The atmosphere of the Earth has a different composition from that of other planets in part due to the biochemical reactions of Earth's organisms. Trees and plankton play a big role in this. You've probably heard that trees produce oxygen, but have you ever wondered how much oxygen that is? You'll hear a range of numbers and ways of presenting them because the amount of oxygen produced by a tree depends on the species of tree, its age, its health, and also on the tree's surroundings. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, "a mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year." Here are some other quoted figures regarding the amount of oxygen produced by a tree:
"A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs./year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 human beings."
- McAliney, Mike. Arguments for Land Conservation: Documentation and Information Sources for Land Resources Protection, Trust for Public Land, Sacramento, CA, December, 1993
"One acre of trees annually consumes the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that produced by driving an average car for 26,000 miles. That same acre of trees also produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe for a year."
- New York Times
“A 100-ft tree, 18" diameter at its base, produces 6,000 pounds of oxygen."
"On average, one tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four."
- Environment Canada, Canada's national environmental agency
"Mean net annual oxygen production (after accounting for decomposition) per hectare of trees (100% tree canopy) offsets oxygen consumption of 19 people per year (eight people per acre of tree cover), but ranges from nine people per hectare of canopy cover (four people/ac cover) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to 28 people/ha cover (12 people/ac cover) in Calgary, Alberta."- Environment Canada, Canada's national environmental agency
- U.S. Forest Service and International Society of Arboriculture joint publication
Great job parker! loved the introduction you had there, and great topic to choose, i feel poeple talk a lot about the fact that trees take in carbon dioxide and put out oxygen but never go into detail with how much oxygen exactly they produce. loved the facts, they were super fascinating, maybe it would've been great if you had a little conclusion at the end there, felt a little bit like a dead ending :)
ReplyDeleteGreat job??? This is identical to http://chemistry.about.com/b/2011/04/26/how-much-oxygen-does-one-tree-produce.htm
DeleteOne of those is unoriginal.... or both were copied from another site.
Brilliant.
The same information appears in many places. And by the way it's very deceiving. Even huge trees turnover less than 150 - 200kg of oxygen per year. 6,000 lbs (nearly 3 tonnes!) is absurd.
DeleteAlso it's not pointed out if we talk net mean production or just production. Fyi - trees also CONSUME oxygen during respiration. It's not only photosynthesis.
Wow! That statistic about how an acre of trees can only compensate for one car's carbon dioxide is quite terrifying when you think about it! This is a great article. Hopefully it will help people to appreciate trees and be a little more aware of how their actions, such as driving a car, can affect the environment.
ReplyDeleteThis is plagiarism!!!
ReplyDelete