; only a quarter of the size of London.*

My life has been influenced greatly by these trees. Growing up in a 1920s semi-detached house with a huge monkey puzzle in the garden instigated my interest in plant life. The idea that a plant family could have survived on this planet since the Jurassic era sparked the imagination of a very young me and led to my lifelong interest in the world’s plants and their evolution.

They don’t just tell a story of plant evolution either. They tell a story of adventure and war and the fate of British society.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2015/may/07/monkey-puzzles-araucaria

Abundant Living – Book Review

Review by Michael Smith( Veshengro)

Abundant Living in the Coming Age of the Tree
by Kathleen Jannaway
Published by Movement for Compassionate Living 1991
44 Pages A4

This book is available as a free download from http://www.mclveganway.org.uk/Publications/Abundant_Living.pdf

Kathleen Jannaway's classic text sets out the practical and philosophical basis for ecological veganism – that we can feed the world healthily and compassionately and protect the planet with a diverse, mostly home grown, plant-based diet that includes tree crops – from the Movement of Compassionate Living http://www.mclveganway.org.uk

“We are faced with the challenge”, they say, “of providing for the needs of a rapidly increasing world population from the diminishing resources of a finite and endangered planet. Fundamental changes in the values and practices of the dominant world system, which has created a situation in which millions of people and animals already suffer extreme deprivation and die prematurely, is essential. What is needed is a trend towards compassionate living the vegan way, with the emphasis on the use of trees and their products. As people face the challenge of environmental crises, as the supreme importance of using awesome intellectual powers with compassion for all sentient beings is realized, an evolutionary leap will be achieved. An era of truly abundant living will dawn in which humans, at peace with themselves, with each other and with all living creatures, will reach heights of creativity as yet unimagined.”

While the principal point of the book is that of promoting veganism the book does, however, not just deal with veganism but with the importance of trees and wood and the many products and food that can be had from trees, and that line of thought can surely not be faulted.

There are a few things in this small volume one can and maybe even must disagree with such as some claims as to the vitamin B12 issue but more importantly the production of Rayon from frees, as it is still a chemical production path and thus a man-made fiber and products from Rayon are not biodegrabale. The use of flax, hemp and nettle for plant fibers from which to make clothing and other cloth products would be a much better choice.

When the author makes mention of the use of human excreta for fertilizer on crops it is not a new approach and this has been done by gardeners in many countries, including China and also Germany, without any ill effect. While it may be good to “carefully treat” it, as she puts it, but it has been used untreated in China and years ago in Germany. In those cases, however, it was from the pits of the outhouses though rather than from today’s sewage system. In actual fact we may entirely change the way we deal with our bodily wastes, and use composting toilets as a rule. Still in the early part of the 20th century night soil was collected and it was indeed spread as fertilizer on farms.

Though with reference to forest and woodland management the author could have done with doing a little more research, especially with regards to the ancient system of coppicing and the benefits of the same for woodland health and a continuous supply of wood for all manner of things, without the need to ever having to fell and replace trees as, in rotation coppice, the felled trees regenerate into more stems and a stool, as that is what a coppiced tree is called, can live for a thousand and more years. For more information on this kind of woodland management “Managing our Woods” (Michael Smith (Veshengro), 2014).

© 2015

Overheated Kentucky city gets serious about trees and urban forestry

Urban vegetation can have an astounding effect on local air quality, and given that the urban heat island effect can kill well beyond the borders of a particular city, simply cooling down our city centers has immense benefits.

So it's good news indeed that Louisville, in decidedly red-state Kentucky, is getting serious about tackling its urban heat island effect through increased urban forestry, as well as efforts to promote reflective surfaces and green roofs.

Reported on as part of its What Works series on urban innovation, Politico Magazine has an inspiring profile of Louisville's re-greening efforts. Among the measures taken, the city has established a tree commission, it has spent $115,000 on a tree assessment, it has hired a sustainability director and an urban forester and, perhaps most importantly, the city has worked with individuals, companies and community groups to plant more than 12,000 trees in and around Louisville's urban core.

