Green Marvels

Sometimes, the greatest journeys occur when we stand still. This is an important lesson from one of nature’s miracle workers ~ the tree. Trees have been around for about 400 million years. In contrast, humans have only existed for about 100 million years. Today, as the world comes to a standstill, trees offer us amazing journeys, of insight, listening and memory. In heeding trees, we enrich ourselves immeasurably. Problems that today’s world faces originate from our growing dissociation from ~ and disregard for ~ nature.

The cardinal error of our modern, industrial way of life is the way in which we continue to treat irreplaceable natural capital as income. In the words of E.F. Schumacher, “Modern man does not experience himself as a part of nature, but as an outside force destined to dominate and conquer it. He even talks of a battle with nature, forgetting that if he won the battle, he would find himself on the losing side.” Aristotle’s dogma that plants have souls but no sensation lasted through the Middle Ages and into the eighteenth century, when Carl von Linne, grandfather of modern botany, declared that plants differ from animals and human only in their lack of movement.

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But the great 19th century English naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin proved that every tendril of plant has its power of independent movement and noted that plants “acquire and display this power only when it is of some advantage to them.” A tree indeed is a life form. When one plucks a leaf from a tree, living cells around the area undergo violent disturbances. Scientist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose invented a device called a crescograph, an incredibly sensitive instrument capable of magnifying plant movement up to 10,000 times, and with the help of this sensitive instrument a plant’s reactions to exposure to external stimulus were made visible.

Right thinking is the product of understanding, and understanding is constantly undergoing modification and change. Generally, we never look at a tree, or if we do it is with a view to using that tree, either to sit in its shade, or to cut it down for lumber. In other words, we look at trees with a utilitarian purpose; we never look at a tree without projecting ourselves and utilizing it for our own convenience. We never consider what global experts time and again point out ~ trees are among the world’s most astonishing marvels of science.

Indeed, the true matrix of human life is the green covering mother earth. Without green plants we would neither breath nor eat. On the undersurface of every leaf a million movable lips are engaged in devouring carbon dioxide (C02) and expelling oxygen. A tree produces up to 260 pounds of oxygen per year. Studies find that around 25 million square miles of leaf surface are daily engaged in the miracle of photosynthesis, producing oxygen and food for man and beast. Trees cause countless economic benefits because they resist soil erosion, enhance soil fertility and water storage.

Such soil facilitates growth of other crops. That is why agroforestry represents a very exciting opportunity to restore trees while increasing agricultural yields. The abundance of plants profitably used by man is indicated by nearly six hundred pages in Uphof’s Dictionary of Economic Plants, Agriculture. Trees live in association with thousands of microorganisms in the soil. These include fungi that trees need to survive. When trees capture CO2 from the atmosphere through carbon sequestration, much of the carbon enters the soil to feed those microorganisms, which are responsible for building up of healthy soil that supports life and stores carbon for a long time.

Thus, a perfect eco-system is maintained. Studies find one tree can have the cooling effect of 10 air-conditioning units. A tree removes harmful atmospheric chemicals and particulate matters (PM), and removes CO2 through carbon sequestration. Thus, trees powerfully slow down climate change. The beauty of the outdoors naturally encourages people to go outside, inhale fresh air, listen to the birds, take a walk, or watch the wind animate the branches of the steadfast neighbouring trees.

A study by the University of Illinois found that people who regularly spend time in city parks have significantly lower stress levels than those who spend time in the concrete jungle of the city. The Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku (literally means “forest bathing”) has become a popular therapeutic method worldwide. It relies on trained guides, who set a deliberately slow pace of movement through a forest to experience the pleasure of nature through all senses. Decades of research show that forest bathing may help reduce stress, improve well-being and attention, create relaxation and lower nervous system activity, boost immunity, lift the mood, temper inflammation and reduce oxidative stress and blood glucose levels while enhancing sleep. Stress raises levels of the hormone cortisol.

Levels of cortisol seemed decreased appreciably after a walk in the forest, compared with people who walked in a laboratory setting. In fact, trees give off airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) composed of essential oils in the atmosphere. Some forest VOCs are defined as “phytoncides”. The Russian biologist Boris Petrovich Tokin coined the term by combining two words, “phyton”, which refers to plants and “cide”, which indicates “killing” or “exterminating”. Phytoncides have antimicrobial and insecticidal properties to protect trees from insects and bacteria.

These VOCs released from trees create a field of protection. One Japanese study showed a rise in the number and activity of immune cells called natural killer cells, which fight viruses and cancer, among people who spent three days and two nights in a forest versus people who took an urban trip. These benefits lasted for more than a month after taking a forest bath. A recent study in the UK of more than 20,000 people showed that spending at least 120 minutes a week in a forest improved self-reported health and well-being. Interestingly, it does not matter whether the 120 minutes represent one long trip, or several shorter trips.

Some research also suggests that exposure to VOCs help lift depression, lower blood pressure and may also reduce anxiety. Tree oils contain 3-carene. Studies in animals suggest this substance may help lessen inflammation, protect against infection, lower anxiety and even enhance quality of sleep. There are thousands of phytoncides, but the most common forest-related compounds and their beneficial effects on health of forest visitors are shown in the accompanying table.

Humans have been enjoying the medicinal benefits of trees for thousands of years. Rainforest plants alone provide derivatives that are key ingredients in 25 per cent of modern medicines. Trees and plants extracts contain a variety of bioactive compounds that help with everything from managing pain to staunching bleeding, sterilizing wounds, thus strengthening our immune system. It is almost impossible to list the thousands of benefits that trees provide to support life on Earth. For all practical purposes, trees are our natural allies for living longer, heathier and happier lives. A Chinese proverb says: “Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.”

(The writer is a retired IAS officer)