Death of a Mother Tree!

           My friend Sandy points at the birth year of a daughter tree, cut down at the age of twenty-six. Pictured below the stump of the Mother tree and behind her the broken stump of her mother; the grandmother tree. Beyond these trees the apartment building where I live, looks out on this small copse of trees. Last year a Humming bird mom nested and raised two young to maturity in the Silver Maple closest to my window. 

        A story of organic life and death to be told.  A floodplain tree Silver Maples can live for 130 years. Fast growing with shallow roots Silver Maples tolerate wetter conditions than most. Frequently planted in yards and along streets they tolerate typical lawn watering. I grew up in southern Indiana on a short street lined by large Silver Maples. These large trees provided welcomed shade. On the hottest steamy day I could walk down the middle of the street and remain under their cooling shadows. Many changes have occurred since my boyhood years that now seems quite long ago. Global warming then not even a topic at all.    

Stump of the Mother Tree

    

       This small patch of trees remains after ongoing development changed old farms into subdivisions of houses and apartment buildings. Before the farms Native Americans hunted, gathered and raised crops on small plots. The landscape then no doubt more heavily forested.

         Eighty-two year old this Mother tree had to be cut down. The development of homes along with roofs and pavement allow ninety percent of all water that lands on those hard surfaces to run off. In contrast ninety percent of all water that hits a tree does not run off. The housing development that changed the landscape here directed the run off from streets and roofs to drain into this naturally low lying part of the landscape. 

        Every plant including trees needs oxygen to grow their root system.  Wetland plants like cattails have hollow stems to allow oxygen to be conducted down into the root system. Only a few trees can live in saturated soils. As more and more water inundated these Silver Maples trees the shallow root systems could no longer get the oxygen needed. This Mother and many of her neighbors drowned.     

Flood Copse of Trees 

         

         Paralleling Syene Road a paved pedestrian path runs next to the Mother tree.  To protect we two legged beings who walked beneath her dead rotting limbs she had to be removed. You can see in the picture above saw dust left over from removal of several other trees that had died due to the flooded soil.

       Consider global warming, all the problems already manifesting with increased fires,  hotter temperatures, increased numbers and more virulent storms, and the displacement of people when weather patterns change to make their home lands unlivable. How can some of these impacts be mitigated? Trees need to be recognized as a Keystone species. The term coined for the stone in the middle of an arch which holds the structure together. Remove that keystone and the arch collapses. Biologists have found that Keystone species make a diversified healthy ecosystem possible. When Keystone species are severely reduced or lost the health of an ecosystem suffers. Essential for our continued evolutionary development trees support our health and welfare. Trees remove carbon dioxide, store carbon in their bodies and the soil. 

          Half of all the oxygen we breathe comes from trees and other land plants. Yearly a single mature tree produces as much oxygen as ten of us need to breathe and live. Trees prevent erosion, provide clean water, help cool us, block wind, attract wildlife, birds and provide fruit and nuts to eat. One acre of trees removes the same amount of carbon dioxide that we exhaust in driving 26,000 miles. About 15 billion trees are cut down each year. At that rate without replacement earth would be devoid of trees in about 200 years. Although complete destruction of this resource seems unlikely this demonstrates how important reforestation is to maintain a healthy environment. Trees also remove pollutants we might breathe from the air. Yes, Trees truly exist as a Key Keystone Species.

 

            Consider our evolution to become human beings. Researchers now believe our real ancient ancestors instead of being knuckle-draggers were arborists. Our ancestors first learned to walk on tree limbs while picking fruit to eat. Literally we could not have evolved without trees.  

            

        One billion acres of forest have been lost since 1990, converted to farmland and other uses. The good news is that there exists in the world an area the size of the United States available to plant one trillion trees. The Biden Administration announced plans to plant over a billion trees to replace millions of acres of burned woodlands. Other countries are also working to plant trees. In China they're planting trees to prevent desertification of farmland. 

        Consider the saying, Think Globally, Act Locally. The death of these Silver Maples in this wet area is the result of unintended consequences. The planners probably didn't foresee that the extra water directed into this low area would kill the trees. In fact in this planned development many structures have been built to mitigate water runoff and increase storm water infiltration into the ground. Our drinking and bathing water comes from wells sunk deep in the ground. Hind sight though wishes the daughter tree had not been cut down. She had just reached an age where she would have taken in and stored more carbon. 

 

        The Menominee Indian Tribe in Wisconsin has become recognized world wide for wise use of their forest resource. For 150 years the Menominee Tribe has managed their forest resources for productivity and sustainability. Many years ago timber barons literally clear cut the vast majority of Wisconsin woodlands. At that time the government supported the over harvesting of timber. The Menominee Tribe resisted pressure to over harvest timber on tribal property. Instead they valued their timber resources as important to the long term health and welfare of future generations and the ecosystem they live in. They actively manage their forests for sustainability and diversity to maintain a long term healthy, vibrant, productive forest.  

Sunrise from My Window

        Above the copse of woods as viewed at sunrise from my window. Below three grandsons with a giant Black Walnut, a mother tree, preserved between houses in a small park the size of a building lot. At 230 years of age this Black Walnut continues to thrive. Not far from her on Syene Road the remnant farm house and property supports several healthy daughter trees.

              

        That this ancient Black Walnut has been preserved rather than cut down for another house lot represents a change in consciousness. The awareness that trees play an important role in our lives. Below a poem I wrote a number of years ago to express the value of trees in a few brief words.

Tree

Eats brilliant sunrays,

Uplifts feathered green arms,

Bridges blue sky, brown earth. 

           Every thoughtful person I know who has matured into seniority would love to leave the planet in as good of shape as we found it.  For our children, grandchildren and all those that follow us. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy proposed planning for sustainability for seven generations. Surprising to most Americans Benjamin Franklin so admired their governance that their form of government contributed to the formation of our Constitution. 

            What does the future hold for the generations now living on planet earth? The fallout from Global Warming no doubt will continue to accelerate and have to be dealt with. To counteract those impacts many people now plant trees as a legacy that they can leave to all who come after us. Go to arborday.org for a great video and more information. Arbor Day has been promoting and helping to get trees planted for 50 years. They want to plant 500 million trees by 2027. 

            Let us now praise the tree. A vertical being that shares by growing into the light, spreads horizontal limbs with leaves to capture energy for you me and everyone we love. 

            Bless you my friends for joining me. May peace and serenity be yours!  

Thankful Acknowledgments  

        My friend Sandy not only served as a hand model, she also helped me clean saw dust from the Mother tree stump so we could count the rings. Due to rot in the middle we needed to estimate those early years of the Mother tree. Sandy noticed the daughter's tree stump as we were leaving. We stopped to count those rings and used the innermost section to estimate the growth of the Mother tree's early years.  

Arbor Day at arborday.org; Jennifer Rudeklett; a Wisconsin Freelance writer; "What are Wisconsin's Keystone Plants," in the Milwaukee Sentinel paper; jrudelette.com;  weforum.org; discovery.com; and www. scienceinschool.org; 

Anthony G. Hendricks, author, poet, nature lover -- naturally;  Buddha Blues, just published with a great cover created by his Sister Judith; available at Amazon as print on demand or as an e book at Amazon or Kobo. With formatting help on cover and interior by Woven Red. Other books The Wasteland Revisited, a book length poem about the dystopia causing global warming; available as an e book at Amazon; A Journey In The Human Dilemma, collected poetry and prose; trade paper back.