Read more: http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/overheated-louisville-ky-gets-serious-about-trees-and-urban-forestry.html

Why manchineel might be Earth's most dangerous tree

The manchineel tree, which ranges from South Florida to northern South America, is an endangered species. It's also a very dangerous species, dubbed 'little apple of death' by Spanish conquistadors.

The manchineel tree may be endangered, but so is anyone who messes with it. That's because this rare tropical plant, which offers deceptively sweet fruit, is one of the most poisonous trees on Earth.

Manchineels are notorious in their native habitats, the sandy soils and mangroves of South Florida, the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America. Many are labeled with warning signs like the one pictured below. But aside from poisoning the occasional conquistador, tourist and literary character, manchineel is relatively obscure considering it holds the world record for most dangerous tree.

The fruits are the most obvious threat, earning manchineel the name manzanita de la muerte, or "little apple of death," from Spanish conquistadors. Resembling a small green crabapple about 1 to 2 inches wide, the sweet-smelling fruits can cause hours of agony — and potentially death — with a single bite.

"I rashly took a bite from this fruit and found it pleasantly sweet," radiologist Nicola Strickland wrote in a 2000 British Medical Journal article about eating manchineel with a friend. "Moments later we noticed a strange peppery feeling in our mouths, which gradually progressed to a burning, tearing sensation and tightness of the throat. The symptoms worsened over a couple of hours until we could barely swallow solid food because of the excruciating pain and the feeling of a huge obstructing pharyngeal lump."

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/family/protection-safety/blogs/why-manchineel-might-be-earths-most-dangerous-tree

India Man Plants Forest Bigger Than Central Park to Save His Island

At the age of 17, after witnessing hundreds of snakes dying from drought on his island in India, Jadav Payeng started to grow trees on what was barren land devastated by erosion.

35 years later a jungle of almost 3000 acres (1200 hectares) — larger than Central Park — has grown in the wasteland, thanks to his daily careful cultivation. Diverse animals, including Elephants, now enjoy his lush oasis.

A documentary, Forest Man, shows how one person can change the course of nature.

Watch video here: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/forest-man-of-india-film/

Motown to Growtown

Reforestation and urban farms could help secure Detroit's future.

Four years ago, Detroit businessman John Hantz received national attention when he announced his plans to create the world's largest urban farm in Detroit. His plan to buy vacant city land and convert it to orchards and tree farms was hailed as visionary by some and nefarious by others. After 4 years of negotiating with the city and meeting with neighbors, Hantz Farms was finally able purchase 1,400 vacant city-owned lots on Detroit's lower east side for half a million dollars.

"The purpose of the investment is to make neighborhoods more livable," says Hantz Farms president Mike Score. "Our intention is to take larger blocks of contiguous land and make our woodlands a permanent feature in the city."

In a bankrupt city that has lost a quarter of its population in 10 years, vacant land has become a pressing concern. The city of Detroit is drowning in the financial burden of owning nearly 200,000 vacant parcels—almost half of them residential plots.

The Hantz proposal, initially a plan to create commercial fruit orchards and cut-your-own Christmas tree farms, had been scaled back to a simpler tree-planting project by the time the city approved the land sale in December 2012. Hantz Woodlands—a subsidiary of Hantz Farms—agreed to buy 1,400 vacant parcels from the city, clean up the debris, tear down decaying buildings, plant 15,000 trees, mow the grass regularly, and pay taxes on the land. The parcels are interspersed among homes that people are caring for and living in.

A small, but loud, group of community activists allege that the transaction is a "land grab" and demand that Detroit's surplus land go into a community trust. They accuse Hantz of greed disguised as philanthropy. What if Hantz sells some of those parcels for housing, they ask, and he makes a profit off the cheap land?

Score has posed that question to the people currently living in the area. "If you go up and down the street and ask people, 'What do you really want to happen in this neighborhood?' they say they want a house on every lot," he says. At this time, there isn't a great demand for land in Detroit, but if in the future people decide this is a nice place to live and Hantz Woodlands can build houses on some of its land, Score says the neighbors would be pleased.

