Trees have existed since the beginning of time, providing oxygen, food, and shelter to all animals. They are a crucial part of our ecosystem, and their presence influences our lives in ways we may not even recognize.
There are more trees now than 100 years ago. In the 1920s, we had approximately 750 million trees, but as of 2022, we have an estimated 3.04 billion trees. This is because 100 years ago, there were very few laws protecting trees and forests. Industrial timber harvesting was very prominent without any replanting, and this caused a steady decline in the number of trees.
In recent years, governments have taken more steps to plant more trees, protect forests, and conserve nature. This has led the number of trees to quadruple within the last 100 years.
Why are there many trees now compared to 100 years ago?
Many countries like the United States have more trees now than they did 100 years ago. E.g. 100 years ago the US had just 70 million trees, now a century after the US has an estimated 228 billion trees. It is also home to 8% of the world’s forest and growth surpassed the harvest of trees by 42%. There are a few reasons why there are more trees today than 100 years ago and they include;
Awareness
Over the years humans have become more and more aware of the harm the rapid loss of trees has begun to have on our ecosystem. While this may seem like a minor issue, changes in the ecosystem alter very important phenomena like weather, animal behavior, mating seasons for animals that depend on temperature control, planting seasons, etc.
Awareness of these potential problems has forced world leaders like the United States, Canada, China, etc to begin educating their citizens about the planting of trees, conservation of trees, etc. this has led people to be more informed on how their actions towards trees can affect the planet largely. It has also led to a lot more planting of trees and can account for why we have more trees now than 100 years ago.
Controlled timber harvesting
Although timber is still a prominent raw material used in the manufacturing industry, construction industry, and many others, the harvesting of timber has become strictly regulated. Due to the industrial need for timber, unregulated harvesting was one of the reasons for the low number of trees 100 years ago.
However, these practices are no longer legal and tree harvesting is a very regulated process in this day and age. This is to prevent the overharvesting of trees that could lead to their potential extinction. The control placed on timber harvesting has drastically reduced the damage done by the rapid cutting down of trees. This is also one of the main reasons why we have more trees now than 100 years ago.
Conservation of tree parks
100 years ago there were few is at all very few forests and tree parks that were specially protected against harvesting. However, in recent decades many developed countries have set aside part of their forested lands as conserved areas. These forests may contain native tree species that are endangered or need to be preserved.
Old trees and very ecologically important trees are also conserved and protected against harvesting, cutting, or damaged by anything. The new act of conserving trees has helped to protect endangered trees and is one of the reasons why we have more trees today than 100 years ago.
Replanting
Countries like China, the United States, etc have extensive tree planting programs aimed towards planting millions of trees in the last decades. These programs aim to attribute land to the planting and conservation of trees especially threatened native species. Many first-world countries have intensive tree-planting programs.
These tree-planting programs have been successful as there have been recorded tree gains in Europe, Asia, and North America. Russia, for example, added 790,000 square kilometers, while China added 324,000 square kilometers of trees. These two countries have the highest populations of trees in the world. The replanting campaigns are one of the reasons why there are more trees today than 100 years ago.
How many trees were there 1,000 years ago?
Scientists have estimated that over a thousand years ago there were over 400 billion trees on earth. This is not comparable to the 6 trillion trees said to have occupied the earth about 6000 years prior. The abundance of trees and tree species was due to the way of life of people in those times.
The forests were a source of natural resources and were treated as sacred places in many cultures. Cutting down trees for building and use was minimal so the trees were naturally conserved. However, with time came development which led to urbanization. People needed these trees and their products on large scales leading to the industrial harvesting of trees.
How many trees are planted in the world
According to a study by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), more than 1.9 billion trees are planted yearly. About 158 million of these trees are planted to replace cut-down or harvested trees. In 2021, over 25 million trees were planted.
The study also estimates that of the 1.9 billion trees planted every year, 158 billion trees are planted every month, 5 million every day, and approximately 7,000 trees every minute. While this sounds like a lot, a study by nature journal stated that over 42 million trees are cut down every day. This adds up to approximately 15 billion trees every year.
However, for every 15 billion trees cut down worldwide, only 5 billion trees are replanted to replace them. This means we lose about 10 billion trees yearly. Many countries have replanting programs aimed at counteracting this deficit but it will take decades to close the gap.
Countries such as China, India, the United States, etc are among the biggest planters of trees. China planted an estimated 2.41 billion trees in 2021 making them the top country. India comes a close second with an estimated 2.16 billion trees planted.
What will happen if we don’t have enough trees?
In recent years, there has been constant education and sensitization of the public on the issue of trees. There have been programs, grants, lands, finances, and resources poured into the regeneration of trees in many countries all over the world.
However, our trees are that important. Why have so many resources gone into multiplying and sustaining the number of trees in the world? What will happen if we do not have enough trees? Well here are a few things that will happen if the world runs out of trees.
Increased pollution
Trees help to handle the pollution in our environment by taking in the carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels and producing oxygen as the end product of their respiration. This silent process is one of the reasons why humans and animals have oxygen available for respiration.
If there were no trees in the world, we would lose the largest natural carbon filter (trees). This will mean that the level of pollution will increase drastically. Humans and animals may find it hard to get good air to breathe without trees.
Rapid extinction of living things
Trees make up the majority of forests and forests serve as the natural habitats for many plants and animals. These trees serve as their homes, sources of food, shelter, etc. Many living things will go extinct if there are not enough trees to support their existence.
The rapid loss of biodiversity will have a very negative impact on the world. This is because plants and animals each have a role to play in the ecosystem so, without trees, that ecosystem will suffer. For instance, without trees, tree birds have no home. If they go extinct, their predators have no food, and so on.
Drastic climate change
Trees fight global warming caused by climate change by storing carbon in their trunks and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, high levels of Deforestation already account for 13% of total global carbon emissions. Without enough trees, this number will steadily increase till the world begins to experience drastic climate change. There will be drastic changes in weather patterns, global warming, melting of ice caps leading to flooding, etc.
Other issues that will arise include the acidification of oceans due to high carbon in that atmosphere killing most marine life, regular wildfires, increased risk of zoonotic diseases spreading to humans causing deaths, etc.
Resource: https://www.gotreequotes.com