Approximately half of the "Greenhouse effect" that is warming our planet is caused by carbon dioxide, emitted from things such as car exhausts, industrial smokestacks. In the process of growth, trees absorb this carbon dioxide through the leaves, and store it as wood in the trunks and branches. Meanwhile they release pure oxygen back into the air. An acre of trees can absorb enough carbon dioxide over a year's time to equal the amount produced when a car is driven 26,000 miles. The same acre can produce enough oxygen each day for 18 people to breathe healthy air.

 What trees provide

·   Trees provide leafy shade and cool moisture. In sum­mer, a single mature tree releases about 100 gallons of clean water vapor per day into the air and provides the cooling equivalent of nine room air conditioners.

· Trees protect your soil from erosion, merely by in­tercepting heavy precipitation by their leaves and by an­choring it with their roots. Fallen leaves, twigs and pine needles carpeting the woodland floor also protect the soil from eroding under heavy rainfall.

·  For your table, trees provide you with a renewable source of nuts and fruit, maple sugar for your pancakes. You have your own supply of firewood and even timber for lumbering.

· Trees provide food and shelter for wildlife that liven your place with bird song and animal activity. The branches create homes for birds, squirrels and raccoons, while a woodchuck may live in the shelter of its roots. Deer roam through a woodlot, and on a lucky day, even a bear might stroll along. The Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) provides information on enhancing your property for wildlife such as bobwhite quails, rabbits, songbirds, grouses, and squirrels.

· Trees are especially important in bordering your stream. As a buffer between the stream bank and the adjacent field or lawn, trees provide perennial, deep-reaching root systems that stabilize the stream bank, hold­ing back the soil from eroding, and taking up nutrients into long-term storage and preventing them from enter­ing the stream. A buffer slows the velocity of rainwater runoff, holding back water from adding to a flood.

· Stream trees form a canopy to shade the river, cooling the waters. They also provide bits of foliage, bark, leaf litter, and insects that fall into the water, supplying fish and aquatic organisms with food and shelter.

· Local native riparian tree species are best, since they co evolve with our stream habitats. Trees recommended for our river edges include river birch, black ash, and sycamore. Understory trees and shrubs that are tolerant of flooding and wet soils include buttonbush, pussy wil­low, swamp azalea, spicebush, dogwood, and maple leaf viburnum. They provide additional structure to the bank and shade to the stream.

Best Management Practices

To get the most benefit from your trees, you need to care for them wisely to ensure their health and produc­tivity. Woodland management involves learning Best Management Practices (BMP)such as judicious trimming and pruning while letting trees grow naturally, as well as pulling down poison ivy and Virginia creeper vines that climb to the sun and can strangle your trees. Letting dead trees fall to provide rotting wood and nourishment to woodpeckers and other inhabitants of the woods is also important. Also BMP provide methods for coping with pests, diseases, and weeds.

In choosing to plant trees on your property, think out specific questions. For instance, what kind of tree do you want?—Big, small, flowering, fruit, shade? And what kind of planting site do you have?—Sunny, shady, wet, dry, sandy, acid, alkaline?

You might want some trees 30 to 50 feet high for your yard, such as mountain ash (Scorbus aucuparia), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), gingko (Gingko biloba) (male trees only—the females have an unpleasant odor), American holly (Ilex opaca), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana ), red maple (Acer rubrum).

If you wish trees greater than 50 feet, try American beech (Fagusgradifolia), black gum (Nyssa sysslvatica), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), or some of the oaks: bur (Quercus macrocarpa), red (Q. borealis), white (Q. alba). Sy­camore (Platanus) and tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) grow into fine tall trees.

Plant carefully!

Once you have chosen your tree, take time to plant it carefully. You might consult a tree care professional to help you take the right basic steps. "It's better to put a $50 tree in a $100 hole than a $100 tree in a $50 hole," says the International Society of Arboriculture.

Here are a few basic steps for planting: Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and twice as wide. If the tree is balled and burlapped, cut the string and remove all accessible burlap. Use good native soil and mulch to add around the tree. NEVER apply high nitrogen fertilizer at planting time: it may burn tender roots. Gently tamp down the earth around the tree Water the tree regularly, at least once a week and more frequently during hot weather. Keep the soil moist.