Read more: http://www.organicgardening.com/living/motown-to-growtown

Urban trees save hundreds of lives and billions of dollars each year in the U.S.

A new study by the USDA's Forest Service tells us what all good treehuggers already knew; trees are good for you, especially if you live in a urban area. While it's impossible to know exactly what benefits the urban trees bring us - including many psychological ones - the researchers have tried to estimate their impact using computer simulations. Results: About 850 lives are saved each year, the number of acute respiratory symptoms is lower by about 670,000 incidents each year, and the total health care savings attributed to pollution removal by trees is around $7 billion a year. Not bad!

The researchers estimate that the trees in the U.S. removed 17.4 million tonnes of air pollution in a single year. While the air filtration done by trees is much higher in rural areas, the benefits are bigger in urban areas because population density and pollution are denser.

Read more: http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/urban-trees-save-hundreds-lives-and-billions-dollars-each-year-us.html

The trees are called Standing People

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The trees are called Standing People, by the Native Americans, and we should perceive them in the same way, because they are our teachers. They do not walk about like human beings, but they do hold the energy of the Earth and Sky.

The roots of the trees go deep into our Mother Earth, and their branches reach for the sunlight high in the sky.

These teachers of the woods show humankind how to balance the male and female energies present in every human being.

Through their example, we can learn how to give and receive. The trees are firmly grounded in the Earth and are reaching for the heaves with their branches, showing human beings how to be bridges between the tangible and non-tangible worlds.

The balance of demonstrative and receptive is found in the heart of humans and in the trunk of trees.

These living examples of balance allow humankind to discover the flow of life force that brings inner peace. It is circular and flows up through the roots to the tops of the branches, traveling down to the roots again, creating a recycling of energy.

But the tree never is on its own. It forms a living symbiosis with others around it and does this via an Internet of the trees, the wires which are fungal and without this symbiosis between trees and fungi neither tree nor fungi could live.

Like trees we must connect with the Earth Mother by rooting ourselves deeply in Her while stretching out to the sunlight for warmth and energy. We must feel the pulse of the Earth in order to be able to live well on this Planet.

Modern man, alas, has forgotten this – much due to certain religions that have cut him off from the Spirit of the Mother – and has come to believe himself to be a higher being than other forms of life on the Planet and master over the Earth.

Much of this has been due to a misinterpretation of the scriptures, very much on purpose and not accidental, of the term “G-d gave man dominion over the Earth” which was taken to mean domination and thus control. Nothing, however, is further from the truth for it in reality means that G-d appointed man as husbandman, as caretaker, of the Planet. In his wish for domination, however, man altered the agreement.

It is, however, those monotheistic religions, based on a perceived single male divine being, that has caused the great damage to the Earth in that it has cut people off the truth and the links with the Earth Mother and we must now redevelop those and reconnect to save mankind and the Planet.

The trees can teach us so much if we are but prepared to pause and listen to them and observe them, and care for them. And yes, they do need our care quite often to live better and longer and so be there for us when we need them.

Bernard of Clairvaux – St Bernard (no, not the dog, though the latter is named after the former) – understood and taught that trees and stones can teach us more than any human teacher if we but pause, listen and observe. Though he also was an abbot of the Catholic Church and seriously into the Virgin Mary.

We must connect, or should I say reconnect, with the Earth, our Mother, and learn from the ancient ways of the Native Americans and other Peoples who still know the secrets of Mother Earth. The trees can and must be our guide in this and in this way we may be able to heal the Earth and get Her back to health.

© 2013

English Woodlands Advise Customers on Pruning Winter-Flowering Shrubs

English Woodlands, an East-Sussex based supplier of trees, plants and planting accessories, announced their advice for customers beginning pruning of winter-flowering shrubs.

East-Sussex (PRWEB UK) : Pruning is part of plant maintenance for some species, and doing so at the right time can encourage growth, enhance flowering and improve the shape of shrubs.

As a rule, flowering shrubs should be pruned after they bloom, with particular advantages to doing so in late winter or the early spring. The specimen is dormant and capable of handling the stress, while a lack of foliage transforms structural maintenance into an easy task.

