Consider the importance of trees

Trees are all around us, and we take them for granted. We seldom think of the intimate quality of our relationship trees. They are necessary for our existence. They make our environment green, and provide shade. They make our mountains stable, control weather to a certain extent and discipline the rivers and add beauty to nature. Their species are legion and their usefulness to man inestimable. The olive branch symbolises peace, and the Christmas tree reminds us of peace on earth and goodwill towards our fellowmen. In ancient times, trees were regarded as abodes of evil spirits.They were also considered deities who were the guardians of the fertility of the soil. When the economic era dawned trees came to be considered in terms of cash. The felling of trees had been indiscriminate, and man was quick to realise that his attitude towards trees had brought him to the brink of disaster. Man today has realised the importance of ecology and so the importance of trees In maintaining an equilibrium with our environment.

The avaricious, modern man has not been kind to trees. While in the very ancient past trees were considered spirits or the habitation of spirits, the modern man, who considers trees in terms of cash, has been rather unrestrained in his felling of trees until recently when it dawned on him that it was necessary to restrain himself so as to achieve an equilibrium with his environment. For ages, he thought only of immediate gains, although he was aware of the importance of trees and the harm he could do to himself and posterity by his indiscriminate destruction of trees.



The mention of the word ‘trees’ brings to mind timber and wood. Look around and you are bound to see articles made of wood. While the ancient man cut down branches of trees to build a fire, the modern man uses timber to fashion many of his domestic articles. A modern building, be it a skyscraper, cannot be complete without this ubiquitous timber of which trees form the source. Trees which are felled in Kalimantan and Sabah find their way as timber to Japan and European countries. Logging and lumbering industries thrive on account of the demand for timber. Could it be said that, in one sense, trees, therefore, form a link between the past and present? Trees are a source of many products. Latex is yielded by the rubber tree. Rubber and coconuts are two of the three main cash crops produced in Sri Lanka. The fruit which trees yielded is a valuable source of mineral, salts and vitamin. The humble banana is a potassium supplement. Ayurvedic practitioners recommend it as a purgative. The importance of trees is recognised by governments and there are nature reserves where trees are protected. Trees add to the beauty of nature. Trees planted along roads add a touch of nature to our surroundings, which would otherwise have looked artificial and unattractive. Singapore is green, thanks to foliage.

While to the unsuperstitious and instructed modern man the tree is synonymous with timber and cash, to the ancient man trees were objects of fear and worship. In India, it was believed that certain spirits, known as vana devatas, dwelt in trees. In Persia, the malignant demon, Siltim, haunted the forests in human form and spelt pain and injury to man wherever he appeared. However, many denizens of the wood were of an amiable nature. Trees were supposed to have the power to make a thief declare himself. Fairies were supposed to inhabit trees. We relish the scene in Shakespeare’s The Tempest in which Prospero opens a pine tree and lets Ariel out. Most of the mythological gods started as trees. Though they held court on mountains, they could not have reached there without the benefit of the oak, the ivy, the maple and the mistletoe. The Greeks believed that the oak was the habitation of the Thunder-god, Zeus. There is the tree of enlightenment. It was while meditating under a Bo tree that Gautama received enlightenment. We still pay a certain homage to the mystery of the tree when we set up a Christmas Tree. The conductor has his baton and the conjurer his wand. The influence of the trees is written on the window-tracery of cathedrals and in our humble homes.



The sentimental attitude of the ancient people towards trees apart, the modern man has to be thankful to trees for various reasons. Modem science has restored the original idea that trees guard the fertility of the soil. The tree-roots that ramify in different directions keep soil down, thereby preserving valuable manure. Trees cool the air that is heated up by the rays of the sun that beat down upon the earth. Trees exert a moderating influence upon temperature and this is due to the enormous transpiration of water from them. Trees warm the air too. They exude life-giving oxygen. In new Brunswick where River St John freezes in November,if one goes haif a miie into the woods, he would experience inild and pleasant sir Trees in a way influence the quantity and distribution of rainfall. Trees add to the weight of clouds by transpiration, and thus induce rainfall. Many mountains are held together by plants and trees. A mountain without trees is an absurdity, for trees not only prop up the pile but also attract rain. When there are trees, the leaves and the branches cushion the fall of rain-water which trickles to the ground. Similarly, snow is first received by the trees’ leaves and branches and it melts as it trickles down the barks or fall in lumps to the ground. If there are no trees and if there is no seepage effect, rain water, which is not sponged up, will run down taking with it the top soil. Then the rivers will flood and they will silt up. Trees are also windbreaks. They are a natural wall against the onslaught of winds. Trees are the residence of birds which compose a force that serve the rhythm of nature.

Coal, which used to propel industries, is trees unearthed from the bowels of the earth. When forests were underground, to a depth sometimes equal to the height of Mont Blanc, they became subjected to extreme temperature and pressure. They were squashed into pulp and became hardened black rock which we call coal.

Man’s attitude towards trees has changed. He is aware today that it is foolish to fell trees indiscriminately because the problem of afforestation is linked with the major problem of soil erosion and even with that of climate. Trees are much more than meets the eye. They exert a considerable influence upon the fall and distribution of rain. They influence the behaviour of floods.