Trees Give Us Oxygen

The Power of One Tree – The Very Air We Breathe

“A tree has the ability to provide an essential of life for all living things on our planet – oxygen, and the power to remove harmful gases like carbon dioxide making the air we breathe healthier.

“Here is how it works: To keep it simple a tree is comprised of its leaves, stems, trunk and its roots. When you look at a tree, note that about five percent of the tree is comprised of its leaves, 15 percent its stems, 60 percent goes into its truck and 20 percent is devoted to its roots.

“Here is the super hero part. Through a process called photosynthesis, leaves pull in carbon dioxide and water and use the energy of the sun to convert this into chemical compounds such as sugars that feed the tree. But as a by-product of that chemical reaction oxygen is produced and released by the tree. It is proposed that one large tree can provide a day’s supply of oxygen for up to four people.”

Excerpted from The Power of One Tree – The Very Air We Breathe, Stancil, U.S. Forest Service, 2015