Winter-flowering shrubs require specific attention, however, and English Woodlands are releasing an advice series on their website, detailing correct treatment of these specimens in support of concerned customers.

The series introduction covers when and why to prune. Winter and early spring flowering shrubs do so on the previous year’s growth. When consumers need to prune, doing so after flowering will maximise the time for new growth to occur prior to new buds being formed.

On their website, the company outlines in details the guidelines for engaging in a pruning programme. Dead, diseased and crossing branches should be removed, and congested shrubs need some stems removed to ground level, creating an open shape. The new advice series will walk consumers through where and when to prune, depending on where the plant blossoms and fruits.

A customer service representative was able to comment on the release on behalf of the company. “We always attempt to keep customers informed and making the most of their purchases with us. English Woodlands often receive calls and queries regarding the best time to prune certain plants, and we’re always happy to help. It makes more sense to keep information centralised, however, so we’ve been increasingly creating online resources to aid customers throughout the buying and planting process. We don’t want to see any consumers missing out on potential growth through a lack of information, so keeping it available in the form of blogs and resources makes a lot of sense to us.”

They did go on to remind consumers to be aware of their goals before pruning. Plants usually produce fruit on the previous year’s growth, so a number of flowered stems should be left intact if the intention is to harvest fruit in the spring and summer.

English Woodlands are an East-Sussex based supplier of trees, plants, shrubs and planting accessories. By extending their expertise and knowledge to the public they hope to see consumers finding more value in their investments with the business.

Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.

This article is for your information only and the GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW does not (necessarily) approve, endorse or recommend the product, service or company mentioned.

A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

A single tree, it is reckoned, will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime and the shade provided by trees around a home can also reduce your air conditioning bill by ten to fifteen per cent.

While this is true we have to remember, however, what lifetime and absorption here means.

Only while the tree actually is of a good age will it absorb carbon. After a certain age a tree, actually, becomes a carbon producer and a methane producer too. Namely when it begins to decay on the inside, after its true productive life.

It is for that reason that trees are felled by proper foresters just before that time. Coppicing, on the other hand, makes for trees that are continually absorbing carbon.

Thus simply saying that a single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime is misleading to some extent for one has to remember that not every tree has the same operational lifespan and some live longer than others.

Conifers, such as pine and spruce, have an active life of about forty years after which they begin to die off from the inside and thus becoming a producer of the decay gas methane. At the same time the amount of foliage is being reduced reducing the efficiency of carbon sequestration and not long after the tree will, in fact, become a net carbon producer.

Deciduous trees, aka broadleaved trees, have a longer active life but again it depends on the species. An oak has about eighty to a hundred years maximum before it becomes a carbon producer, other broadleaved trees have a shorter span, birch being one of the lowest.

While a tree is growing it, actually, absorbs more carbon than when it has come to the final stages of its life and thus making use of the trees and then either replanting or encouraging natural regrowth, as in the finest woodland management system known to man, coppicing, will ensure continuous carbon sequestration.

Alas, this factor is something that the “we must not cut down any trees” brigade does not like to talk about and no, Nature does not regulate it itself. Not in woodlands that have been managed before at least.

Leaving woodlands unmanaged creates death and not new life, regardless of what some in the environmental movement like to believe, and therefore the simple statement of “a single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime” is rather misleading to the uninitiated.

Foresters, even and especially commercial foresters, are not the enemy of the woodlands and the trees; they are their custodians. They are farmers who plant a crop but will never, in general, harvest this crop. They create for a future that they will never see. They have been doing it for centuries.

Britain was once an island of trees and our woodlands have been managed by coppicing for several thousands of years by now and they have served us well.

The charcoal produced in British coppice woods was what fuelled the industrial revolution and not until the arrival of coal and oil did that change.

The furnaces and the smithies of the country were fuelled by British charcoal from British woods (predominately). Other industries too used the resources of those well managed woods and wood and wood products were everywhere. But that is a story for another time.

© 2013