Tree Facts
Understanding trees begins with understanding how they work.
- Trees need a combination of water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to produce food for energy.
- Water, sugars, and carbohydrates are moved from leaves down through a tree to where they are needed for growth and defense.
- Water and minerals are absorbed from the soil by tree roots.
Roots
- 95% of a tree's roots are in the top 12 inches of soil. This is where roots find the best combinations of minerals, moisture, and carbon dioxide.
- In a natural setting, a tree's root spread is typically 4 to 10 times the extension of its branch spread.
- Tree usually produce between 4 to 11 major roots with millions of smaller feeder roots.
Bark
- Bark is composed of non-living tissue on the outside and living tissue on the inside.
- The bark of a tree protects the more delicate tissues underneath from infections, predators, and dying.
- When a trees bark is wounded, a tree can heal itself over time by walling the area with specialized tissues from the remainder of the tree.
Photosynthesis
- Trees are unique in their ability to convert sunlight into energy. This process is photosynthesis.
- Chlorophyll (the green matter in trees) captures and stores sunlight as food (carbohydrates and sugars) for future energy use.
- Oxygen is a by-product of photosynthesis produced by trees when stored energy is converted for use.
