The Trees are Watching
Trees have been around longer than any other organism on earth. The refresh our atmosphere and provide us with the oxygen we need to survive. Trees are extremely important to our survival, but at times we seem to forget about them and not treat them so well.
It is important to remember that trees are always watching... and that we need them.
Winter is an extremely tough time in the Tiaga Forest. Taiga, also known as coniferous or boreal forest, is the largest biome on earth. It extends in a broad band across North America, Europe, and Asia to the southern border of the arctic tundra . The Tiaga Forest is know for its coniferous trees. These trees can survive the harsh temperatures of the winter. They have pines and needles.
In the winter you can find animals such as foxes, hares, polar bears, lynx , wolverines , and moose.
Picture yourself in the Taiga watching a fox chase a hare. Imagine watching a polar bear guiding her young to shelter. Seeing a lynx would be amazing, as they are very rare. Stay away from the wolverine as they hunt down their prey. Then you see a moose, chomping on conifer needles .
Spring in the Redwoods Forest of California is an exciting time. The trees have been watching for thousands of years, they will see all of the springtime routine play out again.
The Pine Marten is native to the Redwood Forest. For the Pine Marten spring time is the best time to find food. What do they actually eat?
The Pine Marten relies on the trees to help it obtain food. They eat bird eggs that they find in the nests of trees, but that doesn't last forever. The Marten also preys on squirrels. What do squirrels eat? pinecones, which are found in the trees. The Pine Marten chases the squirrel though the trees, eats the squirrel in the trees, and takes shelter in the trees. Needless to say, the Redwood Forest is extremely important for the Pine Marten.
Grey Owls are also native to the Redwoods. In the spring time the young Grey Owls are lerning how to fly. The trees in the Redwoods help the Grey Owls too.
The first flight can be somewhat scary for the young owls. Picture this: jumping from a building that is 350 feet tall. That is exactly what the young owl is doing from the Redwood tree. Luckly the owl can jump from branch to branch to practice flying. Eventually the owls learn, with the help of the trees.
Decidious Trees differ from Coniferious Trees. Although both trees provide oxygen and shelter, Decidious Trees loose their leaves in the autumn and are bare in the winter months. In the spring Decidious Trees start to grow their leaves again. These borad leaves are thin, soft, and edible . Who would eat a leaf?
Caterpillars eat those leaves growing on the trees. As those caterpillars grow, birds begin to eat the caterpillars, and the birds take shelter within the tree. Again the trees are taking care of the animals around them.
On the East Coast of North America there are vast forests of decidious and coniferious trees. Although these trees have seen it all there are some trees that might not have seen a specific type of insect yet. That insect is the cicada .
Cicadas live underground for 17 years before finally coming up for a few short weeks. When they finally come up from underground the first thing the cicadas do is climb up the nearest tree. Thousands of cicadas make their way up the trees and invade the upper branches to break out of their exoskeleton . After that they are ready to fly.
Unfortunately the cicada is very clumsy... and edible. Soon after their first flight they are being eaten by the other animals around them. Frogs, toads, birds, squirrels, skunks, turtles, and racoons all feast on the cicada. Again we see trees helping out the rest of mother nature. Cicadas do give back though. when they die and their exoskeletons fall to the ground they act as a great fertilizer for the trees and plants around the forest.
In areas such as North America and Europe when autumn approaches the leaves of decidious trees begin to change colors. People see beautiful landscapes of light green, yellow, red, and orange. Although this means winter is approaching, it is also is considered to be a beautiful site. The change in the color of the leaves can even be seen from space. Evenutally the decidious trees will loose all of their leaves when winter comes. Coniferious trees, such as pine trees will stay green because their branches can withstand the winter temperature.
Not all trees loose their leaves because the weather is getting cooler. In the Teak Forest of India the trees loose their leaves because it is actually too hot.
The reason this happens is because of the dry season that lasts for months in the Teak. During a dry season there is little to no rain. Trees rely on the rain water to survive. The trees shed their leaves during the dry season because water usually evaporates off the leaves. Not having the leaves gives the tree a better chance of retaining any rain water that comes to them.
In Madagascar the seasons do not really match up to the ones we see in country either. Instead they see something called a rain season.
During the rain season in Madagascar the Baobab Tree thrives. The excess rain water leads to the blooming of the foot long flowers that are part of the Baobab tree. These flowers are rich with nectar . The nectar is extremely important for the Mouse Lemur and the Moths that live within the trees.
The Mouse Lemur (which is the worlds smallest primate) drinks the netar from the flower and gains a ton of energy. Moths also drink the nectar. What happens though is interesting. The Lemurs not only are able to drink the nectar, but they also then eat the moths. As we see again, the trees are helping the other organisms to survive. In return the moths and the lemurs help spread the pollen from the flowers.
Trees and the Forests that they live within are extremely important to our world. We need to remember that trees not only help us in our lives, they are also always watching. They have seen things that we have never seen and might not ever see. We need to respect what they have been through and what they do for our world.
No matter what season, winter, spring, summer, or autumn, trees take care of the other organisms around them. That is why we need to remember to also take care of the trees. Pollution and the consumption of trees is and will continue to be a big problem in our world. What can you do to help the trees?
Remember the Trees are always watching...