How Trees Clean Water

Leah Feor  | June  01,  2016 | 3 min read

Trees are designed by nature to hold and clean water, making them a vital part of any infrastructure whether it be in an urban or rural area. In a previous blog, How Planting Trees Can Help Reduce Your Carbon Footprint, we explained that mature trees help reduce runoff in urban settings. This prevents water from ending up in storm drains, and that reduces dependency on water treatment facilities. The benefits add up over time, since gallons of rainfall are diverted from treatment, saving time and energy.

While the planet is made up of two thirds water, and the human body contains about 60%, trees hold a little less, 50% of their weight in water

trees clean water

how trees absorb water

Trees not only save rain water from ending up in the storm drains, trees also play a large role in our ecosystems watershed. A watershed is an area of land that catches the water which then makes its way into streams, rivers, lakes, and ultimately to the sea.

After a period of heavy rainfall or flash flooding, trees will absorb a large part of the rainfall, which reduces the negative environmental impact. These trees will then release water back into the earth and atmosphere over time rather than all at once.

This unique system allows trees to absorb water through the leaves – sending it off into the air as oxygen and water vapor – and also pushing the water down through its roots, filtering out harmful substances as it flows into our groundwater.

how trees absorb water

how trees prevent soil erosion

In addition to helping to absorb rainfall and to clean the water, trees' unique root system is holding everything together underground, preventing soil erosion.

Why is erosion prevention important? Because at a time when sea levels are rising and people are living on the water’s edge, erosion prevention is crucial to help reduce landslides and land losses, which can have devastating consequences to both the environment and the local community. 

river in a forest

One small act such as planting a tree can play a part in mitigating the consequences of natural disasters. Keep in mind though; you need to do the act before the benefits appear. So go ahead and plant a tree, or perhaps gift a tree to a loved one. After all, it’s an investment that costs far less than an umbrella, and it will help shelter us from some of the biggest storms.

Longleaf Pine Main Image
Longleaf Pine Restoration
Longleaf Pine Tree Planter
Plant Trees Where They're Needed Most
Longleaf Pine Landscape
Longleaf Pine Planting
Longleaf Pine Main Image
Longleaf Pine Restoration
Longleaf Pine Tree Planter
Plant Trees Where They're Needed Most
Longleaf Pine Landscape
Longleaf Pine Planting

Plant Trees Where They're Needed Most

As the need for reforestation is global and ever-changing, we feature where trees are most needed now. This project is currently supporting Longleaf Pine Restoration. Learn more

With your help, we will:

  • Protect wildlife habitat and increase biodiversity
  • Restore essential watersheds for soil stability and erosion control
  • Sequester carbon in the biomass of the forests through climate stability
  • Longleaf pine forests are among the most biodiverse in North America and provide habitat for numerous threatened and endangered species. Longleaf pine forests are well-adapted to a warming climate as longleaf pine is a resilient species that is fire-dependent, drought-tolerant, and long-lived. Reforestation of longleaf pine ecosystems- to increase, maintain, and enhance the species- has been identified as a priority area within America's Longleaf Range Wide Conservation Plan. 🌲
  • Our longleaf pine reforestation project will restore habitats, control soil erosion, and sequester carbon in an effort to stabilize the climate in the area. Not only will wildlife benefit from the clean air and water provided by the planted trees, but the surrounding community will, too. This project will work with a variety of landowners whose responsible forest management and stewardship will only further increase the benefits for species residing on the lands. Some of the most notable species that will benefit from habitat restoration include gopher tortoises, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and eastern indigo snakes
  • A personalized tree certificate (see gallery) to say thanks for your donation. We'll also send you updates about our Longleaf Pine Restoration project, so you can track the impact your trees are having on the ground!
  • We always plant a mix of diverse, native species from local nurseries. This project is working to replenish longleaf forests, so the native species grown in the nurseries will mainly be longleaf pine, but also include shortleaf pine and loblolly pine.

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