The Environmental Benefits of Proper Tree Maintenance

How well you care for a tree determines its strength, ability to tolerate harsh conditions, and how long it lives. A well-maintained tree embodies growth and life. It provides us not only with shade and shelter, but with tranquility and peace as well. 

One way to keep your trees in good shape is to give them a trim on a regular basis. Proper tree pruning helps preserve your greenery’s beauty and integrity, boost its health, and protect the wildlife that calls it home. 

We are going to look into more ways your trees will benefit from regular trimming, but first, let’s see what properly maintained trees do for our environment. 

Purify Air

Trees play a huge role when it comes to purifying air; they absorb ammonia, ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and other pollutant gases, leaving us with clean air to inhale. Trees also filter particulate matter out of the air by trapping it on their bark and leaves. 

Well-maintained trees are particularly essential in urban settings, as they help purify the air through their natural cycle of carbon dioxide absorption. Trees reduce the high concentration of carbon dioxide in these areas through photosynthesis, a process that releases oxygen back into the air.  It is a pretty neat cycle and one crucially important to living organisms. 

Provide Habitats for Wildlife 

It’s only natural that wherever we plant trees, wildlife and other vegetation are sure to follow. Proper tree care enhances growth diversity, creating an environment conducive to the growth and thriving of vegetation that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Also, as the trees continue to grow, they attract a host of wildlife such as birds, squirrels, and insects wanting to make the trees their home and source of food. 

Planted near a water body, trees help reduce air and water temperatures, improving the overall health of the aquatic environment, and providing the perfect habitat for marine species like fish, turtles, otters, and beavers. 

Prevent Soil Erosion

The extent of damage soil erosion is likely to cause depends on the land’s vegetative cover. Bare soils will basically offer no protection against the damage from rain and wind.  

Proper tree care improves the environment in which the trees grow, making it ideal for other plants to flourish. The ground cover beneath your tree’s canopy is perhaps one of the best protections against soil erosion. In addition, when you provide excellent habitat for it grow, you significantly increase the land’s chances of fighting erosion. 

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Conserve Energy

Tree care should not begin when your trees reach a certain age; it should start when planting the trees by ensuring you are placing them in the right spots. Strategically planted trees have been found to be quite effective when it comes to reducing energy costs in homes. They cool your home in the hot, scorching summers and, come winter, they provide an excellent windbreaker. This reduces the number of hours you run your cooling and heating equipment, which significantly lowers your energy bills.

Plant deciduous species that shed their leaves in the winter; these block heat and provide shade during summer. By losing their foliage in the fall, they allow sunlight to penetrate your property in the winter. Plant these trees on the west and south sides of buildings. Don’t forget to shade sidewalks, driveways, patios, and other hard surfaces; it will help reduce landscape heat load. 

Proper Tree Pruning and What It Does to Your Greenery

Pruning is simply removing branches from a tree. The purpose is to get rid of unwanted limbs, boost new, healthy growth, and improve the overall structure of the tree. Almost any tree will benefit from regular care and pruning; younger trees, however, will require more pampering to grow aesthetically and into a structurally sound shape. 

There is way more to tree pruning than just selectively removing unwanted branches; you need to do it right to avoid irreversible chopping mistakes.  Improper tree trimming can easily result in costly or even permanent damage to your valuable greenery. For this reason (and many others), it would be wise to work with a professional tree service. Enlisting the services of an expert will help reduce the risk of killing a healthy tree not only from over-pruning, but also from neglect. 

Here is how your trees themselves benefit from proper pruning:

Improved Health 

Proper tree care involves getting rid of anything that may negatively affect your trees’ health and hinder their ability to serve their intended purpose. Pruning, being an important part of tree maintenance gets you cutting off any decayed, dead, or diseased limbs, which helps prevent the problem from spreading to the healthy parts of the tree and killing the entire plant. 

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Proper Sunlight Penetration

Pruning creates spaces to allow sunlight to penetrate deeper into the canopy. Sunlight is important for photosynthesis, and when there is proper penetration, the tree is able to make food effectively. As a result, your tree produces new, healthy foliage and branches, keeping it looking alive and vibrant. 

Not just that; the plants beneath it also get enough sunlight. Overgrown branches shade the region directly underneath the tree from this essential commodity, making it unfit for plant growth. When these branches are removed, both new and existing plants can thrive below the tree. 

Increased Fruit Production

It’s a no brainer; when a tree has fewer leaves and branches (generally less volume to worry about), it is able to channel most of its energy into fruit production. Experts recommend pruning trees in the winter, as very little growth happens during this season. Trees reserve their energy which can then be used for growth and fruit-bearing in the spring and summer.  

The Takeaway

Caring for your trees has plenty of benefits for you, your trees, and for the environment itself. Not only does proper tree maintenance keep your wallet thicker by reducing energy costs, but it also helps maintain the quality of your natural surroundings. With proper tree pruning, you can ensure your greenery always stays in tiptop condition so it can serve you and the environment for years to come.

Author bio: My name is David William and I am a certified arborist with over 10 years of professional experience with The Local Tree Experts. Tree care is something I have had a passion for since I was a little boy. I enjoy reading and constantly upgrading my knowledge as well as writing about common issues and interesting tree care and maintenance techniques.