trees and man

©2007 mark laurence

design note no. 2011

subject:	trees and mankind: our lost relationship
problem:	We depend upon trees and forest to survive

Trees are the lungs of the earth; they provide oxygen, they cloth the ground, protecting it from erosion. Trees give us heat and light, food and timber to build with. Most of all, they give us richness and spiritual sanctuary.

problem:

We have largely forgotten how to live in harmony with nature, and that temperate regions (if not indeed most places) need to be wooded. Removal of vegetation inevitably leads to soil erosion and denudation of the environment: witness the Sahara desert, which once was vast forest, or the Mediterranean, denuded by the Greeks and Romans of its great Cedar forests. To quote J. Russell Smith, author of “Tree Crops, a Permanent Agriculture” (1950) there is a natural progression that mankind imposes: Tree > Field > Desert.

It is almost universally true that whenever a civilization has denuded it's environment of trees, it has directly caused it's own collapse. Linked closely to the amount of forestation is the amount of precipitation. Trees cause rain by means of evpotranspiration from their foliage, whilst barren soils disperse cloud formation. Thus as civilizations have exploited their surroundings, felling the native forest and increasing agriculture and grazing, the climate and landscape has been changed, moving into a state of long-term decline towards desertification. This fact may not be apparent at the time, because man thinks he is in control of the land and agricultural yields may actually increase, whereas what they are really doing is sowing the seeds of their own demise. Deforested land quickly erodes, either from rain or wind, causing flooding, loss of fertility, landslides and the silting up of rivers. Agricultural productivity drops, as witnessed in the USA with the giant “dust bowl” during the 1930's; the same is happening now in China and India at an alarming rate.

solution:

If we could but realise that trees are our ancestral home, that their history interweaves with ours, then we would understand our place in nature far better. We are certainly beginning to realise the value of trees when they are no longer there.

With an ever growing population and ever diminishing land suitable for agriculture or grazing (due to increasing desertification), trees may offer the true salvation of mankind. Whilst we can only farm 8 – 10% of the world's landmass, it has been estimated (by J. Sholto Douglas) that up to 75% of the land could be planted with trees, and in particular tree crops. Trees can halt the spread of deserts by stabilizing the soil, fixing nitrogen and some species even use reverse transpiration, taking moisture from the air at night and passing it out into the soil. Trees that provide harvestable food are generally little utilised and can offer heavy crops to feed people or animals with little or no petrochemical input. Imagine getting higher yields per acre, with no need for diesel or artificial fertiliser and considerably less labour!

Every community can and should be surrounded by agroforestry plantations, forest gardens timber stands and native woodland. Agroforestry allows the growing of trees and crops such as wheat, oats or corn on the same land. It is worth remembering that to produce a ton of (irrigated) corn requires 1000 tons of water! Trees are a much better investment for the planet and for our mind, body and soul. Think how much carbon all those trees would absorb - enough, perhaps, to counter all the carbon pollution that we presently create. We can produce energy from biomass - not from acres of corn, with all its petrochemical input, but from woodchips from willow plantations and forestry offcuts (a major wasted resource in Canada). Every farm and village community could combine this with wind and solar to create most, if not all, of its energy needs.

In all of this we would find ourselves reconnecting to nature. If we care for the trees and the water, all else will fall into place. Most of all, our minds would find a deeper understanding of the process of life and our souls would be uplifted in ways that in our technological me-first lifestyles, we seldom experience. A balanced and abundant environment is our rightful heritage - not a denuded and polluted wasteland. The choice is ours: trees equal abundance.

You may wish to read the following design note: 3011: forest gardens
and articles:edible landscapes and edible shrubs.